Racer-class sloop
The Racer-class sloop was 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 gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder 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.| Name | Ship Builder | Laid down | Launched | Fate |
| Pembroke Dockyard | October 1855 | 3 July 1856 | Sold for breaking on 12 May 1870 | |
| Deptford Dockyard | 1 October 1856 | 4 November 1857 | Broken up in 1876 | |
| Pembroke Dockyard | December 1856 | 29 December 1857 | Broken up in February 1877 | |
| Deptford Dockyard | 7 April 1857 | 22 October 1858 | Sold for breaking on 23 January 1875 | |
| Devonport Dockyard | 2 November 1857 | 26 September 1860 | Sold for breaking on 18 September 1867 |