Editing Screw sloop

{{Short description|Propeller-driven sloop-of-war}}
[[File:USS Alaska.jpg|thumb|USS ''Alaska'', a screw sloop]]
A '''screw sloop''' is a [[propeller]]-driven [[sloop-of-war]]. They were popularized in the mid-19th century, during the introduction of the [[steam engine]] and the transition of fleets to this new technology.{{sfn|Bennett|1900|p=29}}

== The sailing sloop ==

=== The British sloop in the Age of Sail ===
In the [[Age of Sail]], there was a large variety of terms to describe sailing vessels. In British English, the meaning of the term 'sloop' depends on the context. The main source of confusion about the term sloop, is that for commercial vessels, 'sloop' referred and refers to a vessel with a single mast rigged fore-and-aft.{{sfn|Mclaughlan|2014|p=13}} If the term referred to a British warship, its meaning was heavily dependent on the number of officers and men on the vessel. Under the [[rating system of the Royal Navy]], any vessel that did not require a [[post-captain]] as commander was a sloop. This generally referred to all vessels with fewer than 20 guns. By this system, small frigates that lost most of their guns and sailors so they could be used as transports would be reclassified as sloops. The same logic also applied to fireships, which were typically made by converting fifth- or sixth-rate ships.{{sfn|Mclaughlan|2014|p=11}}

In the late 17th century, sloops were generally ketch-rigged bomb vessels or generally ship-rigged fireships. After the start of the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1756, most sloops were designed to have three masts.{{sfn|Mclaughlan|2014|p=27}}

== Under steam ==

Steam vessels driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by [[Paddle wheel|paddle-wheel]]s by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propellers).{{sfn|Brown|2014|p=Glossary}} Other propeller-driven [[warship]]s included the heavier steam [[corvette]] and the lighter gun vessel.

=== The United Kingdom ===
[[File:Engelska Krono Augfartyet Hecla efter affaren wid Ekenas d.27 May 1854 RMG PY0896.jpg|thumb|The [[Hydra-class sloop|''Hydra''-class sloop]] ''Hecla'' in 1854]]
[[File:H.M. Steam sloops Rattler and Alecto towing stern to stern, for the purpose of testing the relative powers of the Screw Propeller and the Paddle Wheel - in the North Sea during a perfect calm on the 3rd of April 1845, RMG PY0923.jpg|thumb|Screw sloop [[HMS Rattler (1843)|''Rattler'']] vs paddle sloop [[HMS Alecto (1839)|''Alecto'']] in 1845]]
By 1833, the Royal Navy's vessels fell into three classes:{{sfn|Miles|1841|p=38}}{{sfn|List|1834|p=143}}
# Rated ships and yachts, commanded by captains
# Sloops and bomb vessels, commanded by commanders.
# All other smaller vessels, commanded by lieutenants and inferior officers.

At the time, sloops could be ships (with three masts) or brigs (with two masts{{sfn|Miles|1841|p=68}}) or be corvette-built (also with three masts) or otherwise.{{sfn|Miles|1841|p=39}} The term sloop referred to a sailing vessel. Small paddle steamers like [[HMS Rhadamanthus (1832)|HMS ''Rhadamanthus'']],{{sfn|List|1834|p=77}} ''Meteor'',{{sfn|List|1834|p=73}} and [[HMS Firebrand (1831)|''Firebrand'']]{{sfn|List|1834|p=68}} were listed as 'steam vessels'.

In 1840, the steam vessels of the Royal Navy were also divided into classes:{{sfn|Miles|1841|p=65}}
* First class: commanded by captains, e.g. [[HMS Cyclops (1839)|HMS ''Cyclops'']] and [[HMS Gorgon (1837)|HMS ''Gorgon'']]
* Second class: commanded by commanders, e.g. [[HMS Rhadamanthus (1832)|HMS ''Rhadamanthus'']] and the [[Hydra-class sloop|''Hydra''-class sloop]]
* Third class: commanded by lieutenants and masters, e.g. ''Meteor'' and ''[[HMS Firebrand (1831)|Firebrand]]'' 

By 1845, the List of the Royal Navy referred to dozens of 'steam sloops'. Most of these were commanded by a commander, many others had a lieutenant commander.{{sfn|List|1845|p=63-95}} ''Cyclops'' was still a steam frigate. ''Gorgon'' was now a steam sloop commanded by a captain. ''Hydra'' was a steam sloop. ''Meteor'' was a steam vessel. 

