Wasp was commissioned on 26 October 1850 at Woolwich for service with her sister ship on the West Africa Station.
Like Archer, she served during the Crimean War, but in the Black Sea in 1854 and 1855, commanded by Lord John Hay.
 She paid off at Sheerness in January 1856 and was recommissioned in July the same year for service on the south-east coast of America.
She recommissioned for the third time at Sheerness in April 1860 for service at the Cape of Good Hope.
She ran aground twice during the commission, once between Table Bay and Simon's Town in South Africa on 25 August 1860, which required a docking in Mauritius, and again off the coast of modern-day Mozambique, about 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) south of Cape Delgado in late January 1861.
She was aground for a week or more, and the damage to the engines precluded their use for the rest of the commission.
She returned to the UK and was decommissioned at Portsmouth in December 1861; given the damage, it is not surprising that she was not recommissioned until November 1863, this time for service in the East Indies.
She returned to Portsmouth in April 1868 for the end of her last commission.
On 2 December 1869 she was sold to C. Marshall for breaking up at Plymouth.
Wasp was commissioned on 26 October 1850 at Woolwich for service with her sister ship on the West Africa Station. Like Archer, she served during the Crimean War, but in the Black Sea in 1854 and 1855, commanded by Lord John Hay.  She paid off at Sheerness in January 1856 and was recommissioned in July the same year for service on the south-east coast of America. She recommissioned for the third time at Sheerness in April 1860 for service at the Cape of Good Hope. She ran aground twice during the commission, once between Table Bay and Simon's Town in South Africa on 25 August 1860, which required a docking in Mauritius, and again off the coast of modern-day Mozambique, about 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) south of Cape Delgado in late January 1861. She was aground for a week or more, and the damage to the engines precluded their use for the rest of the commission. She returned to the UK and was decommissioned at Portsmouth in December 1861; given the damage, it is not surprising that she was not recommissioned until November 1863, this time for service in the East Indies. She returned to Portsmouth in April 1868 for the end of her last commission. On 2 December 1869 she was sold to C. Marshall for breaking up at Plymouth.
Archer-class sloop