The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-04 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

The success which has attended the adoption of
the double, or twin, screw principle in England and
America during the past three years has invested it
with great interest. To Captain Carpenter, R.N.,
we are undoubtedly first indebted for the introduc-
tion of the twin screws ; but the first advance of
moment in its practical demonstration was made
by Mr. G. Rennie in 1852, followed up in 1857 by
the same firm, in constructing several gunboats on
the same principal for Indian river service. From
some cause difficulties appear to have existed,
for no greet success seems to have been attained, as
the principle was not followed up, and a strong feel-
ing certainly existed against its adoption for either
mercantile or warlike purposes. The single screw,
with all its acknowledged faults, accordingly held
its own against all comers. The double mersus single
screw has been a subject of strong controversy at
the meetings of the Society of Arts, the Royal
United Service Institution, and other places where
such matters are discussed, as well as of lengthy
correspondence and editorial articles in the profes-
sional journals, especially since the Messrs. Dud-
geon, of Millwall, have adopted the principle, and
have begun to launch from their building yard
nearly one double screw steamer per month. The
doings of these vessels on their trial trips have been
recorded in these columns, and now the Admiralty
have adopted the principle in the construction of
some iron-plated gunboats which are about to be
laid down for the Royal Navy, taking the data ob-
tained by their officers from Messrs. Dudgeon's trial
trips for their guide. Through this long interval,
however, of partial and complete success for the
twin screws, Captain Thomas E. Symonds, R.Ne
a nephew of Sir William Symonds, once Sur-
veyor of the Navy, has been their most
earnest and pereistent advocate, and the
triumph of the twin screw is, in fact, the
triumph of the plan that officer has so long advo-
cated. It is, however, doubtful how far at present
the twin may supersede the single screw. In the
Royal Navy it may possibly only be adopted in
vessels specially built to carry a heavy armament
and large engine power at a moderate draught of
water, and which may be designed for operations
on a line of coast, or off harbours,—as a coast de-
fence vessel, in fact, and therefore requiring a power
of turning shortly such as only two screws can give.
It is difficult, however, to say where the line can be
drawn, for draught of water and power of manoeuv-
ring are of equal importance with speed. On the
22d of April last, at a meeting of the Society of Arts,
Rear-Admiral the Hon. Joseph Denman, who was
in the chair, said, with reference to our large iron-
clads,—" He had no doubt two or three ships of
smaller size would be fatal antagonists to such yes-
! eels as the Minotaur or Northumberland, if the
smaller vessels possessed a superior power of turning
by means of double screws." Turning, however,
from opinion to facts it will be found that the Ame-
ricans have very largely adopted the twin screws
for their men-of-war. The loss of the ironclad ram
Indianola was attributed, by the accounts of the
American papers, to her " inability to manceuvre."
to two small
The writer says,—" She fell a p re y
gunboats having a power of turning to a high de-
gree. They could ram her first on one side, then
on the other, till the mailed giant was beaten to
death." These two gunboats were driven by twin
er
ews. The Naugatuck, another American gunboat,
screws. The
with twin screws, and carried a 200 pounder
Parrott gun on a fixed carriage. By the power of her
screws the vessel is trained at the object, and the gun
thus brought in a line of fire. The John Nelson, a
vessel used for transporting the mail trains
across the Deleware River, is driven by twin screws,
and has to turn end for end at every trip in order
to deliver the train at the same end it entered.
She is 225 ft. long, and is stated to often perform
the manoeuvre in a strong current choked with ice
in from 1 min. 20 sec. to 1 min. 30 sec. A twin
vessel is now building in America to mount two
monster guns of 50 tons each. These guns will be
on fixed carriages, will be fired at point blank range,
and will be brought to bear upon the object fired
at, like the gun of the Naugatuck, by the screws re-
volving the ship. This is the position of the twin
screw
system in England and America at the pre-
sent time, and the civil war now raging in America
will supply the means of testing its usefulness for
ships of war. In a paper read Capt.by
Symonds
on twin screws in April last, that
officer advocates
double keels and rudders for twin screw vessels, and
gives as his reasons that by applying twin screws
to single keel ships of the
present form the inter-
vening dead wood is a serious obstacle to their per-
fect action ; it divides and materially reduces the
column of 'water coming to the inner arms of the
screws, increases friction, and causes a series of
shocks that produce vibration. The vessels which
Capt, Symonds and 'Mr. Roberts, C.E., conjointly
propose for construction for twin screws are designed
for double keels, with a rudder in the line of each
keel, and nearly in a line with each screw shaft,
with the two keels cellular, and a cellular bottomt
worked up into the engine frames for strength.
These propositions, however, are purely profes-
sional, and we feel confident that with Mr. Reed in
the office of chief constructor of the navy, they,
together with the whole princiPlo and adaptation
of the twin screw systems will
_receive
conside-
ration which their importance de that
Mands.
have been received at
Admiralty instructions
Chatham, notifying' that the Lords of the Admiralty
have piney(' the paddlewheel steamer Vivid, 2, 100-
horse power,
Commander W. H. Allen, at the dis-
posal of Rear-
CA.°lnemiral F. Bullock, to enable him
to carry out a series of trials with his
vented log,
which was tested with so much success
on board the Salamis during the recent trials of
that paddlewheel steamer at the Maplin
Sands, near
Chatham.
The iron screw troopship Adventure, 1,794 to
ns
400 horse power, Commander T. B. I
eethbridge,
will, on her arrival in Chatham harbour, be placed
in the Linde, of Capt. li. . Maillop, by direction

