The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-01 00:00:00

TRIAL OF 7HE BLACK PRINCE.

Like her sister ship the Wa_,... rrior, the Black Prince is
Pefortunate as regards the weather on her speed
trials—Saturday, the day appointed for her trial at full
power, having been beautifully fine, with the wind light a
N.E. off the land, and the water almost without a ripple.
Capt. Broadhead, commanding her Majesty's ship Asia and
the reserve at Portsmouth, conducted the trial, Mr. A.
Murray, the engineer-in-chief of Portsmouth dockyard,
withNv ar d Mr.second Murdoch,
inspector of machinery afloat, and Mr.
engineer of the dockyard, superintending the
working of the machinery. Mr. Quadock, master ship-
wright of Portsmouth dockyard, with a part of his staff,
was also on board. Messrs. Mathews and Holiday repre-
presented Messrs. John Penn and Sons. Among the visi-
tors to the ship were Mr. Corry, M.P., the secretary to the
Board of Admiralty, which ordered the construction of the
ship, Admiral Sir Thomas Thompson, Colonel Sir henry
James, R.E., &c. The ship lay at anchor, at Spithead ,
with steam up and chain up and down ready for tripping
the anchor on Cape. Broadhead and staff arriving on board,
and on that officer's arrival preparations were at once made
for taking the ship to the trial ground. In weighing the
anchor, however, considerable delay took place, as on Tues-
day, in connection with the steam capstan, this time one of
the rollers giving way. Eventually, however, the anchor
was got up and stowed, and the ship reached the course
just in time to complete the required six runs while the tide
remained available for the purpose. Since the ship's par-
tial trial on Tuesday, when she only realised a mean speed
of 12.2 knots, she has been placed in dock and had her bot-
tom thoroughly cleansed and the weights on her safety
valve also rendered equal to those carried by the Warrior
on her trial. Under these circumstances, as both ships
were built from the same drawings, and their engines were
made in one shop from one set of patterns, it might reason-
ably have been expected that the speed of both ships would
have been as nearly as possible equal; but the result of
Saturday's trial has definitively proved the Black Prince,
under present circumstances, to be fully a knot per hour
inferior in point of speed to the Warrior. The results of the
six runs of the Black Prince on Saturday were as follows :
Run. Revolutions
Time. Speed Steam. Vacuum.
of
min. sec. in knots. lb. For'd. Aft.
Engines.
1 368 15.126 22f 24 24 52
2 5 5 11.803 21 24 62
3 4 5 14.69451 f
4 455 12.203 25 241: 51f
5 418 13 953 24! 24f 511:
6 435 13.091 25 241 51
Mean speed of the six runs, 13.317 knots.
After making the fourth run to the eastward the ship's
course was made towards the Sandhead Shoal, off Ryde, to
gain room in which to turn the ship for commencing her
fifth run to the westward. A small steamer, said to be the
Lady of the Lake, was crossing from Portsmouth to Ryde,
on her way to Cowes and Southampton, with a good num-
ber of passengers on board, and, either by gross negligence
or a foolhardy spirit on the part of those in charge of her,
attempted to cross the frigate's bows, the latter at the time
going at full speed. The passengers on board the small
steamer were all absorbed in watching the progress of the
mammoth ship, and appeared to be totally unaware of
their dangerous position, while no one on board paid any
attention to the signalling from the frigate to alter their
course. A few moments more and the two ships would
have been in contact, when the captain of the passenger
steamer rushed on his bridge and by his wild gesticulations
appeared to have become suddenly awako to the dangerous ~
position of his ship and passengers. His orders were not
given a second too soon, and his little vessel must have
answered her helm well and quickly to have extricated
herself as she did, just clear of the Black Prince's course.

It may be as well to insert here, by way of comparison,
the result of the Warriot's six runs on her trial of speed.
They were as follow : ,

Time. Speed in Steam, Vacuum.
Run. Min. Sec. knots.

Revolutions

1 3 38 16.514
2 4 57 12 121

Engines.
55

3 338 16 514 Equal to
4 4 50 12,113 the Black Prince's.
5 3 43 16.142
6 4 47 12.543

511
53k
55
531

Mean speed of the six runs, 14,354 knots.
By a comparison of the two means it will thus be seen
that there is a difference of speed against the Black Prince
of 1.037.

