The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-01 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence,

THE NAVY.

The masts, yards, and gear for the iron-cased fri-
gate Royal Oak, 50, 800 horse power, completing
for sea at Chatham dockyard, are being prepared at
that establishment by a numerous party of riggers.
A considerable portion of the lower or standing
ri,ging, the whole of which will be of galvanized
iron wire, has been already sent up and fitted to
the lower masts, and very fair progress has been
made in the work. The shed under which the line-
of-battle screw steamer Bulwark, 91, 800 horse
power, is building—the progress of which is for the
present suspended—is being used as a workshop by
the riggers. The Royal Oak, like the Defence and
others of our large iron ships, will be what is
termed bark rigged, and will carry comparatively
little sail aloft, while, on the other hand, she will
spread a larger extent of lower canvass than many
of the largest line-of-battle ships. This arrange-
ment will, it is expected, do away in a great mea-
sure with the rolling propensities of large iron
ships, so apparent in the Warrior and Black Prince
during a gale. To correct the same defect, the
machinery of the Royal Oak has been placed as near
her " floors" as
possible. In three or four weeks
the plating
will be completed. Considerable addi-
tional strength has been imparted to the sternpost
by partially doing away
with the screw well, or
aperture, for lifting the screw to the upper deck.
In the case of the Royal Oak the screw will only
be raised as high as the main deck, and then only
on occasions when it is necessary to repair it. The
whole of the machinery has been fitted on board,
and, so far as the engineering department is con-
cerned, there is nothing to prevent the Royal Oak
steaming out of harbour to-morrow. The engines
have horizontal double piston rods, and are direct
acting. They are of 800 horse power (nominal), but
are capable of being worked up to 3000 horse power.
The operation of testing the engines by means of
hydraulic pressure was effected a few days since
under the superintendence of Mr. Warriner, on
the part of Messrs. Mandalay, Son, and Field,
the contractors„'when, with a pressure of 401bs. to the
square inch on the whole of the boilers, condensers,
and cylinders, not the slightest flaw could be
detected. The ordinary working pressure on the
engines will be 201 b. to the square inch, so that the
trial was made with a pressure they will rarely, if
ever, be called on to sustain. It was originally in-
tended to fit the Royal Oak with what is termed a
telescopic bowsprit, which would admit of its being
either lengthened or shortened as occasion required.
This plan has, however, been modified, and she will
now be supplied with an iron bowsprit, which will
be so fitted as to be drawn up in a perpendicular
direction should it be necessary to use the Royal
Oak as a steam ram, for which her enormous size
and weight well qualify her. Although called a
50 gun frigate, the Royal Oak will, in reality,
mount only 33 guns, nearly the whole of which will
be the largest Armstrongs. All, with the exception
of two guns, will be placed on her main deck. Her
portholes—which are comparatively small, being
only 3ft. 10in. in length, by 2ft. in width—are, in
fact, embrasures, which allow of the guns having a
play of 32 degrees in each direction—thus working
in a radius of 64 degrees.

Her Majesty's screw steam corvette Pylades, 21
guns, 1,278 tons, Capt. Arthur W. A. Hood, was
taken to the measured mile off Maplin Sands, for a
final trial of her machinery, previous to her depar-
ture to the West Indies. The vessel was in charge
of Capt. T. P. Thompson, of the steam reserve, and
the machinery under the superintendence of Mr.
Rumble, inspector of machinery afloat, and Mr.
Baker, chief engineer of Chatham dockyard. The
Pylades is fitted with Penn's horizontal direct-
action trunk engines, of 350 horse power, which
worked extremely well. There was an entire ab-
sence of all hot bearings, priming, or any percep-
tible vibration from the machinery, The results
of the trial were :—Average speed, 10.373 knots
per hour; revolutions of engines, 63 per minute ;
vacuum, 25 ; pressure of steam, 201 b. Griffiths's
screw, pitch, 20ft. ; diameter, 15ft. 9in. Draught
of water—forward, 15ft. 10in. ; aft, 191 t. 7in. The
results were everything that could be desired. The
vessel will leave Sheerness for her destination at
nine o'clock this morning.

