Swallow-class sloop

Class overview
Name:	Swallow-class sloop
Preceded by:	Cruizer class
Succeeded by:	Racer class
Built:	1854–1857
In commission:	1856–1876
Completed:	4
Scrapped:	4
General characteristics
Displacement:	625 tons
Tons burthen:	484 68/94 bm
Length:	139 ft (42.4 m) (gundeck); 120 ft 6 in (36.7 m) (keel);
Beam:	27 ft 10 in (8.5 m)
Depth of hold:	13 ft 5 in (4.1 m)
Installed power:	60 nhp; 182–224 ihp (136–167 kW);
Propulsion:	Single screw; two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine;
Sail plan:	Barque rig
Speed:	Approximately 7 knots (13 km/h)
Complement:	120
Armament:	1 × 32-pdr gun (58 cwt) on pivot; 8 × 32-pdr (25 cwt) carronades;

The Swallow-class sloop was a 9-gun wooden screw sloop class of four ships built for the Royal Navy between 1854 and 1857.

Design

Built of a traditional wooden construction, the Swallow class were intended as "type of screw vessel below the Cruizer".[1]

The class were armed with a single 32-pounder gun (58cwt) gun on a pivot mount and eight 32-pounder (25cwt) carronades on the broadside. These guns were all smoothbore muzzle-loading, and were little changed from the standard guns of Nelson's era.[1]

Propulsion was provided by a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine developing 60 nominal horsepower and an indicated horsepower of between 182 indicated horsepower (136 kW) and 224 indicated horsepower (167 kW). Propulsion was applied through a single screw and at maximum power under steam, top speed was about 7 knots (13 km/h). A barque rig of sails was carried, which meant the ships of the class had three masts with a square rig on the fore and main masts.[1]

Ships

The first two ships were ordered on 5 July 1852, Ariel on 2 April 1853 and Lyra on 3 April 1854.[1]

Name	Ship Builder[1]	Laid down[1]	Launched[1]	Fate[1]
Curlew	Deptford Dockyard	19 October 1852	31 May 1854	Sold for breaking on 39 August 1865
Swallow	Pembroke Dockyard	30 August 1853	12 June 1854	Became a survey ship in 1861. Sold for breaking in December 1866
Ariel	Pembroke Dockyard	November 1853	11 July 1854	Sold for breaking 23 May 1865
Lyra	Deptford Dockyard	8 July 1854	26 March 1857	Broken up in 1876

Citations

Winfield (2004) p.215 - 216

References

Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6.

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[RW-1] Winfield (2004) p.215 - 216