Drawing showing the inboard profile, upper deck, lower deck with hold and platform for the Diligence-class ships | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Diligence-class brig-sloop |
Operators | Royal Navy |
In service | 1795 - 1817 |
Completed | 8 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Brig-sloop |
Tons burthen | 313 59⁄94 (bm) |
Length |
|
Beam | 28 ft 0 in (8.5 m) |
Depth of hold | 12 ft 0 in (3.7 m) |
Sail plan | Brig-rigged |
Complement | 121 |
Armament |
|
The Diligence class were built as a class of eight 18-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy. They were originally to have carried sixteen 6-pounder carriage guns, but on 22 April 1795 it was instructed that they should be armed with sixteen 32-pounder carronades, although two of the 6-pounders were retained as chase guns in the bows. Consequently they were classed as 18-gun sloops. However, in service it was found that this armament proved too heavy for these vessels, and so in most vessels the 32-pounder carronades were replaced by 24-pounder ones.
Of the eight vessels in the class, three foundered at sea with the loss of their crews, and one was wrecked. The others continued in service until withdrawn.
One of the Surveyors of the Navy - John Henslow - designed the class. The Admiralty approved the design on 22 April 1795, and ordered five vessels on 4 March 1795; their names were assigned and registered on 20 June. The Admiralty ordered three more in July 1795; these were named and registered on 28 August.
In early 1795 the Admiralty identified the need for additional brig-sloops to meet the urgent need for convoy duties, and - as per their usual practice - commissioned two different designs, one from each Surveyor. Five vessels to each design were ordered in March 1795, with a further three to each design following in July.
Two of the first orders (Curlew and Seagull) were constructed of "fir" (actually, pine), while the other three were of the normal oak construction. The three ordered in July were all also of fir construction. Fir-built vessels could be constructed more rapidly; hence all five of these were launched by the end of October 1795, when the three built of the conventional oak were still all on the stocks. However, it was recognised that fir hulls deteriorated faster; the use of fir was seen as a stop-gap measure to get them faster into service, but with the knowledge that they would not last as long.
Name | Launched | Fate |
---|---|---|
Curlew | 16 July 1795 | Lost, presumed to have foundered in a storm in the North Sea in December 1796. |
Diligence | 24 November 1795 | Wrecked off Cuba on 8 October 1800. |
Seagull | July 1795 | Lost, presumed to have foundered in the Channel in February 1805. |
Harpy | February 1796 | Sold to be broken up on 10 September 1817. |
Hound | 24 March 1796 | Lost, presumed to have foundered in a storm in the Shetland Islands on 26 September 1800. |
Kangaroo | 30 September 1795 | Sold to be broken up in February 1802. |
Cameleon | 14 October 1795 | Sold to be broken up in April 1811. |
Racoon | 14 October 1795 | Sold to be broken up in April 1806. |
The Endymion class was a class of six Royal Navy 40-gun fifth-rate frigates, with the prototype launched in 1797 and five slightly amended versions built of fir launched from 1813 to 1814.
HMS Reindeer was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Samuel & Daniel Brent at Rotherhithe and was launched in 1804. She was built of fir, which made for more rapid construction at the expense of durability. Reindeer fought in the Napoleonic Wars before succumbing in 1814 to the guns of USS Wasp during the War of 1812.
Launched on 21 May 1797, GB No. 21 was renamed HMS Defender on 7 August the same year. She was a 12-gun Courser-class gun-brig built for the British Royal Navy at Limehouse and disposed of in 1802.
The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging. A ship-sloop was rigged with three masts whereas a brig-sloop was rigged as a brig with only a fore mast and a main mast.
The Crocus-class brig-sloops were a class of sloop-of-war built for the Royal Navy, and were the only Royal Navy brig-sloops ever designed rated for 14 guns. The class was designed by the Surveyors of the Navy jointly, and approved on 28 March 1807. Unlike the vast majority of other British brig-sloops built for the Royal Navy in this wartime period, which were built by contractors, construction of the Crocus class was confined to the Admiralty's own dockyards. One vessel was ordered from each of the Royal Dockyards on 30 March 1807; four more were ordered during 1808 and a final unit in 1810. All the ships of the class survived the Napoleonic Wars and were broken up between 1815 and 1833.
The Fly class were built for the Royal Navy as a class of 16-gun brig-sloops; two 6-pounder guns on trucked gun-carriages towards the bows, and eight pairs of slide-mounted 24-pounder [[carronas along the broadsides. An extra two carronades were added soon after completion, so giving them 18 guns in practice. The class was designed by one of the Surveyors of the Navy - Sir John Henslow - and approved in 1805. The Admiralty ordered five vessels to this design in January 1805, 23 days after it had ordered the same quantity of the similar Seagull Class to a comparative design by William Rule, the other Surveyor of the Navy; it ordered two more Fly Class in August 1805, although this final pair were planked with hulls of pitch pine ("fir") rather than the normal oak used in the first five.
The Seagull class were built as a class of thirteen 16-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra 2 carronades were added soon after completion. The class was designed by one of the Surveyors of the Navy - Sir William Rule - and approved on 4 January 1805. Five vessels to this design were ordered in December 1804; eight more were ordered in the summer of 1805.
