The loss of the Danish "frigate" Falster by fire, on the coast of Morocco in 1753, was one of the most notable occurrences in Danish naval history during the latter part of the 18th Century. The loss of the Falster is remarkable because it occurred in the relatively uneventful period of 1720-1800 - which the Danes refer to as "den lange fredsperiode" - following the Great Northern War of 1709-1720.

The loss of the Falster is also intriguing because the Danes' characterization of the Falster as a "frigate" is misleading. In terms of armament and hull design, the Falster had much more in common with contemporaneous Danish ships-of-the-line than it did with contemporaneous Danish frigates. Therefore, the loss of the Falster is notable in the context of Danish naval history not only because of the exotic location where this loss occurred, but also because the Falster was a relatively sizeable Danish warship of her time - i.e., much larger than other contemporaneous Danish frigates - and, hence, was a relatively expensive "weapons system" for the Danish navy to lose.

Miscellany of Danish Frigate Designs Prior to 1746
Danish frigates during the period of 1650-1746 - i.e., to the end of the reign of King Christian VI - were, like the Falster, all ship-rigged. However, for the Falster, the similarity in rig is where the Falster's similarity with other Danish frigates ends.

A complicating factor in an analysis of Danish frigate similarity is the fact that, during this early period of the design history of Danish frigates, most Danish frigates were a miscellany of individual "one-offs," or were built to solitary designs with, typically, no two frigates being built to exactly the same draught. Thus, what should appropriately be categorized as a frigate in Danish naval history must be arrived at by a retrospective examination of the pervasive characteristics of the Danish warships which were included within the Danish navy's frigate classification.

In contrast to Danish frigate building practices up to 1746, during the reign of Christian VI the Danish navy finally began to build Danish battleships to the same design on a regular basis with, typically, a minimum of two sister ships being built to the same draught.

Falster as an 18 Pdr. "Frigate."
The 40-gun Falster was built by the Danish navy in 1742 and was originally named Cronjagten but was later renamed Falster. However, the other five Danish frigates built during the reign (1730-1746) of King Christian VI were only armed with between 16 and 30 cannon, ranging in caliber between 4 and 8 pounds, that is, with significantly lighter caliber weapons than the 18 pounder cannon employed in Falster's main battery. Ironically, the 8 pdr. cannon employed in Falster's secondary battery was the largest caliber of cannon carried by any of the other Danish frigates built during the reign of Christian VI.

Three of the lighter, and therefore more standard, Danish frigates built during the reign of Christian VI - i.e., Christiansborg (30), Doquen (30) and Blaa Heyren (18) - were part of the naval squadron with the Falster at the time of Falster's loss.

18 Pdr. Gun Caliber as Characteristic of Danish Battleship Armament Prior to 1746.
In contrast to the generally light caliber cannon of most Danish frigates built during (as well as before) the reign of Christian VI, six - all of which were 50-gun ships - of the 20 Danish battleships built during Christian VI's reign were armed, like the Falster, with 18 pdrs. on the main battery deck; all but one of the remaining fourteen Danish battleships built during Christian VI's reign were armed with 24 pdrs. Therefore, the caliber of Falster's main battery armament was akin to that of a Danish battleship (albeit, the smallest of Danish battleships) rather than to that of a Danish frigate. However, the 40-gun Falster was equipped with fewer cannon than were the smallest, 50-gun Danish battleships built during Christian VI's reign, and this fact is what probably consigned Falster to be classified by the Danes as a frigate.

Danish 18 Pdr. Frigates Prior to 1746
The Danish navy's classification of Falster as a frigate is also difficult in historical terms. Prior to the Falster, there were only three 18 pdr. Danish warships which the Danish navy classified as frigates, and two of these were Swedish prizes built, presumably, in Sweden. The three 18 pdr. Danish frigates, together with their dates of Danish naval service, are: Stormarn (1703-1722), Stralsund (Swedish prize, 1715-1761), and Pommern (Swedish prize, 1717-1765).

The only Danish 12 pdr. frigate in the period predating the Falster was also a Swedish prize, i.e., the Hvide Ørn (1715-1751),* captured by the famous Tordenskiold. The largest of the Danish frigates during the period of 1650-1700 was also a Swedish prize. Therefore, with the exception of the Swedish prizes, Denmark had not established a firm tradition of building large warships to serve as frigates with Denmark's navy.

In view of the foregoing, after subtracting the Swedish prizes, only the Stormarn and Falster remain as large, 18 pdr. Danish "frigates," which indicates that during the century-long period of 1650-1746, Denmark's own building policy overwhelmingly concentrated on lightly-armed ships, generally armed with 30 guns or less, as appropriate for the role of a frigate in the Danish navy. It is only during the reign of King Frederick V (1746-1766) that we see the appearance of 12 pdr. Danish-built frigates, together with one more Danish-built 18 pdr. frigate - which was completed the year before Falster met her end in Morocco. Thus, the reign of Frederick V marked the beginning of the "modern" era of Danish frigate design, following the initial period of approximately 1650-1750.

Two Complete Battery Decks as Atypical of Danish 18th Century Frigates
Unlike the vast majority of Danish-built frigates during the period of 1650-1746, and even thereafter, Falster had two fully-armed battery decks - or what, during the Napoleonic Wars, would be called "double banked" frigates - with a complete tier of cannon on each deck. Conversely, most other Danish frigates of the period either were armed on only one deck, or carried a complete battery on one deck and were armed with partial, supplementary cannon placed on either the quarterdeck, or on the quarterdeck and forecastle. Thus, in addition to the distinctive 18 pdr. caliber of her main armament, in terms of armament lay-out and the hull design to accommodate it, Falster was also more akin to Denmark's smaller "two-decker" battleships than to contemporaneous Danish frigates.

