The Hermes-class sailing sixth rates were a series of four 20-gun post ship

Post ship

Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...

s built to an 1810 design based on the ex-French prize Bonne Citoyenne

HMS Bonne Citoyenne (1796)

Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, which the Royal Navy captured and recommissioned as the sloop-of-war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Her most famous action was her capture of the French frigate Furieuse on 6 July 1809 for which her crew would earn the Naval General Service Medal. Her...

, which the British captured in 1796, and which served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 to the end of the Napoleonic War.

The first pair were built at Milford Dockyard on the north side of Milford Haven

Milford Haven

Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...

. Hermes

HMS Hermes (1811)

HMS Hermes was a 20-gun Hermes-class sixth-rate post ship built in Milford Dockyard. She was destroyed in 1814 to prevent her falling into American hands after grounding during her unsuccessful attack on Fort Bowyer on Mobile Point outside Mobile, Alabama.-Napoleonic Wars:Her first commander was...

 was launched in 1811 and Myrmidon in 1813. Milford Dockyard was closed following their construction, and the second pair were built at the new Pater (later Pembroke Dock

Pembroke Dock

Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...

) Dockyard on the south side of Milford Haven.

The second pair - Ariadne and Valorous - were launched on the same date in 1816. They were modified at Plymouth Dockyard before their first commission by the addition of quarterdecks and forecastle to what had originally been flush-deck vessels, and they were at that time re-classed as 26-gun sixth rates.

Ships in class

• • Builder: Milford Dockyard
  • Ordered: 18 January 1810
  • Laid down: May 1810
  • Launched: 22 July 1811
  • Completed: 7 September 1811
  • Fate: Grounded and burnt in action at Mobile
    Mobile, Alabama
    Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
    
     in 1814.
  • Builder: Milford Dockyard
  • Ordered: 2 August 1811
  • Laid down: July 1812
  • Launched: 18 June 1813
  • Completed: 6 February 1814 at Plymouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Portsmouth
    Portsmouth
    Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
    
     in 1823.
  • Builder: Pater Dockyard
  • Ordered: 28 November 1812
  • Laid down: April 1815
  • Launched: 10 February 1816
  • Completed: 21 March 1816
  • Fate: Sold to break up at Alexandria
    Alexandria
    Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
    
     in 1841.
  • Builder: Pater Dockyard
  • Ordered: 28 November 1812
  • Laid down: March 1815
  • Launched: 10 February 1816
  • Completed: 26 March 1816 at Plymouth Dockyard
  • Fate: Broken up at Chatham
    Chatham Dockyard
    Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
    
     in 1829.