The Bonetta group was a batch of eight 200-ton sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy during 1732. They followed on two previous sloops - the Grampus and the larger Wolf - built a year earlier. Seven were ordered on 4 May 1732 to a common specification prepared by Jacob Acworth, the Surveyor of the Navy. An additional vessel – Trial (which had been ordered on 16 November 1731, but suspended on 7 January 1732) – was re-ordered on 6 July to be built to the same specification. The actual individual design was left up to the Master Shipwright in each Royal Dockyard at which they were built (except for Hound and Trial, which were built by Deptford's Master Shipwright – Richard Stacey – but were to a design by Jacob Acworth). All the draughts were approved by the Navy Board on 28 June 1732.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Grampus class |
| Succeeded by | Drake class |
| Built | 1732 |
| In commission | 1732–1751 |
| Completed | 8 |
| Lost | 2 |
| Retired | 6 |
| General characteristics (common specification) | |
| Type | Sloop-of-war |
| Tons burthen | 200 bm |
| Length | (see individual vessels) |
| Beam | (see individual vessels) |
| Depth of hold | (see individual vessels) |
| Sail plan | Snow |
| Complement | 80 |
| Armament |
|
Although fitted with snow rigs and initially armed with eight 3-pounder guns (except Shark which was rigged as a ketch and fitted with eight 4-pounders), this group was built with seven pairs of gunports on the upper deck (each port flanked by two pairs of row-ports).
Vessels
edit| Name | Laid down | Dockyard | Launched | Completed | First cost (including fitting out) |
Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shark | 4 July 1732 | Portsmouth Dockyard | 7 September 1732 | 23 September 1732 | £2,887.6.10d | Sold 2 December 1755 at Deptford Dockyard. |
| Bonetta | 5 July 1732 | Woolwich Dockyard | 24 August 1732 | 1 September 1732 | £2,728.1.2d | Wrecked 20 October 1746 off Jamaica. |
| Fly | 7 July 1732 | Sheerness Dockyard | 15 September 1732 | 18 October 1732 | £2,600.17.6d | Taken to pieces 11 February 1751 at Sheerness Dockyard |
| Spy | 10 July 1732 | Chatham Dockyard | 25 August 1732 | 9 September 1732 | £2,777.3.1d | Sold 25 April 1745 at Portsmouth Dockyard. |
| Saltash | 10 July 1732 | Plymouth Dockyard | 7 September 1732 | 31 October 1732 | £2,705.3.10d | Sold 22 October 1741 at Plymouth Dockyard |
| Cruizer | 11 July 1732 | Deptford Dockyard | 6 September 1732 | 23 September 1732 | £2,663.5.53⁄4d | Sold 22 January 1745 at Deptford Dockyard. |
| Hound | 11 July 1732 | Deptford Dockyard | 6 September 1732 | 18 September 1732 | £2,690.16.4d | Taken to pieces June 1745 at Deptford Dockyard. |
| Trial | 11 July 1732 | Deptford Dockyard | 6 September 1732 | 29 September 1732 | £2,583.10.21⁄4d | Scuttled as unserviceable on 4 October 1741 off Valparaiso. |
The following is a list of the dimensions and tonnages of the individual vessels:
| Name | Designer | Length (gundeck) |
Length (keel) |
Beam | Depth in hold |
Burthen tonnage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shark | Joseph Allin | 80 ft 0 in (24.4 m) | 63 ft 0 in (19.2 m) | 24 ft 6 in (7.5 m) | 9 ft 11.25 in (3.0 m) | 201 13⁄94 bm |
| Bonetta | John Hayward | 81 ft 4 in (24.8 m) | 65 ft 6 in (20.0 m) | 24 ft 0 in (7.3 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.0 m) | 200 64⁄94 bm |
| Fly | John Ward | 86 ft 6 in (26.4 m) | 69 ft 7 in (21.2 m) | 23 ft 3 in (7.1 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) | 200 3⁄94 bm |
| Spy | Benjamin Rosewell | 85 ft 7 in (26.1 m) | 69 ft 5 in (21.2 m) | 23 ft 4 in (7.1 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) | 200 91⁄94 bm |
| Saltash | Peirson Lock | 85 ft 7 in (26.1 m) | 69 ft 1.5 in (21.1 m) | 23 ft 4 in (7.1 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) | 200 17⁄94 bm |
| Cruizer | Richard Stacey | 87 ft 6 in (26.7 m) | 71 ft 1 in (21.7 m) | 23 ft 0 in (7.0 m) | 9 ft 5 in (2.9 m) | 200 1⁄94 bm |
| Hound | Jacob Acworth | 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m) | 68 ft 1 in (20.8 m) | 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) | 200 (exact) bm |
| Trial | Jacob Acworth | 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m) | 68 ft 1 in (20.8 m) | 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) | 200 (exact) bm |
References
edit- 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.