In 1794, a frigate squadron under the command of
Captain Sir John Borlase Warren captured the
French 40-gun frigate . Surprisingly to her captors, the ship was armed with 26 × 24-pounder long guns, a main armament that was relatively uncommon for frigates in the 18th century. Furthermore,
Pomone impressed the British with outstanding sailing qualities in every variation of the wind, and being capable of sailing more than . On 30 April 1795, the
Admiralty ordered three frigates – with 36 guns, 38 guns and 40 guns – the first and third built to the lines of the captured French frigate and the second to a new design by the
Surveyors (the ship designers of the Royal Navy). The 40-gun French design was copied from
Pomone, and in November 1795 the
keel was
laid down at the Rotherhithe shipyard of
John Randall & Company for the new ship, which on 14 November 1795 was named as . She was launched on 29 March 1797 and towed to
Deptford Dockyard, where she was
commissioned in April 1797 and completed on 12 June 1797.
Endymion was not an exact copy of
Pomone, being built to British design standards with stronger construction. Surprisingly,
Endymion sailed even better than
Pomone, reaching , the highest recorded speed during the
Age of Sail. Reclassified as a 48-gun
fourth-rate frigate in February 1817, then as 50-gun, and finally as 44-gun in February 1839,
Endymions fine qualities were such that she continued to be praised for nearly half a century. She was finally broken up at
Plymouth Dockyard in June 1868. ==1812 Programme==