The Snake-class ship-sloops were a class of four Royal Navy sloops-of-war built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

[2][3][4] Though ships of the class were designed with the hull of a brig, their defining feature of a ship-rig changed their classification to that of a ship-sloop rather than that of a brig-sloop.

In the end the Henslow designs won out, resulting in the Snake and Cruizer-class being adopted into Royal Navy service.

Reception to the design was mixed; the mounting of a ship-rig on a brig's hull made the vessels unstable in heavy seas, but also increased the survive-ability of the ship in combat.

[4] Both of the original Snake-class ships were removed from service by 1810, and their role was soon filled by the larger and better armed Cyrus class.