HMS Wolf (1742)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
|
|
| Name: | HMS Wolf |
| Ordered: | 21 July 1741 |
| Builder: | Thomas West, Deptford |
| Laid down: | 31 July 1741 |
| Launched: | 27 February 1742 |
| Completed: | 15 April 1741 at Deptford Dockyard |
| Commissioned: | February 1742 |
| Out of service: | 29 October 1745 |
| Reinstated: | July 1747 |
| Fate: | Wrecked in Dundrum Bay, 31 December 1748 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 14-gun Wolf-class Sloop-of-war |
| Tons burthen: | 243 74⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 25 ft 2 in (7.7 m) |
| Draught: | 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | snow-rigged |
| Complement: | 110 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Wolf was a 14-gun snow-rigged sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1742 as the first of three Wolf class sloops constructed for action against Spanish privateers during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
Wolf was the first of three small, fast vessels built for coastal patrol and Atlantic service and designated by Admiralty as the "Wolf" class. Her design was similar to that of the preceding Drake class sloops but larger and more heavily armed. Construction was contracted to civilian shipwright Thomas West, who had overseen construction of HMS Drake a year earlier.
As designed, Wolf's dimensions were in keeping with other vessels of her class with an overall length of 87 ft 6 in (26.7 m), a beam of 25 ft 2 in (7.7 m) and measuring 243 74⁄94 tonnes burthen. She had two masts, square-rigged and supported by a trysail mast aft of the main mast. Two decks were fitted instead of one, reflecting the design of her predecessor, the 1731 HMS Wolf. Constructed with eight pairs of gunports, she was initially supplied with fourteen four-pounder cannons in addition to twelve deck-mounted half-pounder swivel guns.
Construction took seven months from the laying of the keel in July 1741 to launch in February 1742, at a building cost of £1,793 and an additional ₤1,653 for fitting out.
Wolf was commissioned into the Navy at Deptford Dockyard in early February 1742 and launched at the end of that month under the command of Lieutenant Samuel Loftin. Internal fitout continued until April, after which Wolf was sailed to Svalbard as convoy protection for the English whaling fleet.
At the end of the whaling season Wolf returned south to join the blockade of Spanish ports established as part of the War of Jenkins' Ear. On 11 December 1742 Wolf overhauled and captured a Spanish privateer, Nuestra Señora del Pilar y Animas. Two more privateers were captured in March 1743; the San Pedro y Animas on 5 March, and the Nuestra Señora de la Esclavitud on the 17th.
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Wikipedia