# Osprey-class sloop > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Osprey-class_sloop > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Osprey-class_sloop.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey-class_sloop > Source revision: 1340761624 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For other ship classes of the same name, see [Osprey class](/source/Osprey_class_(disambiguation)). The ***Osprey* class** was a [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) class of [screw](/source/Propeller)-driven [sloops](/source/Sloop-of-war) built between 1874 and 1877. Nine additional ships were built to a revised design, the [*Doterel*-class sloop](/source/Doterel-class_sloop). They were the first class of ship in the Royal Navy to use glass [scuttles](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scuttle). ## Design They were of composite construction, with wooden hulls over an iron frame. Five ships of the class were built, which had been designed in 1874 by the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)'s [Chief Constructor](/source/Director_of_Naval_Construction), [William Henry White](/source/William_Henry_White).[1] They were the first ships in the Royal Navy to have glass [scuttles](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scuttle) instead of solid plug scuttles.[1] ### Propulsion The original design, as fitted to the first two ships of the class, was a single-expansion returning-rod steam engine, but the power was insufficient, and they failed to meet the contracted speed. *Wild Swan* and *Penguin* were re-engined after their first commission to match the better engines in the rest of the class.[1] In the final installation, power was provided by three cylindrical boilers, which supplied steam at 60 pounds per square inch (410 kPa) to a two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine driving a single 13-foot 1-inch (3.99-metre) screw. The power varied wildly from ship to ship, with *Penguin* generating only 666 horsepower (497 kW) and *Pelican* managing nearly twice as much, at 1,056 horsepower (787 kW). Because of this, top speeds ranged between 10 and 12 knots.[1][Note 1] ### Armament They were armed with two [7-inch (90cwt) muzzle-loading rifled guns](/source/RML_7_inch_90_cwt_gun) on pivoting mounts, and four [64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns](/source/RML_64_pounder_64_cwt_gun) (two on pivoting mounts, and two broadside). Four machine guns and one light gun completed the weaponry. *Wild Swan* and *Pelican* later had the muzzle-loading guns replaced with two [6-inch (81cwt) breech-loaders](/source/BL_6_inch_80_pounder_gun) and six [5-inch (31cwt) breech-loaders](/source/BL_5_inch_gun_Mk_I_%E2%80%93_V).[1] ### Sail plan All the ships of the class were provided with a [barque](/source/Barque) rig,[1] that is, square-rigged foremast and mainmast, and fore-and-aft sails only on the mizzen mast. ### Crew They had a complement of approximately 140 men.[1] ### Development The design was revised in 1877 and nine ships were ordered to a modified version, the [*Doterel*-class sloop](/source/Doterel-class_sloop). Identical in many respects, the *Doterel*s lacked the graceful clipper bow of the *Osprey*s, although they benefited from more power.[1] ## Ships Name Ship Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Fate Wild Swan Robert Napier and Sons, Govan 14 September 1874 28 January 1876 23 August 1877 Renamed Clyde in 1904 as the Royal Naval Reserve drill ship at Aberdeen. Renamed Columbine in 1912. Sold for breaking up 4 May 1920 Penguin Robert Napier and Sons 14 July 1874 25 March 1876 23 August 1877 Sold as a crane hulk 1924, burnt out 13 December 1960 Osprey Sheerness Dockyard 1875 5 August 1876 19 April 1877 Sold for breaking 29 April 1890 Pelican Devonport Dockyard 8 March 1875 26 April 1877 29 November 1877 Sold as a supply ship 22 January 1901 Cormorant Chatham Dockyard 1875 12 September 1877 2 July 1878 Harbour hulk November 1889, renamed Rooke July 1946. Scrapped at Málaga in 1949 ## Notes 1. The lower power figures may be the trials figures from the initial installation in *Wild Swan* and *Pelican* and should be treated with caution. ## References 1. Winfield (2004) p.291 ## Bibliography - Ballard, G. A. (1939). "British Sloops of 1875: The Larger Ram-Bowed Type". *Mariner's Mirror*. **25** (January): 35–49. Cambridge, UK: Society for Nautical Research. - ["Great Britain and Empire Forces"](https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905*. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Osprey-class sloop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey-class_sloop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey-class_sloop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.