HMS Experiment (1793)

History
Great Britain
NameExperiment
Ordered1792
BuilderJohn Parkin, Frank's Quarry, Plymouth
Laid down1792
LaunchedMay 1793
CommissionedJune 1793
FateCaptured 1796
Spain
NameExperimento
Acquired1796 by capture
Captured1806
General characteristics
TypeLugger
Tons burthen1111194 (bm)
Length
  • Overall:72 ft 8 in (22.1 m)
  • Keel:56 ft 11+12 in (17.4 m)
Beam19 ft 2 in (5.8 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 0 in (2.7 m)
PropulsionSails
Complement
  • Royal Navy:45
  • 1806:30
Armament
  • Initially:10 × 3-pounder guns
  • 1793:10 × 12-pounder carronades + 12 × ½-pounder swivel guns
  • 1806:4 × 4-pounder guns

HMS Experiment was launched in 1793, the only lugger actually designed and built for the British Royal Navy. The Spanish Navy captured her in 1796 near Gibraltar. A British privateer recaptured her in 1806, but the Royal Navy did not take her back into service.