Editing Corvette (section)

==Sailing vessels==
[[File:Foudroyante-IMG 8846-black.jpg|thumb|A corvette in the [[Trianon model collection]]]]
During the [[Age of Sail]], corvettes were one of many types of warships smaller than a frigate and with a single deck of guns.<ref name=poa>{{cite book |last =Keegan |first =John |author-link =John Keegan |title =The Price of Admiralty |publisher =Viking |date =1989 |location =New York |page = 277 |isbn =978-0-670-81416-9 |url-access =registration |url =https://archive.org/details/priceofadmiralty00keeg/page/n308/mode/1up }}</ref> They were very closely related to [[Sloop-of-war|sloops-of-war]]. The role of the corvette consisted mostly of coastal patrol, fighting minor wars, supporting large fleets, or participating in show-the-flag missions. The [[Royal Navy]] began using small ships in the 1650s, but described them as sloops rather than corvettes. The first reference to a corvette was with the [[French Navy]] in the 1670s, which may be where the term originated. The French Navy's corvettes grew over the decades and by the 1780s they were ships of 20 guns or so, approximately equivalent to the British navy's [[post ship]]s. The Royal Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, long after the [[Napoleonic Wars]], to describe a small [[sixth-rate]] vessel somewhat larger than a sloop.

The last vessel lost by [[Kingdom of France|France]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] was the corvette ''Le Dragon'', [[scuttled]] by her captain to avoid capture off [[Monte Cristi Province]], [[Saint-Domingue]] on January 1783.<ref>Freddy Van Daele "The Enigmatic Ostend Model "The Dragon-1783"-Alfred Van Daele publisher September 2015</ref> Most corvettes and sloops of the 17th century were {{convert|40|to|60|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} in length and measured 40 to 70 [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons burthen]]. They carried four to eight smaller guns on single decks. Over time, vessels of increasing size and capability were called "corvettes"; by 1800, they reached lengths of over {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} and measured from 400 to 600&nbsp;tons burthen.