machine, submitted by
with which the inventor nude_
the bottoms of
the marine and other formations on .
the practicability of employing
iron ships without any necessity ,
• N. their being
Adventure
placed in dock for that purpose. The
Chatham,
has been ordered to be operated upon al. .
dl in
because iron ships are found to foul more LIP,'
Y Ports.
that harbour than at any of the other nave' Por
iport,
The screw steam sloop Royalist, 11, at Devol
mon in removing
which is ordered to be put in commission, will L. ave
a crew of 130 men, and will most likely be sent to
n orders.pbe ii
, one of the Channel
steamship
Royal Oak, 35,
Capt. the North American station:
n:
The screw steam corvette Scylla, 21, having beet:
thoroughly repaired after her collision with the
merchant ship Duke of Wellington, has received
her powder and ammunition, and is now in Ply-
mouth
Red Sir Charles arnle as veH. rah Sound
Fre-
mantle,
The Lords of the Admiralty have ordered the
removal of the Muutz's metal from the bottom of
the
squadron, now in dock at Keyham steamyard.
Vice-Admiral
Com-
mander-in-Chief at Devonport, hoisted his flag at
ou
t iron-cased
Frederick
A.irtei w
Campbell, ,m
4 p.m. on Monday on board the gunnery ship
Cambridge, Capt. Charles J. P. E wart, in Hamoaze,
and saluted the iag of his predecessor, Admiral
ice-
x.d.mci.Bra.l,
the of the
newly-appointed
of the Blue Sir Houston Stewart, K. 0.8., which
was duly acknowle
dgei by the Royal Adelaide.
After this ceremony Admiral Stewart struck his
flag on board the Royal Adelaide, which then re-
ceived from the Cambridge the new Commander's
flag, red at the fore.
Admiral Fremantle com-
menced his duties yesterday morning.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty—Captain Henry Caldwell, C. 8.,
to the Royal Adelaide; Lieut.F. . Inglefleld and
, A. P. G. Sut-
Lieut. H. R. Bergers, to the Tamar •
ton, master, to the Indus, for the Cord elia; Robert
H. Paul and Wm. H, Roberts, midshipmen, to the
Royalist; Henry J. Chalke and Munro Scott,
master's-assistants, to the Tamar.
' A flag officer's "service pension" is placed at the
disposal of the First Lord of the Admiralty by the
death, on the Ist inst., of Admiral George Frederick
Rich, on the reserved half-pay.

THE ARMY.
The following circular has jest been promulgated
at Aldershot for general information and guidance :
Quartermaster-General's Office, Horse Guards,
Oct. 30, 1863.
In consequence of a representation made by the Director-
General of the Army Medical Department of the evils ac-
cruing from the too frequent washing of barrack-rooms, his
Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief
has directed attention to be drawn to article 12, page 7,
Barrack Regulations, which prescribes rooms should not be
washed oftener than once a week. His Royal Highness
altogether inralicnHyA o
urp damp
Aira:y7s Quartermaster-General.
in
ar wteinrmtears .
.ter-General
R
directs that the washing should take place early in the
morning, so that the rooms and forms may have the whole
day to dry again ; and it would be well to omit the washing
We have to record the death, on the 2d inst., of
Lieut. Bassett I. Loveless, the senior Lieutenant of
Greenwich Hospital, aged 79. He entered the Royal
Navy in 1801, was wounded off Algesiras July 6,
1801, and in 1808 was wrecked in her Majesty's
ship the Astrea, on a coral reef off Anegada, where
he remained for three months, suffering many pri-
vations from the want of food and clothing. As
Lieutenant of her Majesty's ship Castor, Capt. Chas.
Dilkes, he lost his arm at the shoulder-joint in a
boat action off Fort Monjui, during the blockade of
Barcelona in 1814. He was twice gazetted.

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