HMS Levant (1758).
HMS Levant was a sixth-rate 28-gun frigate of the Coventry class, launched in 1758. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and manoeuvrability. Assigned to the Jamaica station in 1759, Levant defeated nine French vessels in three years at sea and was part of the British expedition against Martinique in 1762. The frigate was decommissioned in 1763, returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in the Caribbean, decommissioned for a second time in 1770, and reinstated at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Sent to the Mediterranean and based at Gibraltar, Levant captured or sank a total of fourteen enemy craft over the next three years, including an 18-gun American privateer. The ageing frigate was removed from Navy service in 1779 and broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total of 31 victories during 21 years at sea.
