Hunter-class sloop

The Hunter class was a class of two sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1755 and 1756. Both were built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Thomas Slade, the Surveyor of the Navy.

Class overview
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Bonetta class
Succeeded by	Alderney class
Built	1755-1756
In commission	1756-1780
Completed	2
Lost	1
General characteristics (common design)
Type	Sloop-of-war
Tons burthen	223 62⁄94 bm
Length	88 ft 3 in (26.9 m) (gundeck) 73 ft 0 in (22.3 m) (keel)
Beam	24 ft 3 in (7.4 m)
Depth of hold	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Sail plan	Snow rig
Complement	100
Armament	10 × short 6-pounder guns; also 12 x ½-pounder swivel guns

Both were ordered on 5 August 1755, and contracts with the builders were agreed on 8 August. They were two-masted (snow-rigged) vessels, although the Hunter was built with a 'pink' or very narrow stern (and a keel 3 feet longer than the original design), while her sister Viper had a traditional 'square' stern.

Hunter was captured by two American privateers off Boston on 23 November 1775, but was retaken by HMS Greyhound the following day.

Vessels

Name	Ordered	Builder	Launched	Notes
Hunter	5 August 1755	Thomas Stanton and William Wells, Rotherhithe	28 February 1756	Sold by auction at New York City on 27 December 1780.
Viper	5 August 1755	Thomas West, Deptford	31 March 1756	Wrecked 15 December 1779 in the Thames Estuary.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• McLaughlan, Ian. The Sloop of War 1650-1763. Seaforth Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1-84832-187-8.
• Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.