![]() HMS Icarus
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Class overview | |
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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 |
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Beam | 29 ft 1 in (8.9 m) |
Depth of hold | 15 ft 10 in (4.8 m) |
Installed power | |
Propulsion |
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Sail plan | Barque rig |
Speed | Approximately 10 knots (19 km/h) |
Complement | 120 |
Armament |
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The Racer-class sloop also known as the Cordelia class of swift cruisers[1] was an 11-gun wooden screw sloop class of five ships built for the Royal Navy between 1855 and 1860.
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[2]
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.[2]
Name | Ship Builder[2] | Laid down[2] | Launched[2] | Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 |