Frigate - Frigate (English spelling)

A general-purpose surface combat vessel that is generally smaller than a destroyer, with a standard displacement of about 1,500 to 5,000 tons, equipped with anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and surface striking power, and is nimble and economical with a speed of about 30 knots. A type of warship. Originally a type of ship from the age of sailing ships, it was ranked second to the ship of the line, had a displacement of about 1,000 tons, three masts (a mast means a mast), square sails, a single gun deck, and 24 to 34 cannons. A ship with superior speed and cruising range compared to a ship of the line was called a frigate. It was used for reconnaissance and reporting on the battlefield, clearing out privateers, escorting convoys, and coastal security. In the second half of the 19th century, with the advent of the age of steam-powered steel ships, frigates evolved into cruisers, and the name fell out of use around the end of the 19th century.

In 1942 during World War II, to make up for the shortage of destroyers, the United Kingdom built the River Class, a more powerful escort ship than a corvette with a standard displacement of 1,370 tons and a speed of 20.5 knots to protect convoys from attacks by German submarines at sea, and called it a frigate, and for the first time in about 60 years, this ship type name was revived for modern warships. Many frigates, including the River Class and its improved and developed versions, were built in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States during World War II, and not only ships with anti-submarine capabilities but also those with an emphasis on anti-aircraft combat capabilities appeared, and these became an important ship type that was indispensable for the war effort.

After the war, the UK unified the name of frigates to escort ships that were smaller than destroyers, had a speed of 24-32 knots, and were highly seaworthy, and gradually built and improved them with an emphasis on improving their anti-submarine capabilities. Many other countries followed suit, and frigates became the core of each country's naval forces. The US, in addition to streamlining its wartime hastily constructed ships, built new ships that were larger than destroyers, had better anti-submarine and anti-aircraft combat capabilities, and had strengthened command and intelligence functions. They initially called these leaders destroyers, but later renamed them frigates (DL), so the name of this ship type has two different meanings depending on the country. Subsequently, American DLs gradually became larger, comparable in size to cruisers, due to the strengthening of their armaments, such as the installation of anti-aircraft missiles, and the adoption of nuclear propulsion systems for aircraft carrier escort ships. As a result, in 1975, ships with a standard displacement of 5,670 tons or more were changed to cruisers, and those with a displacement smaller than that were changed to destroyers. Medium-speed and medium-sized escort ships that had previously been called escort ships (DE) and newly built ships that had been called patrol frigates (PF) were newly reclassified as frigates (FF), bringing them on the same level as other countries.

Since the 1970s, frigates have been equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, lightweight medium-caliber automatic guns, shipboard helicopter systems that operate organically in conjunction with the ship, and high-performance information processing systems. Today, frigates have developed into general-purpose surface combatants that combine anti-submarine, self-ship air defense, and surface strike capabilities and are capable of escorting fleets or convoys, anti-submarine sweeps, anti-surface warfare, supporting amphibious operations, patrols, and overseas security. Many are equipped with one to three anti-submarine helicopters.

After the end of the Cold War, emphasis was placed on land strike capability, and recent ships have been getting larger by adopting new technologies such as improved survivability (the ability to withstand enemy attack and maintain its function), anti-radar and stealth measures, and vertical launch systems (VLS) for missile launchers. As of 2010, ships with a standard displacement of around 5,800 to 6,800 tons were being constructed.

[Yasuo Abe]

"Modern Warships" by Hori Motomi (1970, Hara Shobo)" ▽ "New Modern Warships" by Hori Motomi and Ebata Kensuke (1987, Hara Shobo)" ▽ "World's Ships No. 442, Special Feature: Frigates of the 1990s (1991, Kaijinsha)" ▽ "World's Ships No. 514, Special Feature: Frigates Then and Now (1996, Kaijinsha)" ▽ "World's Ships No. 598, Special Feature: Today's Chinese Warships: A Study of the MEKO-class Frigates (2002, Kaijinsha)" ▽ "Stephen Saunders Jane's Fighting Ships 2010-2011 (2010, Jane's Information Group)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

