Hind-class sloop
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Merlin class |
| Built | 1744-1744 |
| In commission | 1744-1772 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Lost | 2 |
| General characteristics (common design) | |
| Type | Sloop-of-war |
| Tons burthen | 266 20⁄94 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 25 ft 10 in (7.9 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m) (vessels without platform in hold) |
| Sail plan | Snow brig |
| Complement | 110 |
| Armament |
|
The Hind class was a class of four sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1743 and 1746. Two were built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by Sir Joseph Allin, Surveyor to the Navy and former Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard, and the other two were built in Deptford Dockyard itself.
The first two - Hind and Vulture - were ordered on 6 August 1743 to be built to replace two ex-Spanish vessels (the Rupert's Prize and Pembroke's Prize, captured in 1741 and 1742 respectively, 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 - Jamaica and Trial - were ordered ten days later, on 18 August 1743; these were built under Allin's supervision at Deptford Dockyard, and were the only wartime sloops of this era be built in a Royal Dockyard.
Vessels
| Name | Ordered | Builder | Launched | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hind | 6 August 1743 | Philemon Perry, Blackwall |
19 April 1744 | Lost 1 September 1747 off Louisbourg. |
| Vulture (written as Vulter) | 6 August 1743 | John Greaves, Limehouse |
4 May 1744 | Sold 30 January 1761 at Portsmouth. |
| Jamaica | 18 August 1743 | Deptford Dockyard | 17 July 1744 | Wrecked 27 January 1770 off Cuba. |
| Trial | 18 August 1743 | Deptford Dockyard | 9 November 1743 | Taken to pieces 3 January 1776 at Woolwich. |
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.