The Driver class were a class of paddlewheel steam sloops 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 .
Propulsion Power was provided by a two-cylinder direct-acting steam engine driving paddle wheels. Spiteful had a side-lever steam engine, Devastation had a 4-cylinder 'Siamese' steam engine and Sphinx had a 2-cylinder 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 under steam, with the more powerful Devastation and Sphinx making 10 or 12 knots. A brig rig was fitted for operating under sail.
Armament All three ships were armed with two (84 cwt) guns on pivot mounts, two 68-pounder (64 cwt) guns and two 42-pounder (22 cwt) carronades."cwt", or "hundredweight" refers to the weight of the gun itself. "42-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired. 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 110 pdr Armstrong gun breech-loading gun.
Crew They had a complement of approximately 149 men, increasing later to 160.
Construction 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.
Ships NameShip builderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFatePortsmouth DockyardJune 184024 December 18405 November 1841Wrecked on Mayaguana Island in the Bahamas on 3 August 1861Sheerness Dockyard22 June 184026 January 18414 October 1841Broken up 1866Pembroke DockyardJune 18404 February 184128 December 1841Broken up 12 November 1862Woolwich Dockyard27 July 18403 July 184130 November 1841Broken up September 1866Pembroke DockyardAugust 18406 April 18418 March 1842Broken up 1866Chatham DockyardJanuary 184120 July 18419 March 1842Broken up at Portsmouth by January 1854Portsmouth DockyardApril 184113 January 18428 February 1843Wrecked on Cape Recife, Algoa Bay, South Africa 3 February 1847Sheerness Dockyard17 May 184129 March 184228 June 1843Broken up at Deptford by August 1853Pembroke DockyardAugust 184124 March 184224 March 1843Sold September 1883Woolwich DockyardAugust 184131 May 18439 September 1844Originally Infernal (renamed 26 August 1844 before commissioning. Renamed Rosamund 14 October 1846. Floating factory 1863. Broken up 1865Chatham Dockyard15 November 184125 July 184229 July 1843Broken up at Chatham November 1876Woolwich DockyardMay 184417 February 18453 November 1846Broken up at Devonport September 1881Rattler----Ordered 1841, but changed to , then re-ordered as the screw sloop Bulldog----Design lengthened, becoming the first ship of the Inflexible----Built as Bulldog classScourge----Built as Bulldog classFurious----Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigateMagicienne----Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigateResolute----Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate and finally cancelled in 1850Tiger----Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigateValorous----Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
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