Orders for ''Jackal'' and her sister were placed on 16 January 1844. They were designed by the builder, Robert Napier and Sons and approved on 17 April 1844 by the Surveyor of the Navy,
Sir William Symonds
Sir William Symonds CB FRS (24 September 1782 – 30 March 1856, aboard the French steamship ''Nil'', Strait of Bonifacio, Sardinia)nominal horsepower and on trials developed . She was provided with two
gaff-rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shape ...
ged masts, making her a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
. Her armament consisted of a single 18-pounder (22 cwt) carronade on a pivot mounting and two 24-pounder (13cwt) carronades.
Construction
Both ships were built at Napier's Govan yard. ''Jackall'' was built as yard number 8, and ''Lizard'' as number 9.HMS ''Jackall'', ''Shipping Times'' Clydebuilt database accessed 10 December 2011 ''Jackall'' was launched on 28 November 1844, and ''Lizard'' followed exactly a month later. After fitting out, ''Jackall''s first commissioning took place on 22 September 1845.
Service
After commissioning at Plymouth in 1846, ''Jackall'' served in the Mediterranean. In February 1847, she ran aground and was damaged at
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
. She paid off at Sheerness in May 1859 and was recommissioned in December of the same year.
She was again paid off at
Keyham, Devon
Keyham is a Victorian-built area of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. It was built to provide dense cheap housing just outside the wall of HM Dockyard Devonport for the thousands of civilian workmen. In the early-19th century, Devonport ...
on 8 February 1864, recommissioned the next day.
By 1864 she was employed on fishery protection duties off the west coast of Scotland. On 11 April 1872, she ran aground at the mouth of the River Aray. She was refloated and anchored in Inveraray Bay.