Sails of Glory. HMS Africa 1781/ HMS Vigilant 1774

Ardent, Intrepid and Inflexible are classes of 3rd rate ships of the line, armed with 64 cannons and with a designed crew of around 500.

The Ardent class ships were designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade using as a reference the French ship Fougueux. These ships were armed with 26 24–Pounder guns in the lower deck, 26 18–Pounder guns in the upperdeck, 10 9–Pounder guns in the quarterdeck, 2 9–Pounder guns in the forecastle.

The Inflexible–class ships were designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade, based on his earlier design for the Albion class. These ships were armed with 26 24–Pounder guns in the gundeck, 26 18–Pounder guns in the upperdeck, 10 4–Pounder guns in the quarterdeck, and 2 9–Pounder guns in the forecastle.

HMS Africa participated to the last battle of the American War of Independence, at Cuddalore in 1783. She returned to England once news of the peace arrived and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, engaging the combined Franco–Spanish fleet in battle. She later fought in the Baltic Sea during the Gunboat War and, under the command of Captain John Bastard, Africa was part of the War of 1812, failing to catch the USS Constitution.

This ship pack can also be used to represent the British Intrepid class “HMS Vigilant 1774”.