British sloop 'Ferret' (1760)

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Ferret	4245
Nominal Guns	14	BWAS-1714
Nationality	Great Britain
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	24.4.1760	BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down	9.5.1760	BWAS-1714
Named	28.10.1760	BWAS-1714
Launched	6.12.1760	BWAS-1714
First Commissioned	21.11.1760	BWAS-1714
How acquired	Purpose built	BWAS-1714
Shipyard	Chatham Dockyard - Chatham	BWAS-1714
Designed by	Sir Thomas SladeBritish Designer Ship Builder Dockyard Staff Service 1744-1783	BWAS-1714
Constructor	and Wells StantonBritish Ship Builder	BWAS-1714
Category	Unrated	BWAS-1714
Ship Type	Sloop	BWAS-1714
Sailing Rig	Ship Rigged	BWAS-1714
Foundered	8.1776	BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck95' 6"Imperial Feet28.9865
Length of Keel79' 4"Imperial Feet24.0905
Breadth26' 8"Imperial Feet7.9587
Depth in Hold7' 2"Imperial Feet2.1844
Burthen286 ⁴⁷⁄₉₄Tons BM

Armament

12.1760Broadside Weight = 45 Imperial Pound ( 20.4078 kg)BWAS-1714
Upper Gun Deck14 British 6-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck12 British 1/2-Pound Swivel

Crew Complement

Date# of MenNotesSource
12.1760125 BWAS-1714

12 Ship Commanders

DatesRankNameSource
21.11.1760 - 9.11.1761Commander ADM 6/19/210BWAS-17149.11.1761 - 24.7.1762Commander Transfered ADM 6/19/362BWAS-171425.7.1762 - 5.5.1763Commander ADM 6/19/537
Issued by , East Indies - Asia
Confirmed 13.9.1763BWAS-171428.12.1763 - 7.1.1764Commander Transfered ADM 6/19/559ADM 6/197.1.1764 - 20.6.1765Commander ADM 6/20/2BWAS-171420.6.1765 - 26.5.1768Commander ADM 6/20/79BWAS-171426.5.1768 - 14.7.1768CaptainBWAS-171429.9.1768 - 18.9.1770Commander Transfered ADM 6/20/216ADM 6/2024.6.1771 - 16.1.1773Commander ADM 6/20/384BWAS-171416.1.1773 - 26.1.1773Commander Transfered ADM 6/20/472ADM 6/2013.3.1773 - 7.9.1774Commander ADM 6/20/502
Issued by
Confirmed 2.7.1773BWAS-17147.9.1774 - 8.1776Commander† ADM 6/21/47BWAS-1714

4 Commissioned Officers

DatesRankNameSource
24.11.1762 - 7.5.1763Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/20/15
Issued by , Barbados - Windward Islands - Barbados & the Leeward Islands
Confirmed 13.3.1764ADM 6/207.1.1764 - 16.1.1768Lieutenant ADM 6/20/1ADM 6/2016.1.1768 - 6.11.1770Lieutenant Transfered ADM 6/20/210
Issued by
Confirmed 3.8.1768ADM 6/2018.1.1773 - 7.4.1774Lieutenant ADM 6/20/472ADM 6/20

Service History

DateEventSource
9.5.1760Began building at Rotherhithe - London - Surrey BWAS-1714
6.12.1760Completed building at Rotherhithe - London - Surrey at a cost of £2578.10.0dBWAS-1714
6.12.1760Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford BWAS-1714
19.1.1761Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard - Deptford at a cost of £2819.10.6dBWAS-1714
30.3.1761Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
7.1.1762Operations against Martinique
10.2.1762Took a 24-gun privateer off Zuccheo IslandBWAS-1714
6.6.1762Operations against Havana
14.7.1763

Paid off

BWAS-1714
12.1763RecommissionedBWAS-1714
17.6.1764Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
26.7.1768Paid offADM 51
12.8.1768SurveyedBWAS-1714
11.1770Began great repair at Woolwich Dockyard - Woolwich BWAS-1714
6.1771RecommissionedBWAS-1714
23.9.1771Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
1772Returned homeBWAS-1714
30.1.1773Sailed for JamaicaBWAS-1714
8.1776Presumed foundered with all hands in a hurricane in the West IndiesBWAS-1714
8.1781Completed great repair at Woolwich Dockyard - Woolwich at a cost of £5487.1.1dBWAS-1714

Sources

IDNameAuthorType

ADM 51 Archive

ADM 6/19 Archive

ADM 6/20 Archive

BWAS-1714Rif Winfield, Book

Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Saturday 27th of June 2026 02:06

London, 28 November 1765: They write from Jamaica, that his Majesty’s ship the Active, Capt Carket, was gone down to Campeachy to demand the delivery of a sloop taken under English Colours, by a Spanish guarda costa, and carried in there. The sloops of war Beaver, Ferret Speedwell, and Swift, were sailed for the Bay of Honduras, to quell the Negroes. [Ipswich Journal, 30 November 1765]

Posted by Jon Miller on Sunday 21st of June 2026 14:29

The Ferret sloop of war, from Jamaica, is arrived at Portsmouth, with a large sum of money and bullion on board. [Hampshire Chronicle, 16 November 1772]

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