Swallow-class sloop

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

Class overview
Name	Swallow class
Preceded by	Cruizer class
Succeeded by	Racer class
Built	1854–1857
In commission	1856–1876
Completed	4
Scrapped	4
General characteristics
Type	Sloop-of-war
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; 8.1 mph)
Complement	120
Armament	1 × 32 pdr gun (58 cwt) on pivot 8 × 32 pdr (25 cwt) carronades

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 (58 cwt) gun on a pivot mount and eight 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.^[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; 8.1 mph). 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