The hired t ransport Istamboul,l,3lo tons register,
Capt. Alex. Dueller, belonging to Mr. G. Duncan,
of London, from Bombay, Aug. 27, has arrived at
Plymouth. She brings Capt. Beresford, 72d High-
landers, in command, and Dr. D. C. Taylor in medi-
eal charge of two sergeants, two corporals, 22 pri-
vates, one woman, and four children ; and with:her
general cargo are 300 cases and casks of harness on
Government account. The Istamboul reached the
Cape of Good Hope on the 20th of Oct., and left on
the 27th ; crossed the line on the 21st of Nov., and
arrived off Gravesend Dec. 29. She spoke on the
sth of Sept. the Golconda and the Bates Family,
both from Bombay for Liverpool; Oct. 7, the Earl
of Hardwicke, from Madras for London; 9th, the
Liverpool, 61 days from Calcutta to London ; 14th,
the Lord Macaulay, 152 days from China for Lon-
don ; 13th, the City of York, from Calcutta for Lon-
don ; Nov. 11, lat 3 48 S., lon. 18 35 W., the Ve-
teran, from Tuticorin for London, which reported
the Lord Raglan in distress off the Cape ; 23d, the
Dutch bark Australian, 24 days from Amsterdam,
for Batavia ; and the English bark St. Dunstan,
24 days from London, for Adelaide; Dec. 4, the
City of Tanjore, 92 slays from Calcutta, for Lon-
don ; 7th, the Roscoe, from Nassau forPernHopambeu, 70
days the Dutch brig Bengalen, and the ship
dsys from Callao for Cowes;
alll hr
0, the a
io
; 2 American3d
ship Blandina Dudley, 84
the Hurripeedemsey and the Negotiator from Bom-
bay for Liverpool—the latter 89 days out; and Dec.
24, the Garland, 102 days from Singapore for Fal-
mouth.

The Termagant, screw frigate, 25 guns, Capt.'R.
Hall, having taken out her powder and shell at
Spithead and been officially inspected, yesterday
steamed into Portsmouth harbour to dismantle and
be paid out of commission. She will join the 3d
class Steam Reserve.

The Prometheus, 5, 200 horse power, which was
undocked at Chatham Dockyard a few days since
to allow of the iron paddlewheel steamer Recruit,
6, 160 horse power, being placed in the same
to undergo some very extensive repairs,
s;vith the
is ordered to be thoroughly surveyed
of the master-shipwrights connected b
r-
of hdeorerkeypaari rd.
in that vessel
are of
various dockyards, with the view to asee
tain whether the defects
air. g uring the
oTlfficials, the
time the Prometheus was in dock she
such a nature as to allow
underwent a
hands of the
survey at the ban
result of which the
Ival.discovery that most of her
timbers were exceedingly rotten and her planking
very defective. Her engines and machinery have
taken out
been and placed •the
lad the in dockyard, and
fib° special report to the Admiralty be un-
favourable she will either be broken up or sold out
of the service. The Promethus is not an old ves-
sel, and nearly the
whole time since she was built
she has been employed on the coast of Africa.
Private letters received from her Majesty's screw
troop-ship Adventure, Commander Lethbridge,
dated Jamaica, Dec. 2, announce her arrival at that
place on the 28th Nov., 28 days from Gravesend,
after a pleasant voyage, with Royal Artillery,which
had been landed there. The Artillery relieved at
Jamaica by those disembarked from the Adventure
were to embark, with 200 of the 2d Native Infan-
try, in the Adventure on Dec. 3, and proceed
_to
Barbadoes and others of the West India Isltul
sta-
dst
relieving the various detachments of troops
tioned at each in their turn. The Adventure was
expected to be absent from Jawfact' on this duty
from four to five weeks. On Nov. 19 a heavy
thunderstorm was encountered.
The following appointments have been made at
the H Admiralty :—Lieut. Heaton, Edward S. Richards, to the
Forte ; Lieut. WilAiaW H. to the Russell ;
Lieut. Francis P. Renshaw, to the Firefly; Valen-
tine F. Johnson, master, to the Malacca; George
J. Willes, surgeons to the Egmont ; Dr. G. David-
son, surgeon, to the ATeeanee; J: H. W. Bowman,
paymaster, to the Egmont ; John Freshfield, pay-
master, additional, to the President; J. C. Payne,
uarnaster, additional, to the Meander ; Henry
Yohnson, nominated to a naval cadetship; Charles
Hobart, midshipman, to the Royal Adelaide; R.
S. Gray, second muter, additional, to the Fisgard;
John W. Lecombe, clerk, to the Impregnable ; and
Gilbert J. Boys, clerk, to the Hawke.