A general consensus in naval thought in the period of 1650-1750 held that the naval frigate type was to have a low silhouette, or a hull which was relatively low in the water, and corresponding fine lines to the underwater hull, for speed. The freeboard and internal volume of Falster's two-decked hull did not fit this general conceptualization of a frigate.

Falster as a Hybrid Type
Clearly, in terms of the caliber of Falster's main battery guns, the numerical size of her overall armament, the two complete gundecks and the capacious hull to carry this armament, and from the standpoint of the contemporaneous characteristics of most Danish frigates, Falster was a one-of-a-kind vessel, difficult to categorize as a warship type, and something of a hybrid. However, it terms of the caliber of her main battery guns, and the aggregate size of her 40-gun armament, Falster had much more in common with contemporaneous Danish battleships than she did with Danish frigates.

The only viable explanation for the Danish navy's classification of the Falster as a frigate, rather than as a battleship, appears to have been due to an arbitrary cut-off point, of a minimum 50 gun armament, required by the Danish navy at that time for a Danish warship to qualify as a battleship. The Falster did not meet that arbitrary cut-off minimum requirement, and was thus relegated to the next available category of warship classification, that of a frigate, the typical characteristics of which Falster had nothing in common. From this perspective, a question arises as to why the Danish navy ever spent funds to build a warship like the Falster, and whether this expenditure was justified in terms of the Falster's effectiveness as a warship type.

What Naval Role For Falster?
Aside from the anomalous nature of her armament (cannon caliber, and aggregate number of guns) and hull design (two completely armed decks of guns), it is also difficult to classify Falster as a frigate in terms of the specific naval role Falster was intended to play, and whether that role was distinct from those of other categories of warships.

Frigates were typically required to be fast sailers, and hence were useful in roles which requried speed, i.e., for reconnaissance, the carrying of dispatches, as pursuit vessals which could outrun and overtake vulnerable prey, and sometimes as nimble convoy escorts, all roles for which Falster seems to have been particularly unsuited due to her hull's lack of the "fine lines" needed for speed - Falster was presumably a dull sailer. Therefore, it's difficult to conceive of a proper naval role for Falster for which Falster's design would have been well suited.

Falster had one distinct point in her favor: she could carry a relatively heavy main battery of 18 pdrs. while being particularly economical in manpower - Falster's complement of 307 men was roughly 1/3 less than the 50-gun, 18 pdr. Danish battleships, which had an establishment complement of 424. Therefore, Falster was cheaper than the 50-gun two-deckers to commission in peacetime, and thereby may have found favor for employment in subsidiary and therefore less demanding role on a distant, out-of-the way station. Therefore, it's fitting that the naval role which the Danish admiralty ultimately found for the Falster was to employer her on a mission against Moroccan pirates.

Material Significance of Falster's Loss
In view of the foregoing, the Falster appears to have been something of an anachronism, and a misfit. Nevertheless, due to her size and the expense of fitting out, equipping and manning a warship of her size, Falster represented a significant - though, in terms of quality, a seemingly mediocre - investment of Denmark's available defense budget. Therefore, Falster's burning off the coast of Morocco constituted a significant material loss to Denmark, and one which was more serious in nature than would have been the case had the loss involved one of Denmark's typical, and therefore smaller and less valuable, frigates.

Archeological Possibilities Of Falster's Wreck Site
In his article on the Falster's loss that appears on this website, Claus Christiansen indicates that during the course of the conflagration which consumed her, Falster drifted toward the shore and ultimately beached herself, where she burnt herself out. Therefore, Falster's remains were easily accessible to, and were probably thoroughly salvaged by, local inhabitants at the time of Falster's loss. As a result, it is unlikely that Falster's wrecksite, if discovered, would yield anything of material archeological value.

Postscript: The Second Phase of Danish Frigate Design
Following the Falster's loss, the history of Danish frigate design began to enter a new period - what is characterized in other navies as the "modern" period of frigate design. This change became noticeable during the tenure in office of the Danish navy's chief constructor and master builder Krabbe, when Danish naval frigates began to be regularly built to one design, i.e., more than one frigate was built to the same draught. It was also during Krabbe's tenure that the Danish navy's frigates began to enter the 12 pdr. frigate "era" in earnest, in conformity with the trend toward 12 pdr. frigates that the other major maritime powers were also engaged.

Ironically, in stark contrast to the wholesale miscellany of Danish frigate designs which characterized Danish naval frigates built prior to 1746, one of the largest classes of Danish warships ever built during the age of sail was produced by the Danish naval constructor and master builder Henrik Gerner, who built a class of eight 12 pdr. frigates to the same design, beginning with the frigate Bornholm in 1778 - i.e., not quite 30 years after the loss of the Falster.

The "true" Danish 18 pdr. frigate did not appear in Denmark's navy until the Danish naval constructor Stibolt's design of four sister ships, the first of which was completed in 1789. However, unlike the Falster, Stibolt's class of modern 18 pdr. frigates did not have two completely armed battery decks. After the debut of Stibolt's 18 pdr. frigates, the 18 pdr. frigate continued as Denmark's principal type of frigate into the early 19th Century.