The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-16 00:00:00

both the port and starboard broadsides of the fri-

gate is planked with the 18in. of teak timber on

which the armour plates will be placed, and as fast

as these can be prepared by the hands in the ad-
joining factory they will be bolted to the sides of
the vessel. The whole of the plates received at
Chatham Dockyard up to the present time for ar-
mour plating the Achilles are stacked beneath the
shed under which the Reindeer is lying on the
stocks, where there is massed close upon 1,000 tons
of armour plating, which, at the lowest contract
price of £37 per ton, represents a capital of nearly
£37,000. Most of the plates are from the "firm of
Beale and Co., at the Parkgate Ironworks, Derby-
shire, and from the Thames Ironworks. Notwith•
standing the difficulties which have been encoun-
tered in plating the sides of the Achilles, owing to

the absence of the proper lifting steam cranes, the
work of fixing the armour plates is progressing
steadily, and in spite of these drawbacks the first
tier of plates on both sides are nearly all fixed in
their places as far as the teak planking has been
laid

Workmen are now busily engaged in prepar-
ng the ground and laying down the tramways for
a couple of the largest of Taylor's steam travelling
cranes, similar to those used on the Royal Oak, in
the plating of which ship they were of immense
service. With the aid of these there is nothing
now to prevent the work of plating the Achilles
being carried on as fast as the slabs of iron can
be turned out of the factory, where, with every
exertion, about 20 armour plates can be
prepared weekly. This is by means an incon-
siderable number when the nature of the opera-
tions connected with the smoothing, bending,
planing, polishing, and boring slabs of iron,
each 15ft in length by 3ft 6in in with, width a thick-
ness of 44in, and of 4 tons weight, is taken into cal-
culation. In fact, the principal part of the delay in
the construction of the Achilles has hitherto arisen
from the want of the requisite machinery for the
construction of vessels of this kind. Most of the
difficulties have, however, now been surmounted,
and nearly the whole of the younger class of ship-
wrights are already metamorphised into workers of
iron. The manner in which they are doing their
work on board the Achilles is admitted, even by
those unfriendly to this system, to be in no respect
inferior to that of regular mechanics. Notwith-
standing that the Min Asur, a sister to the Achilles,
building for the Government by the Thames Iron
Company at Blackwall, is already far advanced to
wards completion, it is even now stated that the
Achilles will be afloat before her. At all events,
there is no doubt that before the close of the present
year two other splendid iron vessels will be added
to the British navy, as much superior to the War-
rior and Black Prince as the latter were in their
turn superior to the Defence, 16, and vessels of that
class. The tonnage of the Achilles is slightly in
excess of the Warrior, while her horse power will be
the same—viz., 1,250. Several improvements, both
as regards her hull, rig, and armour, are, however,
introduced on the Achilles. Every inch of her sur-
face above the water-line, and for some feet below
it, will be covered with armour plates, the Warrior,
as well as her sister ship the Black Prince, being
only armour coated for about 220 ft on her broad-
sides.

The following appointments were made on Friday
at the Admiralty :—Robert Coen, master, to the
Princess Charlotte ; Thomas W. Orwin, assistant-
surgeon, additional to the Cumberland; Frederick
A. Pountney, assist-paymaster, to the Indus; C.
L. Brockman, assist.-paymaster, additional to the
Cumberland ; Archibald Thomas Miller, second
master, to the Euryalus ; F. Brockton, T.
Clark, W. Gentles, and J. F. Hughes, en.
gineers, to the Vigilant ; J. Knight, engineer,
to the Cumberland for the Cochin ; Augustus R.
Ring, master's assistant, to the Himalaya ; Richard
Drury, clerk, to the Marlborough as supernumerary ;
William B. Jennis, clerk, to the Chanticleer as
supernumer ry ; and E. M. Ommaney, clerk, ad-
ditional to the Cumberland.