Racer-class sloop

The Racer-class sloop 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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[1]

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.[1]

Name	Ship Builder[1]	Laid down[1]	Launched[1]	Fate[1]
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

Citations

1. Winfield (2004) p.216
2. Bastock, p.29.

References

• Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
• Jones, Colin (1996). "Entente Cordiale, 1865". In McLean, David & Preston, Antony (eds.). Warship 1996. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-685-X.
• 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.