They were of composite construction, with wooden hulls over an iron frame. Five ships of the class were built, which had been designed in 1874 by the
Royal Navy's
Chief Constructor,
William Henry White.
Armament They were armed with two
7-inch (90cwt) muzzle-loading rifled guns on pivoting mounts, and four
64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns (two on pivoting mounts, and two broadside). Four machine guns and one light gun completed the weaponry.
Wild Swan and
Pelican later had the muzzle-loading guns replaced with two
6-inch (81cwt) breech-loaders and six
5-inch (31cwt) breech-loaders.
Sail plan All the ships of the class were provided with a
barque rig, that is, square-rigged foremast and mainmast, and fore-and-aft sails only on the mizzen mast.
Crew They had a complement of approximately 140 men.
Development The design was revised in 1877 and nine ships were ordered to a modified version, the . Identical in many respects, the
Doterels lacked the graceful clipper bow of the
Ospreys, although they benefited from more power. ==Ships==