Quote Originally Posted by DeRuyter View Post
American super size 74s? Were any such ships built? WTF is Winfield on about?

I mean the most famous example of a 74 unable to open the main deck ports was the battle involving the Droits de la Homme and the Indefatigable. So a normal French 74.
These would be Independence/Washington and their successors, "super size" being my term--nominally classed as 74's, but in fact no more so than a Humphreys/Doughty Superfrigate was a "mere" 44.

Also, SCS South Carolina appears to be an evolution of Pestel's Pourvoyeuse class, no relation to the Humphreys ships other than the general concept of "big heavily-armed frigate."