In seeking for the cause of this difference several may be
found, which, together or separately, will give a satisfactory
reason for the apparent loss, although it, at the same
time, will leave the Warrior as undeniably the faster
ship of the two. There is a difference in the pitch
of the two screws of about seven inches, and, with the Black
Prince altered to this extent, it is calculated that she would
increase the revolutons of her engines from her maximum
rate of 52 to 54, er perhaps 55, the maximum of the War-
rior's, which would give her at the same time an increase of
speed. Again, the Black Prince had on Saturday a mean
draught of water 0f:74.. inches over that of the Warrior on
her trial, the former drawing 26ft. forward and 27ft. 2in.
aft, while the latter only drew 25ft. bin. forward and 26ft.
Sin. aft. This would necessarily add to the Black Prince's
displacement and to the amount of resistance she would
have to overcome in passing through the water. It will also
be in the recollection of all those interested in such matters

that before leaving the Clyde the Black Prince grounded
and heeled over considerably, causing fears at the time that
she had somewhat strained herself. We have before alluded

to the slight disturbance in her upper port line, and there
is little doubt that she has dropped slightly at each end
since receiving her weights on board. If the form of her
bottom is at all altered, here alone is a sufficient cause to
account for the loss of a knot per honr of speed. Looking at
all these causes, however, a election can only be fairly
made of the 7i inches extra displacement, and the difference
in the pitch of the two screws as the true sources to which
must be ascribed the Blau Prince's defeat. This extra dis-
placement, however, deserves some consideration. No rea-
son can be assigned,
with any certainty of its success, for
ck
draught of water exceeding that of the
ihary engines exceeded in weight that of
but for this the Warrior's Rifle Tower,
twhearßriloarc.k
HP
erirnocale
tons of armour plates, more than compensated.
The bottomtwhieth
iattste3rs WP,
of the Black Prince must therefore be sharper
than tballrarrices, must be thrown out of proper form,or her
Plates must be considerablythe heaviest. Over so vast
surface the 32d part of an inch would make a great difference
Saturday, machinery,
the which
reputation fully
iv the ship's weight. One thing is certain—the loss of a knot
per hour of the ship'
o
btto
ship's speed under steam is not due to her
mo f a it nhtea i
eminentne , by
fii:ms
by
workingwhom on
it
was manufactured. The loss, then, is due, in some form,
to the ship's hull ; and to ascertain positively whether it is
owing to the ship's immersion, or to her form of bottom, it
would be necessary to lighten her, trim her to the same
draught as the Warrior, set her propeller exactly to the
same pitch, and try her again at the mile under, as nearly
as could be done, the same circumstances as attended the
Warrior's trial. With reference to the speed of ships
under steam generally, some misunderstanding appears to
exist in the public mind, If a ship is stated to have made
14 knots at the measured mile many persons look upon this
as denoting the ship's future speed at sea. Never was a
notion more fallacious. From all speeds made at the
measured mile 11 knot may be deducted, the remainder
giving the ship's best rate of speed at sea, with good fuel,
clean fires, and the ship, in fact, " pushed" to do her best.
Taking a ship's average speed at sea, two knots may be
deducted from the measured mile rate. The reason of this
is obvious. At the measured mile she burns the best
picked fuel, her fires are attended by a body of experienced
stokers from the steam factory of the dockyard, under their
own foremen, and the trial is never made when important,
like the Black Prince, except under the most favourable
circumstances of weather. This explanation will account
for the apparent discrepancy in the speed of the Warrior on
her late run with the Lords of the Admiralty in their yacht
Osborne down Channel and what she realized at the
measured mile., When the Warrior made her 14.354 knots
at the measured mile her average speed was set down at
12i knots, and this, with a clean bottom, there is no doubt
is her true sea rate. Meanwhile, it is worth observing
, here that notwithstanding the numerous "infallible" pre-
, parations for preserving clean the bottoms of iron ships
there is yet a noble fortune to be won in that way.
The Black Prince will make her trial of speed at half-
boiler power to-day, after which she will be swung at
Spithead to ascertain the deviation of her compass, pre-
; paratory to proceeding on her maiden cruise. Whether she
or the Wa:rior eventually possesses the superiority in poolt
of speed, the Black Prince is emphatically a grand ship, acn!:
Captain Wainwright must feel just pride in being Pia e"
in command of her.

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