Of the eight vessels in the class, three foundered at sea with the loss of their crews, and one was wrecked.

One of the Surveyors of the Navy - John Henslow - designed the class.

The Admiralty approved the design on 22 April 1795, and ordered five vessels on 4 March 1795; their names were assigned and registered on 20 June.

In early 1795 the Admiralty identified the need for additional brig-sloops to meet the urgent need for convoy duties, and - as per their usual practice - commissioned two different designs, one from each Surveyor.

Fir-built vessels could be constructed more rapidly; hence all five of these were launched by the end of October 1795, when the three built of the conventional oak were still all on the stocks.