Racer-class sloop
The "Racer"-class sloop also known as the "Cordelia" class of swift cruiserswas an 11-gun wooden screw sloop class of five ships built for the Royal Navy between 1855 and 1860. Design. Built of a traditional wooden construction, the "Racer" class were a lengthened version of the , which in turn had been intended as "type of screw vessel below the "Cruizer"". The extra length gave greater speed, and combined with a considerable increase in power, this gave a speed of about , rather more than the of the previous class. The class were armed with a single 32 -pounder gun (58 cwt) gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder (25 cwt) carronades on the broadside. These guns were all smoothbore muzzle-loading, and were little changed from the standard guns of Nelson's era. Propulsion was provided by a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine developing and driving a single screw. At maximum power under steam, top speed was about . A barque rig of sails was carried, which meant the ships of the class had three masts with a square rig on the fore and main masts. Ships. The first three ships were ordered on  3 April 1854, although both "Cordelia" and "Gannet" were ordered as "Swallow"-class sloops, with the design being changed before construction. "Icarus" was ordered on 3 February 1855 and "Pantaloon" was ordered on 1 April 1857.