Ship Cover for the Ariel and Banterer class composite screw gunboats, Linnet class composite screw gunboats and Nymphe class composite screw sloops. The specific vessels represented in this cover are HMS Banterer (1880), HMS Bullfrog (1881), HMS Cockchafer (1881), HMS Espoir (1880), HMS Grappler (1880), HMS Linnet (1880), HMS Redwing (1880), HMS Starling (1882), HMS Stork (1882), HMS Swallow (1885), HMS Swift (1879), HMS Wasp (1886) and HMS Wrangler (1880). The documentation mainly relates to the original design specification for improved 'Kestrels', comparisons of data between these classes, crew complement and stability calculations. Additionally there are further papers covering dimensional and weight data for the Nymphe and Banterer classes, mast and yard data for the Linnet and Nymphe classes, armament and ammunitionn allocation for the Ariel class, a sailing report for HMS Swallow circa 1886 and a report of a hurricane experienced by HMS Wrangler in December 1887. The date range covered by the papers commences in March 1878 during the initial design phase and concludes in August 1901, by which time most of the vessels in these classes had been relegated to second line duties.