View source for Driver-class sloop

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Driver.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Driver''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Driver''-class paddle sloop 
|Builders=
|Operators={{Navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{sclass|Alecto|sloop|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Bulldog|sloop|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=''Driver'': £39,707<ref group=Note>A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|39707|1838|r=-2}}}} in today's money.</ref>
|Built range= 1840-1846
|In service range=
|In commission range= 1841–1870s
|Total ships completed=12
|Total ships retired=12
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption={{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}
|Ship type=Wooden paddle [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]]
|Ship tons burthen={{frac|1,055|62|94}} [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]
|Ship displacement=1,590 tons
|Ship length={{convert|180|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|21|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} 
|Ship sail plan=[[Brig|Brig-rigged]]
|Ship power=280–300 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] (except ''Devastation'' and ''Sphinx'')
|Ship propulsion=
*2-cylinder direct-acting steam engine (except ''Spiteful'', ''Devastation'' and ''Sphinx'')
*Paddles
|Ship complement=149 (later 160)
|Ship armament=
*''As built'':
*2 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
*2 × 68-pounder (64 cwt) guns
*2 × 42-pounder (22 cwt) [[carronade]]s
*''After 1856'':
*1 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
*1 × 68-pounder (95 cwt) gun
*4 × 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns
*''Later'':
*1 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
*1 × [[RBL 7 inch Armstrong gun|110 pdr Armstrong gun]]
*4 × 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Driver'' class''' were a [[Ship class|class]] of  [[Paddle steamer|paddlewheel]] [[steam sloop]]s of the British [[Royal Navy]]. Six ''Driver''-class ships were ordered in 1840 and a further ten in March 1841, although only six were built. Five were ordered in 1847, but all were either built as paddle frigates or cancelled. Two wrecked in service, while the rest served until being retired and were either broken up or sold.

==Design==
The ships were designed by [[Sir William Symonds]]. They were built of wood, displaced 1,590 tons and had a length on the gundeck of {{convert|180|ft|m|1}}.{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}

===Propulsion===
Power was provided by a two-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engine]] driving paddle wheels. ''Spiteful'' had a [[Marine steam engine#Side-lever|side-lever steam engine]], ''Devastation'' had a 4-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Siamese|'Siamese' steam engine]] and ''Sphinx'' had a 2-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Oscillating|oscillating steam engine]]. The engines developed between 280 and 300 [[nominal horsepower]], apart from ''Devastation'' (400 nhp) and ''Sphinx'' (500 nhp). All the ships were capable of about {{convert|9|kn|km/h}} under steam, with the more powerful ''Devastation'' and ''Sphinx'' making 10 or 12 knots.{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}} A [[brig]] rig was fitted for operating under sail.

===Armament===
All three ships were armed with two {{Convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}} (84 cwt) guns on pivot mounts, two 68-pounder (64 cwt) guns and two 42-pounder (22 cwt) [[carronade]]s.<ref group=Note>"cwt", or "[[hundredweight]]" refers to the weight of the gun itself. "42-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired.</ref>{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}} In 1856 the armament was changed to a single 10-inch pivot gun, a 68-pounder (95 cwt) gun and four 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns.  Later, the 68-pounder was replaced by a [[RBL 7 inch Armstrong gun|110 pdr Armstrong gun]] breech-loading gun.{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}

===Crew===
They had a complement of approximately 149 men, increasing later to 160.{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}

=== Construction ===
Six ''Driver''-class ships were ordered in 1840<ref name="BCVE">{{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Norman |title=British Cruisers of the Victorian Era |date=2012 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=9781473853126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOWZBgAAQBAJ&dq=HMS+Growler+%281841%29+Driver+class&pg=PA56 |access-date=9 November 2018}}</ref> and a further ten in March 1841, although only six were built. Five were ordered in 1847, but all were either built as paddle frigates or cancelled.{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}

==Ships==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship builder{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}||Laid down{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}||Launched{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}||Commissioned{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}||Fate{{sfnp|Winfield|2004|p=160}}
|-
|{{HMS|Driver|1840|2}}||Portsmouth Dockyard||June 1840||24 December 1840||5 November 1841||Wrecked on [[Mayaguana]] Island in the Bahamas on 3 August 1861
|-
|{{HMS|Styx|1840|2}}||Sheerness Dockyard||22 June 1840||26 January 1841||4 October 1841||Broken up 1866
|-
|{{HMS|Vixen|1841|2}}||Pembroke Dockyard||June 1840||4 February 1841||28 December 1841||Broken up 12 November 1862
|-
|{{HMS|Devastation|1841|2}}||Woolwich Dockyard||27 July 1840||3 July 1841||30 November 1841||Broken up September 1866
|-
|{{HMS|Geyser|1841|2}}||Pembroke Dockyard||August 1840||6 April 1841||8 March 1842||Broken up 1866
|-
|{{HMS|Growler|1841|2}}||Chatham Dockyard||January 1841||20 July 1841||9 March 1842||Broken up at Portsmouth by January 1854
|-
|{{HMS|Thunderbolt|1842|2}}||Portsmouth Dockyard||April 1841||13 January 1842||8 February 1843||Wrecked on Cape Recife, [[Algoa Bay]], South Africa 3 February 1847
|-
|{{HMS|Cormorant|1842|2}}||Sheerness Dockyard||17 May 1841||29 March 1842||28 June 1843||Broken up at Deptford by August 1853
|-
|{{HMS|Spiteful|1842|2}}||Pembroke Dockyard||August 1841||24 March 1842||24 March 1843||Sold September 1883
|-
|{{HMS|Eclair|1843|2}}||Woolwich Dockyard||August 1841||31 May 1843||9 September 1844||Originally ''Infernal'' (renamed 26 August 1844 before commissioning. Renamed ''Rosamund'' 14 October 1846. Floating factory 1863. Broken up 1865
|-
|{{HMS|Virago|1842|2}}||Chatham Dockyard||15 November 1841||25 July 1842||29 July 1843||Broken up at Chatham November 1876
|-
|{{HMS|Sphinx|1846|2}}||Woolwich Dockyard||May 1844||17 February 1845||3 November 1846||Broken up at Devonport September 1881
|-
|''Rattler''||-||-||-||-||Ordered 1841, but changed to {{sclass|Alecto|sloop|2}}, then re-ordered as the screw sloop {{HMS|Rattler|1843|2}}
|-
|''Bulldog''||-||-||-||-||Design lengthened, becoming the first ship of the {{sclass|Bulldog|sloop|4}}
|-
|''Inflexible''||-||-||-||-||Built as ''Bulldog'' class
|-
|''Scourge''||-||-||-||-||Built as ''Bulldog'' class
|-
|''Furious''||-||-||-||-||Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
|-
|''Magicienne''||-||-||-||-||Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
|-
|''Resolute''||-||-||-||-||Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate and finally cancelled in 1850
|-
|''Tiger''||-||-||-||-||Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
|-
|''Valorous''||-||-||-||-||Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFWinfield2004}}
* {{winfield}}

{{Driver class sloop}}
{{Royal Navy paddle sloops}}

[[Category:Paddle sloops of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Sloop classes]]