Merlin-class sloop
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Baltimore class |
| Succeeded by | Hind class |
| Built | 1744-1746 |
| In commission | 1744-1780 |
| Completed | 21 |
| Lost | 7 |
| General characteristics (common design) | |
| Type | Sloop-of-war |
| Tons burthen | 268 77⁄94 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 26 ft 0 in (7.9 m) |
| Depth of hold |
|
| Sail plan | Snow brig |
| Complement | 110 |
| Armament |
|
The Merlin class was a class of twenty-one sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1743 and 1746. They were all built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Jacob Acworth, the Surveyor of the Navy.
The first two - Swallow and Merlin - were ordered on 7 July 1743 to be built to replace two ex-Spanish vessels (the Galgo and Peregrine's Prize, both captured in 1742, and put into service by the British). Although initially armed with ten 6-pounder guns, this class was built with seven pairs of gunports on the upper deck, enabling them to be re-armed with fourteen 6-pounders later in their careers.
Two more vessels to the same design - Speedwell and Falcon - were ordered on 30 March 1744; another two were ordered five days later - Hazard and Lizard; four more followed on 23 May - Hinchingbrooke, Tavistock, Hound and Hornet; and three others were ordered later that year - Raven on 27 August, Swan on 6 October and Badger on 10 October. On 5 April 1745 five more were ordered - a second Falcon (named to replace the first, captured in the same year), Scorpion, a second Swallow (similarly to replace the first, wrecked in 1744), Kingfisher and Dispatch - and a single vessel - Viper was ordered on 11 April. A final pair - Grampus and Saltash - were ordered on 9 January 1746.
Vessels
| Name | Ordered | Builder | Launched | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swallow | 7 July 1743 | John Buxton, Jnr., Deptford |
17 February 1744 | Wrecked 24 December 1744 in the Bahamas. |
| Merlin | 7 July 1743 | Greville & Whetsone, Limehouse |
20 March 1744 | Sold 16 November 1748 at Plymouth. |
| Speedwell | 30 March 1744 | John Buxton, Jnr., Deptford |
9 November 1744 | Sold 13 November 1750 at Deptford. |
| Falcon | 30 March 1744 | John Barnard, Harwich |
12 November 1744 | Captured by the French 28 September 1745, retaken 6 March 1746 and renamed Fortune, sold 20 March 1770 at Woolwich. |
| Hazard | 4 April 1744 | John Buxton, Snr., Rotherhithe |
11 December 1744 | Captured by the Jacobites 24 November 1745 and handed over to the French; retaken 25 March 1746, sold 7 September 1749 at Deptford. |
| Lizard | 4 April 1744 | Philemon Ewer, Bursledon |
22 December 1744 | Wrecked 27 February 1748 in the Isles of Scilly. |
| Hinchingbrooke | 23 May 1744 | Moody Janvrin, Bursledon |
8 March 1745 | Captured by the French 10 December 1746 off Berry Head. |
| Tavistock | 23 May 1744 | John Darley, Gosport |
22 March 1745 | Renamed Albany on 20 August 1747, sold 3 May 1763 at Woolwich. |
- Hound - sold 1773.
- Hornet - sold 1770.
- Raven - sold 1763.
- Swan - sold 1763.
- Badger - wrecked 1762.
- Falcon - wrecked 1759.
- Scorpion - wrecked 1762.
- Swallow - sold 1769.
- Kingfisher - sold 1763.
- Dispatch - sold 1773.
- Viper - renamed Lightning and converted to a fireship in 1755, sold 1762.
- Grampus - converted to a fireship in 1762, renamed Strombolo in 1771, sold 1780.
- Saltash - sold 1773.
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.