おおむね駆逐艦より小型で基準排水量1500～5000トン程度、対潜、対空、水上打撃力などの機能を備え、速力30ノット前後の軽快で経済的な汎用(はんよう)水上戦闘艦艇。軍艦の一種。元来は帆船時代の艦種名で、戦列艦の次に位し、排水量1000トン前後、3檣(しょう)（檣は帆柱のこと）横帆、1層の砲甲板をもち、24～34門の大砲を備え、戦列艦に比べ速力と航続力が優れた艦をフリゲートとよび、戦場での偵察・通報、私掠(しりゃく)船の掃討、船団護衛、沿岸警備などに用いた。19世紀後半、汽走鋼製艦の時代に入ってフリゲートは巡洋艦へと発展し、19世紀末ごろにはこの名称は使われなくなった。

　第二次世界大戦中の1942年に、イギリスは駆逐艦の不足を補うものとして、洋上でのドイツ潜水艦の攻撃から輸送船団を守るために、コルベットより有力な護衛艦である基準排水量1370トン、速力20.5ノットのリバー級River Classを建造して、これをフリゲートと呼称し、約60年ぶりにこの艦種名が近代軍艦に対して復活した。リバー級およびその改良発達型を含めフリゲートは、第二次世界大戦中にイギリス、カナダ、アメリカで多数建造され、対潜能力主体の艦だけではなく、対空戦闘能力重視のものも出現し、これらは戦争遂行上欠くことのできぬ重要な艦種となった。

　戦後イギリスは、駆逐艦より小型で速力24～32ノット、航洋性に富む護衛艦をフリゲートの艦種名に統一し、おおむね対潜能力の向上に重点を置いて逐次建造・整備を図り、ほかの多くの国もこれに倣い、フリゲートは各国海軍兵力の根幹をなす艦種となった。アメリカは、戦時急造艦を整理するとともに、新たに駆逐艦より大型で対潜・対空戦闘能力が高く、指揮・情報機能を強化した艦を建造し、最初これを嚮導(きょうどう)駆逐艦とよんだが、のちにフリゲート（DL）と改称したため、この艦種名称は国により二様の意味をもつことになった。その後アメリカのDLは、対空ミサイル装備などの兵装強化、空母護衛任務艦への原子力推進機関採用などにより、しだいに大型化して巡洋艦なみの規模になったため、1975年に基準排水量5670トン以上の艦を巡洋艦に、それ以下のものを駆逐艦に艦種変更し、従来護衛艦（DE）と呼称していた中速・中型護衛艦と、パトロール・フリゲート（PF）の名称で新規建造中の艦を、新たにフリゲート（FF）に類別し、他国と同一のレベルにそろえた。

　フリゲートは1970年代から、対空・対艦両ミサイル、軽量中口径自動砲、艦と一体化して有機的運用を行う艦載ヘリコプター・システム、高性能情報処理システムなどを採用・装備するようになり、現在では対潜・自艦防空・水上打撃力機能を兼ね備え、艦隊または船団の護衛、対潜掃討、対水上戦、揚陸戦支援、哨戒(しょうかい)、海外警備などにあたる汎用水上戦闘艦艇へと発達を遂げ、対潜ヘリコプターを1～3機搭載するものが多い。

　冷戦終結後は対地打撃力機能も重視されるようになり、これに加えて最近の艦では抗堪(こうたん)性（敵の攻撃に耐えてその機能を維持する能力）向上、対レーダー・ステルス対策、ミサイル発射機の垂直発射システムVLS（vertical launch system）化などの新技術を採用して大型化しつつあり、2010年時点で基準排出量5800～6800トン程度の艦も建造されている。

［阿部安雄］

『堀元美著『現代の軍艦』（1970・原書房）』▽『堀元美・江畑謙介著『新・現代の軍艦』（1987・原書房）』▽『『世界の艦船第442号　特集　90年代のフリゲート』（1991・海人社）』▽『『世界の艦船第514号　特集　フリゲート　今と昔』（1996・海人社）』▽『『世界の艦船第598号　特集　今日の中国軍艦　MEKO型フリゲイトの考察』（2002・海人社）』▽『Stephen SaundersJane's Fighting Ships 2010-2011（2010, Jane's Information Group）』

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