| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Frolic class |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Beacon class |
| Succeeded by | Arab class |
| Built | 1871–1873 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Composite screw gunvessel |
| Displacement | 610 long tons (620 t) |
| Tons burthen | 462 bm |
| Length | 155 ft (47.2 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m) |
| Depth | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Installed power | 715–896 ihp (533–668 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | Barque rig |
| Speed | 10–11 knots (19–20 km/h; 12–13 mph) |
| Range | 880 nmi (1,630 km; 1,010 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 80 |
| Armament |
|
The Frolic-class gunvessels were a class of composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. They were generally deployed overseas to the East Indies, West Africa, and China Stations. In addition to showing the flag, the ships fought pirates and suppressed the slave trade in East Africa. They were placed in reserve in the mid-1880s, and two of them were sold for scrap by the end of the decade. The other pair survived for longer as they were either modified for harbour service or became a training ship before being sold or scrapped. The last survivor, Ready, was used in support of William Beebe's expedition in his bathysphere in 1930 off Bermuda.