HMS Shearwater was a Kingfisher-class

Kingfisher class sloop

The Kingfisher class was a class of nine patrol sloops of the British Royal Navy built in three groups of three each during the 1930s, that saw service during World War II.- Design :...

 sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Shearwater was laid down at J. Samuel White

J. Samuel White

J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...

, Cowes

Cowes

Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...

 on 15 August 1938. She was launched on 18 April 1939 and commissioned on 7 September 1939. She served during the Second World War and survived to be sold for scrapping on 21 April 1947. She was broken up by Stockton Ship & Salvage Company.

She was the fictional HMS Winger in Nicholas Monsarrat

Nicholas Monsarrat

Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat RNVR was a British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea and Three Corvettes , but perhaps best known internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe.- Early life :Born...

's book 'Corvette Command' of the Three Corvettes series. This vessel was also the very first sloop to be commanded by an RNVR officer.