The Amazon-class frigates of 1795 were a set of four 36-gun sailing frigates built for the Royal Navy and designed by William Rule. The first pair were constructed from oak and launched in July 1795. A second pair had already been ordered in January that year, to be made from pitch pine, one launched in February and the other in March of 1796. All four of the new class carried a main battery of twenty-six 18-pounder (8.2 kg) long guns supplemented with eight 32-pounder (15 kg) carronades and ten long guns, 9-pounder (4.1 kg) for the first pair, 12-pounder (5.4 kg) for the second batch, on the upperworks.

They served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars although the first of the class, HMS Amazon, only lasted until 1796, wrecked following an action on 13 January with a French ship-of-the-line. HMS Emerald on the other hand was not broken up until 1836. Her long and eventful career included a part in the 1804 invasions of St Lucia and Surinam. The two fir-built frigates; HMS Trent and Glenmore remained in use until 1823 and 1814 respectively, although both ended up on harbour duty, as receiving ships.

All of the class saw action, capturing and destroying enemy ships. Notable engagements include Emerald’s chase of a Spanish convoy in the action of 7 April 1800, Trent’s cutting out of a Spanish ship and schooner off Puerto Rico in 1799 and Glenmore’s capture of the East Indiaman Calcutta in the same year.

The Amazon-class frigates of 1795 were a set of four 36-gun sailing frigates built for the Royal Navy and designed by William Rule. Frigates of the period were three-masted, full-rigged ships that carried their main battery on a single, continuous gun deck. They were smaller and faster than ships of the line and primarily intended for raiding, reconnaissance and messaging. Since late 1778, those of 36 or 38 guns with a main armament of 18-pounder (8.2 kg) long guns, had become the standard in the Royal Navy and by 1793, when the French Revolutionary War began, it was not unusual for them to be close to 1000 tons burthen (bm).

Rule's original Amazon class were 32-gun, 12-pounder, frigates of 677 tons builder's old measurement (bm), built between 1771 and 1782. In need of a larger frigate, in 1794, the Admiralty asked for a 36-gun, 18-pounder version. The new class of ship was to be 143 ft (44 m) along the gundeck, 119 ft 6 in (36 m) at the keel, with a beam of 38 ft 2 in (12 m) and a depth in hold of 13 ft 6 in (4 m); making it 925 87⁄94 bm. The main battery comprised twenty-six 18-pounder (8.2-kilogram) long guns on the gundeck with a secondary armament on the upperworks which included ten smaller calibre guns; eight on the quarterdeck and two on the forecastle. These were 9 pounders (4.1 kilograms) for the first pair of Amazon’s but Trent and Glenmore were given 12 pounders (5.4 kilograms) instead. The new vessels would also have eight 32-pounder (14.5-kilogram) carronade; two on the forecastle and six on the quarterdeck. Carronades were lighter so could be manoeuvred with fewer men, and had a faster rate of fire but had a much shorter range than the long gun. The new frigates would have a complement of 264 when fully manned.

The first two, HMS Amazon and Emerald were ordered on 24 May 1794, and were to be built of oak. The second pair, HMS Trent and Glenmore were ordered on 24 January 1795 but these were to be constructed of pitch pine. The shortage of timber, and in particular oak, was a constant problem for the Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries. Softwoods were easier to work and did not require as much seasoning so fir-built frigates could be produced quicker. They were not as strong however, and did not last as long as their oak-built counterparts. Being lighter, they floated higher in the water, unless additional ballast was added, and this made them faster, although with a tendency to fall to leeward. The Trent and Glenmore were identical in design to the hardwood ships except for the stern which was built with a square tuck.

Originally intended as a series of four, by the time the first of the 1795 class had been launched on 4 July, Rule had already drawn up plans for HMS Naiad, an expanded version which was larger at 1,013 tons (bm), had a complement of 284 men and carried 38 guns.

Amazon had a short but eventful career during the French Revolutionary War, which she spent in the Channel and Western Approaches, part of a frigate squadron under Sir Edward Pellew. She was actively involved in the capture of seven enemy brigs, two chasse-marees, two corvettes the 32-gun frigate, Unité and the 40-gun Virginie, before she was wrecked following an engagement with a French ship-of-the-line.