Gun-brig
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Conquest-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1794 - 1817 |
| Completed: |
12 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
146 41⁄94bm
|
| Length: |
- 75 ft (23 m) (gundeck)
- 62 ft 3 1⁄8 in (18.977 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
7 ft (2.1 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 24-pounder bow guns
- 10 × 18-pounder carronades
|
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Acute-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1797 - 1805 |
| Completed: |
15 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
158 63⁄94 bm
|
| Length: |
- 75 ft (23 m) (gundeck)
- 61 ft 7 5⁄8 in (18.786 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
7 ft 11 in (2.41 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 24-pounder bow guns
- 10 × 18-pounder carronades
|
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Courser-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1797 - 1803 |
| Completed: |
15 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
167 50⁄94 bm
|
| Length: |
- 76 ft (23 m) (gundeck)
- 62 ft 2 5⁄8 in (18.964 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 24-pounder bow guns
- 10 × 18-pounder carronades
|
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Archer-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1801 - 1815 |
| Completed: |
10 (in 1801 batch) |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
177 31⁄94 bm
|
| Length: |
- 80 ft (24 m) (gundeck)
- 65 ft 10 1⁄4 in (20.072 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
2 x 18 or 32-pounder bow carronades + 10 x 18-pounder carronades |
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Bloodhound-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1801 - 1815 |
| Completed: |
10 |
| Lost: |
4 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
184 39⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
- 80 ft (24 m) (gundeck)
- 65 ft 6 1⁄2 in (19.977 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
2 x 18 or 32-pounder bow carronades + 10 x 18-pounder carronades |
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Archer-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1804 - post 1815 |
| Completed: |
48 (in 1804 batch) |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
177 31⁄94bm
|
| Length: |
- 80 ft (24 m) (gundeck)
- 65 ft 10 1⁄4 in (20.072 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
2 x chase guns (varying calibres) + 10 x 18-pounder carronades |
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Confounder-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1804 - post 1815 |
| Completed: |
21 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
179 48⁄94 bm
|
| Length: |
- 84 ft (26 m) (gundeck)
- 69 ft 8 3⁄4 in (21.253 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
50 |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 12-pounder chase guns, on traversing carriages, one in the bow and one in the stern; on some vessels 6 or 9-pounder guns replaced the 12-pounder guns
- 10 × 18-pounder carronades
|
|
| Class overview |
| Name: |
Bold-class gun-brig |
| Operators: |
Royal Navy
|
| In service: |
1812 - post 1815 |
| Completed: |
18 |
| General characteristics |
| Type: |
Gun-brig |
| Tons burthen: |
179 47⁄94 bm
|
| Length: |
- 84 ft (26 m) (gundeck)
- 69 ft 8 3⁄4 in (21.253 m) (keel)
|
| Beam: |
22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: |
11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) |
| Sail plan: |
Brig |
| Complement: |
60 |
| Armament: |
- 2 × 6-pounder bow guns
- 10 × 18-pounder carronades
|
|
A gun-brig was a small brig-rigged warship that enjoyed popularity in the (British) Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, during which large numbers were purchased or built. In general these were vessels of under 200 tons burthen, and thus smaller than the more common Cherokee-class brig-sloops or the even larger Cruizer-class brig-sloops. The gun-brigs generally carried 12 guns, comprising two long guns in the chase position and ten carronades on the broadsides.
The earliest gun-brigs were shallow-draught vessels. Initially they were not brigs at all, but were classed as 'gunvessels' and carried a schooner or brigantine rig. They were re-rigged as brigs about 1796 and re-classed under the new term 'gun-brig'. They were designed as much to row as to sail, and carried their primary armament firing forward - a pair of long 18-pounders or 24-pounders, weapons which in any practical sense could only be trained and fired with the vessel under oars.
The 1797 batch introduced means to improve their sailing ability. Each was fitted with a Schank drop keel, and lighter bow chasers replaced the heavy pair of guns firing forward over the bows; in later vessels one of the bow chasers would be moved aft to become a stern chaser, both of these guns then being mounted on the centreline and able to pivot. The broadside weapons consisted of 18-pounder carronades mounted on slides along both sides.
The later gun-brigs developed from this beginning into smaller versions of the brig-sloops with increased draught and seaworthiness, but were less suited for inshore warfare. Compared with the flat-bottomed hulls of the 1794-1800 designs, by the time of the Confounder class the hulls had achieved a relatively sharp cross-section, as performance under sail had become a more important consideration than ease of rowing. By now they were clearly seen as small versions of the brig-sloop rather than enlarged gunboats.
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Wikipedia
Royal Navy