List of ships of the line of the Royal Navy
This article provides a short, easy-to-understand guide to the Royal Navy’s ships of the line from about 1660 to the emergence of the modern battleship around 1880.
What ships of the line are
- Ships of the line were the navy’s largest and most powerful warships, designed to fight in the battle line.
- The period covered starts with the restored monarchy in 1660 and continues until the type of battleship began to appear in the 1880s.
Rebuilding and early changes
- Some important ships were rebuilt in dry dock during this period, effectively becoming new ships with different sizes and more guns. Examples include the first-rate Prince Royal (rebuilt in 1663), the second-rate Victory (rebuilt in 1666), the third-rate Montague (1675), and the fourth-rates Bonaventure (1663) and Constant Warwick (1666).
Exclusions from the list
- The list does not include two smaller galley-frigates designed for oar and sail power (Charles Galley and James Galley, 1676).
- It also excludes four fifth-rates of 36 guns (the Falcon and Sweepstakes of 1666, the Nonsuch of 1668, and the Phoenix of 1671) that were later reclassed as 42-gun fourth rates, then returned to fifth-rate status.
The 1690 Programme and the idea of “Thirty Ships”
- Parliament approved a fleet-building program on 10 October 1690, aiming to create a large, standardized fleet. It nominally included 17 third-rate ships of 80 guns and 10 fourth-rate ships of 60 guns, with additional third rates of 70 guns added around the same time.
- This effort is often described in terms of “Thirty Ships,” reflecting the scale of planned new ships.
The 1706 Establishment and the evolving design rules
- The 1706 Establishment set principal size targets for groups of ships from 40- to 90-gun classes. However, the design of individual ships was still up to the Master Shipwright at each dockyard, so ships of the same gun rating were not all built to one single design.
- In the later Guns Establishments, second rates were intended to be 96 guns, then reduced to 90; ten third rates were ordered as 80-gun ships. The early 54-gun ships (ordered 1706–1714) carried 12-pounder main batteries, but under the 1716 Establishment they were replaced by 50-gun ships with 18-pounders. The last ships listed from 1715 onward were built to the 1716 Guns Establishment, and existing 54-gun ships were refitted to that standard as possible.
Two-deckers that were not ships of the line
- The navy also built smaller two-decker ships (often called frigates in practice) that were not powerful enough to stand in the line of battle. These included 54- or 50-gun two-deckers, many of which later served in roles other than as ships of the line.
New ships and reforms in the mid-18th century
- In the late 1740s and early 1750s, two 74-gun ships were ordered but cancelled after the War of the Austrian Succession ended.
- By 1751, the system of fixed establishments was abandoned. Thomas Slade and William Bately became the Surveyors of the Navy in 1755, and new principles guided fleet design. The navy stopped building three-decker 80-gun ships and reduced the production of 70- and 60-gun ships, replacing them with 74-gun and 64-gun ships. Fifty-gun and 44-gun two-deckers continued for cruising duties, but 50-gun ships were no longer counted as ships of the line from 1756 onward.
Notes on Dutch ships and classification
- A few Dutch ships of 54 guns were classed by the British as fourth-rate two-deckers, not ships of the line.
- The designation of ships of the line evolved over time as guns, ratings, and tactical thinking changed.
Captain Sir William Symonds era (1832–1847)
- Symonds, a naval officer and yacht designer, became Surveyor of the Navy in 1832. He sought to make ships faster and give gunners more room, using larger ships with a different hull form and more iron in construction.
- His approach increased stability but caused excessive rolling and made it harder to mount guns effectively. The weight distribution of provisions, stores, and consumed supplies also affected performance. Symonds worked closely with John Edye on ship structure and construction. These ships differed from earlier designs and highlighted the growing complexity of warship design.
How the ships are organized
- Ships are listed by class (or “list of ships of the line” by class) as the period covers many changes in design, size, and armament.
Further reading and related topics
- For the broader development of battlefleet design and later capital ships, see resources on the evolution of the Royal Navy’s battleships. This topic connects to the later eras of pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts, which followed the period covered here.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:45 (CET).