The Rosario class was a class of seven screw-sloops

Screw sloop

A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's screws...

 of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1860 and 1862. A further six vessels were ordered and laid down, but were cancelled in 1863 before launch. This was the last class of purely wooden sloops built for the Royal Navy.

Design

The Rosario class were designed in 1858 by Issac Watts, the Director of Naval Construction

Director of Naval Construction

The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

. They were built of wood, were rated for 11 guns and were built with a full ship rig of sails (this was reduced to a barque rig

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

 by about 1869). With a length overall of 160 feet (48.8 m) and a beam of 30 in 4 in (9.25 m), they had a displacement of 913 tonnes. These were the last sloops constructed for the Royal Navy to retain all-wooden construction; their successors, the Amazon class

Amazon class sloop

The Amazon class was a class of six screw sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1865 and 1866.-Design:Designed by Edward Reed, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, they were equipped with a ram bow...

, incorporated iron cross beams.

Propulsion

All the completed vessels, with the exception of Shearwater, were fitted with a Greenock Foundry Company two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. With an indicated horsepower of between 436 hp and 627 hp they were capable of about 9 knots (17.6 km/h) under steam. Shearwaters R & W Hawthorn engine was similar in design and power.

Armament

As designed, ships of the class carried a single slide-mounted 40-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun, six 32-pounder muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns and four pivot-mounted 20-pounder Armstrong breech loaders. By 1869 the armament had been reduced to a single 7 inches (177.8 mm) muzzle-loading gun and two 40-pounders.

HMS Rosario

Rosario served a four-year commission on the North America and West Indies Station and then served an eight-year commission in Australia

Australia Station

The Australia Station was the British—and later Australian—naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.-History:In the early years following the establishment of the colony of New South Wales, ships based in Australian waters came under the control of the East Indies...

. She paid off in Sheerness in 1875 and was broken up nearly ten years later.

HMS Peterel

Peterel served three commissions as a warship, on the North America and West Indies Station, the Cape of Good Hope Station and the Pacific Station

Pacific Station

The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...

. In 1877 she became a lightship marking the wreck of Vanguard

HMS Vanguard (1869)

The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was an Audacious-class central-battery ironclad battleship, launched in 1870.Vanguard — under the command of Captain Richard Dawkins, sailed out of Kingstown harbour on 27 August 1875 in company with three other ironclads, , and...

, then in 1885 she was converted into a coal depot before finally being sold in 1901, the longest lived of her class.

HMS Rapid

Rapid served a commission on the Cape of Good Hope Station

Cape of Good Hope Station

The Cape of Good Hope Station was one of the geographical divisions into which the British Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope....

 and then two commissions with the Mediterranean Fleet before being broken up at Malta after more than 20 years service.

HMS Shearwater

Shearwater spent a single six-year commission on the Pacific Station and was then converted into a survey vessel. Under George Strong Nares and later William Wharton

William Wharton (hydrographer)

Admiral Sir William James Lloyd Wharton KCB FRS was a British admiral and Hydrographer of the Navy.-Early life:He was born in London, the second son of Robert Wharton, County Court Judge of York. He was educated at Barney's Academy, Gosport and the Royal Naval Academy.-Royal Navy service:He joined...

 (later Hydrographer of the Navy) she surveyed around the Mediterranean and the East coast of Africa. She was broken up at Sheerness in 1877.

HMS Royalist

Royalist served both her commissions on the North America and West Indies Station, being commanded between 1865 and 1866 by Maurice Horatio Nelson, son of Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson

Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson

Thomas Nelson, 2nd Earl Nelson, born Thomas Bolton , was the 2nd Earl Nelson.He was the son of Thomas Bolton and Susannah Nelson, daughter of the Rev. Edmund Nelson and was educated at Norwich High School and St Peter's College, Cambridge, graduating MA in 1814. He was the nephew of Admiral...

 and great nephew to Horatio Nelson. She was broken up at Chatham in 1875.

HMS Columbine

Columbine served briefly in the Channel Squadron before moving to the Pacific Station. Her second commission was on the East Indies Station

East Indies Station

The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...

, which at the time was involved in a long campaign to combat slavery in the area. Like Royalist, she was broken up at Chatham in 1875.

HMS Africa

Of all the class, Africa had by far the shortest career in the Royal Navy, but one of the most unusual. Sold to the Imperial Chinese Customs shortly after launch, and renamed China, she became part of Sherard Osborn

Sherard Osborn

Sherard Osborn , was a Royal Navy admiral and Arctic explorer.-Early life:Born in Madras, he was the son of an Indian army officer...

's "Vampire Fleet", along with Jasper and Mohawk. The venture came to nothing when it became apparent that command would not rest with the Emperor, but instead with local Mandarins. Osborn resigned his command, and the ships were resold to the Egyptian government in the mid-1860s.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
	Deptford Dockyard	17 October 1860	Prison ship for young criminals in South Australia from 1874, sold for breaking 31 January 1884
	Devonport Dockyard	10 November 1860	Light vessel from 1877, coal hulk from 1885, sold October 1901
	Deptford Dockyard	29 November 1860	Broken up at Malta in September 1881
	Pembroke Dockyard	17 October 1861	Broken up at Sheerness in 1877
	Devonport Dockyard	14 December 1861	Broken up at Chatham in 1875
	Deptford Dockyard	2 April 1862	Broken up at Chatham in 1875
	Devonport Dockyard	14 February 1862	Sold to Chinese Imperial Customs 18 August 1862, renamed China and sailed to join Sherard Osborn Sherard Osborn Sherard Osborn , was a Royal Navy admiral and Arctic explorer.-Early life:Born in Madras, he was the son of an Indian army officer... 's "Vampire Fleet". Resold to the Egyptian Government 30 December 1865.
Circassian (ex-Enterprise)	Deptford Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863
Acheron	Deptford Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863
Bittern	Devonport Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863
Fame	Deptford Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863
Cynthia	Devonport Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863
Sabrina	Pembroke Dockyard	-	Cancelled 12 December 1863