In 1845, the first screw sloop appeared in the Royal Navy. The first four [[Alecto-class sloop|''Alecto''-class sloops]] had been launched in 1839–1841. The fifth unit of this class, [[HMS Rattler (1843)|''Rattler'']], was reordered as a screw-propelled vessel. In spring 1845, comparative trials were held between ''Rattler'' and ''Alecto''. The most famous of these was that in which the sloops towed stern to stern, with ''Rattler'' towing ''Alecto'' backwards at 2.8 knots.{{sfn|Halsted|1846|p=366}}

=== In the USA ===
In the 1860s American context, the general meaning of the word 'sloop' was a three-masted square-rigged ship with a full broadside on a single deck. In a looser sense, it could also refer to a three-masted vessel like [[CSS Alabama|CSS ''Alabama'']], which was a [[barque]] and lacked a full [[broadside (naval)|broadside]].{{sfn|Brown|2014|p=Glossary}}

[[USS Princeton (1843)|USS ''Princeton'']] launched in September 1843, was the first world's screw steam vessel of war.{{sfn|Bennett|1900|p=26}} She had been designed by [[John Ericsson]], who had previously applied the screw to commercial boats. ''Princeton'' was also revolutionary because it had its engines under the waterline and had an armament that included a very high-caliber wrought-iron gun. This gun proved able to penetrate {{convert|4.5|inches|cm}} of armor. The success of ''Princeton'' led the United States Navy to slowly shift to the propeller as means of propulsion.{{sfn|Bennett|1900|p=26}} 

In 1857 the United States ordered 5 large screw sloops. [[USS Hartford (1858)|USS ''Hartford'']] was a good example of these.{{sfn|Bennett|1900|p=29}} [[USS Brooklyn (1858)|''Brooklyn'']] also belonged to this order that made the screw sloop popular.{{sfn|Shaughnessy|2000}} In 1858, seven smaller screw sloops were ordered. [[USS Mohican (1859)|USS ''Mohican'']] and ''[[USS Narragansett (1859)|Narragansett]]'' were examples of these seven.{{sfn|Bennett|1900|p=29}}

==See also==
*[[CSS Alabama|CSS ''Alabama'']]
*[[USS Alaska (1868)|USS ''Alaska'']]
*[[USS Contoocook (1864)|USS ''Contoocook'']]
*[[HMS Gannet (1878)|HMS ''Gannet'']], now a museum ship.
*[[USS Housatonic (1861)|USS ''Housatonic'']], sunk by the first successful submarine attack.
*[[USS Wyoming (1859)|USS ''Wyoming'']]
*{{sclass|Watergeus|sloop}}
*{{ship|Japanese warship|Nisshin}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Frank M. |title=The Monitor and the Navy Under Steam |date=1900 |publisher=Houghton, Mifflin, and Co. |page=29 |location=Boston and New York |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/USN/Navy/Monitor%20and%20the%20Navy%20Under%20Steam%20(Bennett)%20(1900).pdf |access-date=6 April 2023}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Wesley A. |title=Analysis Of The Relationship Between Technology And Strategy And How They Shaped The Confederate States Navy |date=15 August 2014 |publisher=Golden Springs Publishing |isbn=9781782896067 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cmNvCwAAQBAJ |access-date=6 April 2023}}
* {{cite book |last=Mclaughlan |first=Ian |title=The Sloop of War: 1650-1763 |date=2014 |publisher=Seaforth publishing, Barnsley |isbn=9781848321878 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUWuCAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite news |last=Shaughnessy |first=Edward J. |title=A Death in the Narrows |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2000/april/death-narrows |access-date=6 April 2023 |agency=Naval History Magazine |date=April 2000}}
* {{cite book |last=Miles |first=E. |date=1841 |title=An epitome, historical and statistical, descriptive of the Royal Naval Service of England |publisher=Ackermann and Co, London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m51WAAAAcAAJ }}
* {{cite book |date=1834 |title=The Navy List |publisher=Admiralty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=024VkGLE_4wC |ref={{sfnref|''List''|1834}} }}
* {{cite book |date=1845 |title=The Navy List |publisher=Admiralty |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JK-MEsrJsDcC |ref={{sfnref|''List''|1845}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Halsted |first=E.P. |date=1846 |volume=XLV |title=The Mechanic's Magazine|chapter=The paddle-Wheel and screw their comparative powers of speed |publisher=Robertson, London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RKO96S5gAYC |page=365-371 |isbn=978-1-347-61485-3 }}

==Notes==
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[[Category:Ship types]]

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