The Cuckoo class was a class of twelve 4-gun schooners of the Royal Navy, built by contract in English shipyards during the Napoleonic War. They followed the design of the Bermuda-designed and built Ballahoo-class schooners, and more particularly, that of Haddock. The Admiralty ordered all twelve vessels on 11 December 1805. A number of different builders in different yards built them, with all launching in 1806.
Nine of the twelve vessels were lost or disposed of during the war, the survivors being sold in 1816. Enemy forces took four, of which the British were able to retake two. Seven wrecked or foundered with a loss of about 22 crew members in all.
William James wrote scathingly of the Cuckoo and Ballahoo-class schooners, pointing out the high rate of loss, primarily to wrecking or foundering, but also to enemy action.[1] He reports that they were "sent to 'take, burn, and destroy' the vessels of war and merchantmen of the enemy". The record suggests that none seem to have done so successfully. In the only two (arguably three) cases when they did engage enemy vessels, in each case the enemy force was much stronger and the Cuckoo-class vessels were overwhelmed.
James also remarks that:
| Name | Builder | Begun | Launched | Completed | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuckoo | James Lovewell, Gt. Yarmouth | January 1806 | 12 April 1806 | 21 August 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Wrecked on the Haak Sands at the mouth of the Texel on 4 April 1810 with the loss of two crew members. | |
| Magpie | William Rowe, Newcastle | January 1806 | 17 May 1806 | 12 August 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Taken on 18 February 1807 by French troops after grounding in a storm off Perros, Brittany. As Colombe she served with the French Navy until possibly as late as 1828. | |
| Jackdaw | William Rowe, Newcastle | January 1806 | 19 May 1806 | 8 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Taken and retaken 1807; Sold at Plymouth on 1 November 1816 for £210. | |
| Landrail | Thomas Sutton, Ringmore | January 1806 | 18 June 1806 | 16 July 1806 at Plymouth Dockyard | Taken and retaken 1814; paid off October 1816 and sold c. 1818. | |
| Woodcock | Crane & Holmes, Gt. Yarmouth | February 1806 | 11 April 1806 | 23 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Wrecked 13 February 1807 at Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel in the Azores | |
| Wagtail | James Lovewell, Gt. Yarmouth | February 1806 | 12 April 1806 | 126 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Wrecked 13 February 1807 at Vila Franca do Campo, São Miguel in the Azores, three hours after Woodcock; one crew member drowned. | |
| Crane | Custance & Stone, Gt. Yarmouth | February 1806 | 26 April 1806 | 8 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Wrecked off Plymouth Hoe on 26 October 1808. | |
| Quail | Custance & Stone, Gt. Yarmouth | February 1806 | 26 April 1806 | 3 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Sold at Plymouth on 11 January 1816 for £260 after what was apparently a completely uneventful career. | |
| Pigeon | Custance & Stone, Gt. Yarmouth | February 1806 | 26 April 1806 | 8 July 1806 at Chatham Dockyard | Wrecked off Margate on 15 January 1809; two crew members died of exposure. | |
| Rook | Thomas Sutton, Ringmore | February 1806 | 21 May 1806 | 28 June 1806 at Plymouth Dockyard | Captured and burnt by two French privateers off Cape St. Nicholas (San Domingo) on 18 August 1808; three crew members killed (including her captain), and 11 wounded. | |
| Widgeon | William Wheaton, Brixham | March 1806 | 19 June 1806 | 24 May 1807 at Plymouth Dockyard | Wrecked off Banff on 20 April 1808. | |
| Sealark | William Wheaton, Brixham | March 1806 | 1 August 1806 | 25 May 1807 at Plymouth Dockyard | Foundered in the North Sea on 18 June 1809; only one crew member survived. |