HMS Experiment (1793)

History
Great Britain
Name	Experiment
Ordered	1792
Builder	John Parkin, Frank's Quarry, Plymouth
Laid down	1792
Launched	May 1793
Commissioned	June 1793
Fate	Captured 1796
Spain
Name	Experimento
Acquired	1796 by capture
Captured	1806
General characteristics [1]
Type	Lugger
Tons burthen	11111⁄94 (bm)
Length	Overall:72 ft 8 in (22.1 m) Keel:56 ft 11+1⁄2 in (17.4 m)
Beam	19 ft 2 in (5.8 m)
Depth of hold	9 ft 0 in (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Sails
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.