Editing Sloop-of-war (section)

=== Decline ===
In the second half of the 19th century, successive generations of naval guns became larger and with the advent of [[Steam sloop|steam-powered sloops]], both paddle and screw, by the 1880s even the most powerful warships had fewer than a dozen large calibre guns, and were therefore technically sloops. Since the rating system was no longer a reliable indicator of a ship's combat power, it was abolished altogether and with it the classifications of sloops, corvettes and frigates. Instead a classification based on the intended role of the ship became common, such as [[cruiser]] and [[battleship]].