The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors were used by the Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initia
A 1728 diagram illustrating a first- and a third-rate ship
In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a fourth-rate was a ship of the line with two gun decks which mounted between 46 and 60 guns. They served in all conflicts the Royal Navy participated in during