Editing Sloop-of-war (section)

===Bermuda sloop===
[[File:Royal Navy - Bermuda Sloop2.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.2|1831 painting of a three-masted Bermuda sloop of the [[Royal Navy]], entering a [[West Indies]] port.]]
The Royal Navy also made extensive use of the [[Bermuda sloop]], both as a [[cruiser]] against French [[privateers]], slavers, and smugglers, and also as its standard ''advice'' vessels, carrying communications, vital persons and materials, and performing [[reconnaissance]] duties for the fleets.

Bermuda sloops were found with gaff rig, mixtures of gaff and square rig, or a [[Bermuda rig]]. They were built with up to three masts. The single masted ships had huge sails and harnessed tremendous wind energy, which made them demanding to sail and required large, experienced crews. The Royal Navy favoured multi-masted versions, as it was perennially short of sailors at the end of the 18th century, and its personnel received insufficient training (particularly in the Western Atlantic, priority being given to the continuing wars with France for control of Europe). The longer decks of the multi-masted vessels also had the advantage of allowing more guns to be carried.