Wolf-class sloop

The Wolf class was a class of three sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy during 1741–43. They were ordered in 1741, 1742 and 1743 respectively, and were the first to increase significantly in size from the 200 burthen tons which had been the normal size from 1728; they were to a common design prepared by Jacob Allin, the Surveyor of the Navy. For the latter two vessels, the design was modified by the addition of 6 inches to their depth in hold.

Class overview
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Drake class
Succeeded by:	Baltimore class
Built:	1741–1743
In commission:	1742–1763
Completed:	3
Lost:	2
General characteristics (common design)
Type:	Sloop-of-war
Tons burthen:	243 ​^74⁄94 bm
Length:	87 ft 6 in (26.7 m) (gundeck) 73 ft 4.75 in (22.4 m) (keel)
Beam:	25 ft 0 in (7.6 m)
Depth of hold:	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) (Wolf) 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) (Otter and Grampus)
Sail plan:	Snow
Complement:	110
Armament:	10 (later 14) × 4-pounder guns; also 12/14 x ½-pounder swivel guns

Although initially armed with ten 4-pounder guns, this class was built with eight pairs of gunports on the upper deck (each port flanked by two pairs of row-ports), and the two survivors in 1744 had their ordnance increased to fourteen guns.

Vessels

Name	Ordered	Builder	Launched	Notes
Wolf	21 July 1741	Thomas West, Deptford	27 February 1742	Wrecked 31 December 1748 in Dundrum Bay.
Otter	23 January 1742	John Buxton, Jnr., Rotherhithe	19 August 1742	Sold 16 June 1763.
Grampus	5 February 1743	Philemon Perry, Blackwall	27 July 1743	Captured by the French 30 September 1744.

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.