Sixty of the 73 vessels counted at Trafalgar were ships of the line, and 49 were third rates. Third rates included both 64-gun and 80-gun ships. Rating depended on decks as well as guns: an 80-gun two-decker remained a third rate, while three-deckers with 84 or 98 guns were second rates and a 100-gun three-decker was a first rate. Britain brought twenty third rates alongside three first rates and four second rates. The combined fleet had twenty-nine third rates and four first rates, all of the first rates being Spanish. France brought no first or second rates, and no fourth rates took part.
Notable Point · 14:09-18:19
Why the third rate dominates Trafalgar
Third rates dominated Trafalgar, but Britain's first and second rates gave its battle fleet a different composition from the French and Spanish forces.