Racer-class sloop

The Racer-class sloop also known as the Cordelia class of swift cruisers^[1] was an 11-gun wooden screw sloop class of five ships built for the Royal Navy between 1855 and 1860.

HMS Icarus
Class overview
Name	Racer class
Preceded by	Swallow class
Succeeded by	Greyhound class
Built	1855 - 1860
In commission	1856 - 1877
Completed	5
Scrapped	5
General characteristics
Type	Sloop
Displacement	861 tons
Tons burthen	577 30/94 bm
Length	151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck) 131 ft 3.75 in (40.0 m) (keel)
Beam	29 ft 1 in (8.9 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft 10 in (4.8 m)
Installed power	150 nhp 461–617 ihp (344–460 kW)
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine Single screw
Sail plan	Barque rig
Speed	Approximately 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement	120
Armament	1 × 32-pdr gun (58cwt) on pivot 10 × 32-pdr (25cwt) carronades

Design

Built of a traditional wooden construction, the Racer class were a lengthened version of the Swallow-class sloop, which in turn had been intended as "type of screw vessel below the Cruizer". The extra length gave greater speed, and combined with a considerable increase in power, this gave a speed of about 10 knots (19 km/h), rather more than the 7 knots (13 km/h) of the previous class.^[2]

The class were armed with a single 32-pounder gun (58 cwt) gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder (25 cwt) carronades on the broadside. These guns were all smoothbore muzzle-loading, and were little changed from the standard guns of Nelson's era.^[3]

Propulsion was provided by a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine developing 461 indicated horsepower (344 kW) and driving a single screw. At maximum power under steam, top speed was about 10 knots (19 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.^[2]

Ships

The first three ships were ordered on 3 April 1854, although both Cordelia and Gannet were ordered as Swallow-class sloops, with the design being changed before construction. Icarus was ordered on 3 February 1855 and Pantaloon was ordered on 1 April 1857.^[2]

Name	Ship Builder[2]	Laid down[2]	Launched[2]	Fate[2]
Cordelia	Pembroke Dockyard	October 1855	3 July 1856	Sold for breaking on 12 May 1870
Racer	Deptford Dockyard	1 October 1856	4 November 1857	Broken up in 1876
Gannet	Pembroke Dockyard	December 1856	29 December 1857	Broken up in February 1877
Icarus	Deptford Dockyard	7 April 1857	22 October 1858	Sold for breaking on 23 January 1875
Pantaloon	Devonport Dockyard	2 November 1857	26 September 1860	Sold for breaking on 18 September 1867