HMS Crab (fictional Hornblower vessel)
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In C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novel Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies, Hornblower's squadron consists of three frigates, and a couple of dozen brigs and schooners. In one section of the novel circumstances require Hornblower to hoist his flag in the very small schooner HMS Crab. In the novel Forester describes the schooner as having a crew of 16.
Readers who would like to visualize how small a vessel a schooner this size would be, can visit the web-site of the reproduction of the HMS Sultana. The Sultana website says that the 52 ton Sultana, with her crew of 25, was the smallest schooner ever entered on the Royal Navy lists.
If we accept this claim, the vessel Forester described was smaller than any actual Royal Navy schooner.
