The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-09 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

The following detachments, selected from the
first division of the Depot Brigade, Royal Artillery,
stationed in the Chatham district, have been placed
under orders to proceed from head-qaarters on Fri-
day next, the 11th inst., to Portsmouth, where they
will embark on board the Government troopship

Adventure, for the undermentioned colonial sta-
tions :—Two non-commissioned officers and 70 gun-
ners for Canada; 10 men for Nova Scotia ; and one
sergeant and 30 men for Bermuda. A party of 13
non-commissioned officers and sappers of the Royal
Engineers will proceed from Chatham garrison
with the detachment of the Royal Artillery, which
will be under the command of Capt. T. A. de Mo-
leyns and Lieut. J. Alleyne. 'Yesterday Lieut. E.
Johnson, Lieut. M. H. Hayes, Lieut. E. F. Cam-
bier, Lieut. H. Roberts, and Lieut. F. B. Knox, of
the first division of the Depot Brigade, left head-
quarters and proceeded to Woolwich, where they
embark with draughts of Royal Artillery, under
orders to proceed to India for service in the Madras
Presidency.
Some important trials were made at Chatham
yesterday with a pair of the new description of
military pontoons which have been introduced into
this country from Austria, the object being to test
their buoyant powers under every variety of circum-
stances. For this purpose the two pontoons tested
were floated up the Medway to the Ordnance-wharf,
where the trials were made by a numerous party of
officers and men of the Royal Engineers, acting under
the instructions of Lieut.-Col. Louell, C. 8., one of the
heads of departments at the Royal Engineer esta-
blishment. The peculiarity of the Austrian pontoons
tried yesterday is that their shape is altogether dif-
ferent from that of the ordinary Blanshard pontoon
in general use in the British army, which re-
sembles a huge cylinder, and being formed of
zinc, or some other equally light metal, and made
perfectly watertight, is possessed of extreme buoy-
ancy_ The shape of the Austrian pontoons is ex-
actly that of the flat-bottomed river barges, and the
material of which they are composed is thin plate
iron firmly rhetted together. The length of each
is 26ft, and width sft 6in, with a depth of about 3ft.
The weight of the pontoons used in the trials yes-
terday was not stated, bat it was believed to be be-
tween one and two tons each. When brought up to
the wharf to receive the ordinary planking they
were found to be exceedingly buoyant, but at the
same time rather unsteady. Eight or ten Royal
Engineers, all of whom were first weighed, were
ordered to enter each pontoon, when scarcely any
difference could be observed in their draught of
water. Preparations were next made for form-
ing a raft, and a number of old 42-pounder
solid shot, weighing, in the aggregate, nearly
three tons, were placed on the planking in a solid
pile, in addition to which about a ton weight of
the cast-iron skidding used in transporting
the heavy guns was also shipped. The total
weight placed on the pontoons, inclusive of that of
the officers and sappers, was probably between five
and six tons, but as the pontoons are stated to be
capable of sustaining a dead weight of 5601 b. to the
foot, this had little effect in bringing them down to
the depth anticpaced. With the planking stores,
&c., on board, the unsteady motion previously ob-
served altogether ceased, and the raft was almost
motionless in the water. The trials yesterday left
no doubt as to the exceeding buoyancy of these pon-
toons, but the grave objection to their use will be
their unwieldly shape and character, and the diffi-
culty which must exist in transporting them as
partv i
n of
ed h the
y materiel
hoifsthe couldpo
nbteooinn partinto
h
a kind of waggon, placed on:wheels, easily removable
each section
obviated
forming an army
ecton
d
when the pontoon is required for aquaiic operations.
, Their great depth would render them well adapted
for the stowage of stores.