The Cormorant class were built as a class of 16-gun ship sloops for the Royal Navy, although they were re-rated as 18-gun ships soon after completion.
HMS Sandfly was a Musquito-class floating battery of the Royal Navy. The two-vessel class was intended to defend the Îles Saint-Marcouf (Marcou) situated off the Normandy coast. During her brief career Sandfly shared in the capture of one privateer and participated in a battle that would earn her crew the Naval General Service Medal. The Peace of Amiens returned the islets to France in May 1802; Sandfly was paid off in June 1802 and broken up in 1803.
The Albatross class were built as a class of eight 18-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy. They were originally to have carried sixteen 6-pounder carriage guns, but on 22 April 1795 it was instructed that they should be armed with sixteen 32-pounder carronades, although two of the 6-pounders were retained as chase guns in the bows. Consequently, they were classed as 18-gun sloops. However, in service it was found that this armament proved too heavy for these vessels, and so in most vessels the 32-pounder carronades were replaced by 24-pounder ones.
This group of vessels were originally slated to be built to the Sampson designed steam vessel; however, the Admiralty on 9 May 1845, ordered the first pair as First-Class screw sloops to be built from a design of Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy. This design would become known as the Conflict-class sloop. These would be 10-gun vessels with 400 NHP engines. The second pair of vessels were ordered on 26 March 1846 but after their keels were laid at Pembroke Dockyard, their construction was suspended in September 1846 then cancelled five years later, on 4 April 1851. Both completed ships served in the Baltic during the Crimean war, and Desperate briefly served as a store ship to Edward Augustus Inglefield's Arctic expedition. They had both been broken up by 1865.
The Baltimore class was a class of three sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy during 1742-43. Two were ordered in 1742 and a third in 1743, and constituted a further increase in size from the 200 burthen tons which had been the normal size from 1728 to 1739; Baltimore was built to a design by Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, one of the members of the Admiralty Board at that time; it is uncertain whether the other two ships were built to the same design, or to the same overall dimensions but to a design prepared by Jacob Allin, the Surveyor of the Navy.
HMS Persian was a sixteen-gun Acorn-class brig-sloop built for the Royal Navy during the 1830s.
The Snake-class ship-sloops were a class of four Royal Navy sloops-of-war built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Though ships of the class were designed with the hull of a brig, their defining feature of a ship-rig changed their classification to that of a ship-sloop rather than that of a brig-sloop.
HMS Sylph was a 16-gun Albatross-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy designed by William Rule and launched in 1795 at Deptford Dockyard. Her namesake was the air spirit sylph. She commissioned in August 1795 under Commander John Chambers White, who would have her until the end of 1799. She was later commanded by Charles Dashwood.
The Thames-class frigate was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate class of eight ships of the Royal Navy based on the Richmond-class frigate designed by William Bately. The ships were ordered to the older design, which was of a smaller type of ship compared to more modern designs, so that they could be built quickly and cheaply in time to assist in defending against Napoleon's expected invasion of Britain. The class received several design changes to the Richmond class, being built of fir instead of oak, with these changes making the class generally slower and less weatherly than their predecessors, especially when in heavy weather conditions. The first two ships of the class, Pallas and Circe, were ordered on 16 March 1804 with two more ordered on 1 May and the final four on 12 July. The final ship of the class, Medea, was cancelled on 22 October before construction could begin but the other seven ships of the class were commissioned between 1804 and 1806.
The Bulldog-class steam vessels (SV2) later reclassed as First Class Sloops, were designed by Sir William Symonds, the Surveyor of the Navy. Designed from the Driver class by Admiralty Order of 26 December 1843, the design was approved in 1844. The changes included lengthening the bow by 10 feet to provide 6 feet of extra space in the engine room. Three vessels would have a single funnel whereas Scourge would have two and be completed as a bomb vessel. In July 1844 it was queried if Fury was to be completed as a screw vessel, however, since her construction was well along she would be completed as a paddle steamer. Four vessels were ordered and completed.
The Perseverance-class frigate was a 36-gun, later 42-gun, 18-pounder fifth-rate frigate class of twelve ships of the Royal Navy, constructed in two batches. Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir Edward Hunt the first iteration, consisting of four ships, was constructed as a rival to the similar Flora-class frigate. Strongly built ships, the Perseverance class provided favourable gunnery characteristics and was highly manoeuvrable, but bought these traits with a loss of speed. The name ship of the class, Perseverance, was ordered in 1779 and participated in the American Revolutionary War, but her three sister ships were constructed too late to take part. The class continued in service after the war, but soon became outdated.
The Narcissus-class frigate was a 32-gun, 18-pounder fifth-rate frigate class of five ships of the Royal Navy. Designed by Surveyor of the Navy Sir John Henslow, the class was created to make use of shipyards that could not construct larger frigates. They were similar in design to the preceding 32-gun frigate class, the Amphion class, but were slightly shorter. Two ships were initially constructed, with a later batch of three being ordered in response to an Admiralty request for the resumption of production of proven frigate designs. The final two ships of the class were cancelled when the shipyard they were being constructed at went bankrupt. Unlike her sister ships, the name ship of the class Narcissus was armed with experimental short 24 pounders rather than 18 pounders.