Alderney class sloop

The Alderney class was a class of three sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1755 and 1757. All three were built by contract with commercial builders to a common design prepared by William Bately, the Surveyor of the Navy.

The first two - Stork and Alderney - were ordered on 14 November 1755, and another vessel to the same design - Diligence - were ordered three months later, on 23 February 1756. All were begun as two-masted (snow-rigged) vessels, and the trio were all assigned names on 25 May 1756, but the first two were actually completed as three-masted ("ship-rigged") vessels.