An enlarged version of the very numerous Albacore class, they reflected the change in use from coastal operations towards deep-water cruising, but were delivered too late to see action in the Crimean War.

Developed during the Crimean War as an enlarged version of W. H. Walker's Albacore class, the Algerines were an acknowledgement that gunboats designed for coastal operations would inevitably be called upon to act in a cruising role, both in shallow and in deeper water.

[Note 3][1] This engine drove a single screw, which for the first time in a gunboat was provided with a hoisting mechanism; this ensured a better performance under sail than previous classes.

[Note 4] Jaseur was lost on the Bajo Nuevo Bank in the Caribbean Sea within two years of her launch,[1] having spent the whole of her short career on the North America and West Indies station, mostly in deterring the slave trade.

[3] Jasper also served on the West Indies station[4] before being sold to the Chinese in 1863 to form part of Sherard Osborn's Vampire Fleet.