Minerva (1780); Warship; Fifth rate; Frigate; 38 guns

Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model 'Minerva' (1780), a 38-gun frigate, built in 'bread and butter' fashion, planked and finished in the Georgian style. Model is partially decked, equipped and mounted on modern hull crutches. It has been identified by comparison to the original ship plans held in the NMM collection, as well as by the presence of a carved owl on the stern decoration, a figure associated with the 'Minerva’.

Built at the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, it had a gun deck length of 141 feet by 39 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 940 (builders old measurement). The 'Minerva’ was the first of a group of five 38-gun frigates built with identical dimensions. It took part in Admiral William Hotham’s action off Genoa in 1795 and was later renamed 'Pallas’ in 1798. It was eventually sold for breaking up in 1803.

Object Details

ID: SLR0317
Collection: Ship models
Type: Full hull model
Display location: Not on display
Creator: French, G. W.
Vessels: Minerva 1780
Date made: 1780
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Fund
Measurements: Overall model: 260 x 1060 x 260 mm; Overall model and base: 330 mm x 1080 mm x 260 mm
Parts: Minerva (1780); Warship; Fifth rate; Frigate; 38 guns