HMS Recruit was a 12-gun iron-hulled sailing brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, constructed by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company

The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...

 and launched in 1846.

Recruit was the first iron-hulled vessel to be built for the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, and the Royal Navy's only iron-hulled sailing ship. She was sold back to her builders, Ditchburn and Mare on 28 August 1849, and was resold in 1852 to the General Screw Steam Shipping Company

General Screw Steam Shipping Company

The General Screw Steam Shipping Company was a British company established in 1848 by James Laming, who had for about 30 years owned sailing ships travelling between England and the Netherlands.-History:...

and converted into a screw steamer for the East Indian and Cape mail service, and renamed SS Harbinger.

Sources

• Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004), The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.