Cruizer - class sloop The " Cruizer " class was a class of 17 - gun wooden screw sloop s built for the Royal Navy between 1852 and 1856 , comprising six vessels . Design . The wooden sloops of the " Cruizer " class were designed under the direction of Lord John Hay , and after his " Committee of Reference " was disbanded , their construction was supervised by the new Surveyor of the Navy , Sir Baldwin Walker . A pair of ships named " Cracker " and " Hornet " had been ordered from Deptford and Woolwich in April 1847 as " steam gun schooners " , with the intention of ordering four more . They were suspended in August 1847 , and the new ships " Cruizer " and " Hornet " were re - ordered on 1 November 1850 . " Harrier " was ordered in 1851 , " Fawn " in 1852 , and both " Falcon " and " Alert " on 2 April 1853 . " Cruizer " differed from the rest of the class in having a lower - rated geared engine and a displacement of 960 tons , compared to 1 , 045 tons for the rest of the class . Propulsion . Their two - cylinder horizontal single - expansion steam engines generated an indicated horsepower of between and ; driving a single screw , this gave a maximum speed of between and . Sail plan . All ships of the class were built with a barque - rig sail plan . Armament . All the ships of the class were provided with one 32 - pounder ( 56cwt ) long gun on a pivot mount and sixteen 32 - pounder ( 32cwt ) carriage guns in a broadside arrangement . " Alert " had her guns reduced to four Armstrong breech - loaders in 1874 as part of her conversion to an Arctic exploration vessel . Development . The " Greyhound " - class sloop of 1855 was essentially a " Cruizer " - class design adapted to carry a more powerful engine developing an indicated horsepower of up to , giving a top speed under steam of . The second and last ship of the " Greyhound " class , " Mutine " , had originally been ordered as the seventh vessel of the " Cruiser " class . Operational histories . " Cruizer " . From 1853 to 1856 , " Cruizer " took part in the Baltic campaign of the Russian War . Renamed " Cruiser " in 1856 , she served on the China station during the Second Opium War , including the taking of Canton and the attack on the Taku Forts on the Peiho river in 1859 . Laid up in Portsmouth from 1861 to 1866 , she recomissioned for the Mediterranean , where she served until 1870 . She became part of the Steam Reserve in 1870 , but in 1872 she recommissioned in Portsmouth for service as a sail training ship in the Mediterranean , for which role her engines were removed . In May 1893 she was renamed " Lark " and in 1912 she was sold at Malta . " Hornet " . " Hornet " served in the Baltic in 1854 during the Russian War , and from 1854 until 1859 she served in the East Indies and in China , taking part in the Second Opium War . After a refit in 1859 - 1860 she recommissioned for the Cape of Good Hope Station and served both there and on the East Indies Station . She paid off at Portsmouth on 22 September 1864 and was broken up by White of Cowes in 1868 . " Harrier " . From 1854 to 1856 " Harrier " took part in the Russian War as part of the naval force in the Baltic . She served on the South Atlantic Station before refitting in Portsmouth in 1860 . She recommissioned on 29 October 1860 for the Australia Station , where she took part in the New Zealand War . Her captain , Commander Edward Hay , was killed on 30 April 1864 during the storming of Gate Pā , and his Coxswain , Samuel Mitchell , was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery . " Harrier " paid off at Portsmouth on 31 March 1865 and was broken up the next year . " Fawn " . " Fawn " commissioned at Sheerness on 30 October 1859 and until 1863 served on the Australia Station . She refitted at Sheerness in 1863 , and from 1864 to 1868 served on the North America and West Indies Station . After a second refit at Sheerness in 1869 she went to the Pacific Station , where she remained until 1875 . In 1876 she was converted to a survey ship , and in this role she surveyed areas of the east coast of Africa , the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean . On 6 April 1883 she paid off , and she was broken up the next year . " Falcon " . " Falcon " served in the Baltic during the Russian War before transferring to the North America and West Indies station , where she served until 1857 . She refitted in Portsmouth in 1858 , then served on the West Coast of Africa from 1859 to 1862 . She refitted again in Portsmouth during 1863 before spending the rest of her active life on the Australia Station . During this period she took part in the New Zealand Wars . She paid off at Woolwich on 3 October 1868 and was sold on 27 September 1869 to C Marshall for breaking at Plymouth . " Alert " . From 1857 to 1868 " Alert " served on the Pacific Station , with a refit in Plymouth in 1862 . In 1874 she was converted for Arctic exploration ; her engines were replaced with R & W Hawthorn compound - expansion engines , she was reboilered to , she was reduced to four guns and her hull was strengthened with felt - covered iron and teak sheathing . The modifications caused her displacement to increase to 1 , 240 tons . During the British Arctic Expedition of 1875 - 76 " Alert " reached a latitude of 82°N , and her second - in - command , Commander Albert Hastings Markham , took a sledge party as far as 83° 20 ' 26 " N , a record at the time . She was used to survey the Strait of Magellan , as well as Canadian and Australian waters , and on 20 February 1884 was loaned to the US Navy to assist in the rescue of the expedition under Adolphus Greely . In 1885 she was transferred again to the Canadian Government for survey in the Hudson Bay area , on completion of which she was employed as a lighthouse supply vessel and buoy tender . She was laid up in November 1894 and sold , the bill of exchange being forwarded to the Admiralty , since she was still officially on loan . Alert , Nunavut , the northernmost permanently inhabited place on earth , is named after her .