The Swan class were built as a 14-gun class of ship sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra two guns were added soon after completion.
The class was designed by the Surveyor of the Navy, John Williams, and two vessels to this design (Swan and Kingfisher) were ordered in January 1766. Twenty-three more were ordered to the same design between 1773 and 1779; they formed the 'standard' ship sloop design of the British Navy during the American Revolutionary War, during which eleven of them were lost. Surviving vessels went on to serve during the French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War.
The design provided for 16 gunports (8 per side, excluding the bridle-ports) but one pair was initially left unoccupied, and the ships were always rated at 14 guns. However an eighth pair of guns was added from 1780 onwards to utilise the vacant ports, without any change in the nominal rating.
The Swan class sloops were unusually attractive for the type of vessel. Not only did they have sleek hull lines but they also carried an unusual amount of decoration for their size. They were built just before the Admiralty issued orders that all vessels (especially lesser rates and unrated vessels) should have minimal decoration and carvings to save on costs, due to the seemingly ever-continuing war with France and other nations.
Following the initial 1766 order for two ships, a second pair was ordered in 1773 (Cygnet and Atalanta) and a further five in 1775 (Pegasus in April, Fly in August, and Swift, Dispatch and Fortune in October); all these were built in the Royal Dockyards. Another five were contracted in November 1775 to be built by commercial shipbuilders (Hound, Hornet, Vulture, Spy and Cormorant), and a further pair during 1776 (Zebra and Cameleon). Another two were ordered from the Royal Dockyards in January 1777 (Fairy and Nymph) and a final seven from commercial constructors over the following 30 months (Savage, Fury, Delight and Thorn during 1777, Bonetta and Shark during 1778, and Alligator in 1779).
| Name | Ordered | Builder | Launched | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan | 18 January 1766 | Plymouth Dockyard | 21 November 1767 | Sold 1 September 1814 |
| Kingfisher | 18 January 1766 | Chatham Dockyard | 13 July 1770 | Burnt to avoid capture 7 August 1778 |
| Cygnet | 15 April 1773 | Portsmouth Dockyard | 21 January 1776 | Sold August 1802 |
| Atalanta | 1 December 1773 | Sheerness Dockyard | 12 August 1775 | Sold August 1802 |
| Pegasus | 10 April 1775 | Chatham Dockyard | 27 December 1776 | Lost, presumed foundered October 1777 |
| Fly | 1 August 1775 | Sheerness Dockyard | 14 September 1776 | Lost, presumed foundered January 1802 |
| Swift | 16 October 1775 | Portsmouth Dockyard | 1 January 1777 | Burnt to avoid capture 22 November 1778 |
| Dispatch | 16 October 1775 | Deptford Dockyard | 10 February 1777 | Lost, foundered 8 December 1778 |
| Fortune | 16 October 1775 | Woolwich Dockyard | 28 July 1778 | Captured by the French 26 April 1780 |
| Hound | 30 October 1775 | Adams & Barnard, Deptford | 8 March 1776 | Taken to pieces at Woolwich in November 1784 |
| Hornet | 30 October 1775 | John Perry and Co, Blackwall | 19 March 1776 | Laid up in October 1783, and sold in July 1793 |
| Vulture | 30 October 1775 | John & William Wells, Deptford | 18 March 1776 | Sold in August 1802 |
| Spy | 30 October 1775 | Edward Greaves, Limehouse | 6 April 1776 | Wrecked off Newfoundland on 16 June 1778 |
| Cormorant | 30 October 1775 | John Barnard, Ipswich | 21 May 1776 | Taken by the French 24 August 1781 |
| Zebra | 24 May 1776 | John Barnard, Ipswich | 8 April 1777 | Wrecked off New Jersey 18 October 1778 |
| Cameleon | 21 June 1776 | John Randall, Gray & Brent, Rotherhithe | 26 March 1777 | Wrecked off St Lucia 12 October 1780 |
| Fairy | 8 January 1777 | Sheerness Dockyard | 24 October 1778 | Taken to pieces at Plymouth in July 1811 |
| Nymph | 8 January 1777 | Chatham Dockyard | 27 May 1778 | Burnt by accident at Tortola, Virgin Islands 28 June 1783 |
| Savage | 12 March 1777 | John Barnard, Ipswich | 28 April 1778 | Sold at Woolwich 31 August 1815 |
| Fury | 16 July 1777 | Sime & Mackenzie, Leith | 18 March 1779 | Taken to pieces at Woolwich in April 1787 |
| Delight | 30 September 1777 | Edward Greaves, Limehouse | 7 November 1778 | Lost, presumed foundered in September 1781 |
| Thorn | 30 September 1777 | James Betts, Mistleythorn | 17 February 1779 | Sold 28 August 1816 |
| Bonetta | 16 April 1778 | Perry & Hankey, Blackwall | 29 April 1779 | Taken to pieces at Sheerness in October 1797 |
| Shark | 20 November 1778 | Thomas & Nicholas Walton, Hull | 26 November 1779 | Foundered at Port Royal 13 January 1818 |
| Alligator | 22 June 1779 | John Fisher, Liverpool | 11 November 1780 | Taken by the French 26 June 1782 |
1714-1792, Rif Winfield, Seaforth Publishing, 2007.
1793-1817, Rif Winfield, Seaforth Publishing, 2007.