The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-27 00:00:00

TRIAL OF THE BLACK PRINCE.

The official trial of the speed of this noble vessel,
at full power, at her deep draught of water for sea
service, commenced at Portsmouth yesterday, under
the most favourable circumstance of -wind and wea-
ther. The two previous trials of the ship took place
at light draught, and under somewhat exceptional
circumstances, the first only being a trial of speed,
made on the day after her arrival at Spithead from
Greenock, on the 20th of November, 1861. The
second was her trip outside the " Wight," to test
the action of her enlarged rudder, in April last. In
her speed trial she made four runs at the measured
mile, with the following results in knots :—First
run, 15.859 ; second run, 12.950 ; third run, 15.319,
and fourth run, 12.043. Some disappointment was
felt by many at the time at this rate of speed, the
Warrior having exceeded it on her trial at deep
draught, when she averaged 14.354 knots. Various
causes were assigned to account for the difference
between the two ships, but, perhaps, the real cause
lay in the pressures of steam on board each vessel
during the trial. At any rate, this could be met
and disposed of in the trial of yesterday. The ship's
draught of water on the 20th of November was 24ft.
2in. aft, and 21ft. 10in. forward, The second trial
(not of speed) took place in April last, when the
ship was taken off the Culver cliffs at the east end
of the Isle of Wight to test the capabilities of her
rudder, which had been enlarged from an area of
130 ft. to 153 ft. On this occasion she had 12 men at
her wheel, and, taking three of the circles eompleted
by the ship as the average of the whole, they were
made respectively in 8 min. 5 sec., 9 min. 49 sec.,
and 9 min. 38 sec.,—the angle of the rudder being
in each case 16, 13, and 13 deg. The ship's draught
of water was—forward, 22ft. ; aft, 23ft. lin. The
Black Prince is now, however, in commission, with
her stores on board and ready for sea, and made
her trial of speed yesterday on equal terms with
her sister ship the Warrior, tried on the 17th of last
October. The Black Prince, as far as appearances
are of value, has enjoyed a great advantage in being
fitted after the Warrior, all the little errors un-
avoidably committed in the former's fitment having
been avoided in that of the latter, while many im-
provements suggested by the experience gained in
fitting out the one ship have been applied to the
benefit of the other. Owing to these causes the
hull of the Black Prince has a much handsomer and
lighter appearance than that of the Warrior. The
latter has a perfectly straight line of rail, which
gives her bow and stern an appearance of dropping,
as though the ship was, to a certain extent, what
is technically termed " hogged" amidships. This
has been avoided in the Black Prince, although it
is a fact that her midship ports are above their
proper level, and by a judicious sheer having been
given to her line of rail forward and aft the appear-
ance of the hull has been greatly improved. The
figureheads of the two ships, although both are
splendid pieces of carving, are still very dissimilar
in character. The Warrior is massive and stern-
looking, but cold. With the Black prince, on the
and, battle-
, with battle-
axe the figure, while equalling the Warrior
in size, is full of fire and energy,
an
axe at the swing, seems to be describing the career
of the ship in the future. In the bows of the two
ships there is, however, an actual difference in their
dimensions abaft the catheads from the main deck
upwards, the Black Prince being of less width here
than the Warrior, which must also add to the light-
ness of her appearance in the water, though it
cannot affect her either as regards her speed or be-
haviour at sea. Aloft, the Black Prince, like the
Warrior since her cruise in the Bay of Biscay,
looks anything but ship-shape to a nautical eye,
in consequence of her reduced bowsprit. The ori-
ginal bowsprit was 49ft. in length, by 40in. dia-
meter, but this was reduced before taking it on
board to its present dimensions-25ft. in length
and 24in. diameter. Other external fittings of
the ship, including additional catheads which
will carry the bower anchors some 20ft. further
aft when at sea, bow linings of iron plate to pre-
serve the ship's bows from the chafe of her anchors,
and " heads" abreast the funnels, for the use of the
crew at sea, have been added in a similar manner
to those of the Warrior. The additional catheads
are, however, something different in construction.
The Prince's were made in Portsmouth dockyard.
Their length is 15ft, each, width at top of sheave
holes 14in., at bottom of rivetting to the ship's
sides breadth of side plates at widest part
26in., and sin. thick, thickness of outside plates for
sheave holes 14in., angle iron for framing 4in. by
tin. thick, angle iron to form connection with side
of the ship Sin. by sin. thick, diameter of rivets
15-16 in., weight of each cathead 45 cwt. The
Warrior's are of a rather lighter character, and
were made at Keyham factory. The armour plates
on the Black Prince's aides are of two descriptions.
Those bolted on her line of ports, each port being
in depth just the width of the armour plate, are
rolled plates, manufactured by Messrs. Beale and
Co., of Parkgate Works. The remainder are ham-
mered, manufactured by Messrs. Rigley, of the
Parkhead Works, Glasgow. Inboard the Black
Prince has also been generally fitted on the same
plan as the Warrior, with here and there a devia-
tion which the experience gained from that ship has
suggested. The work done in the shipwrights'
department has been very extensive, as the ship
arrived at Portsmouth from Greenock in a very un-
finished state. In connection with the engineering
department, an auxiliary engine has been fitted of
40-horse power for working the capstan, pumping
water from the different compartments, washing
decks, and also to act as a fire-engine. A cupola
furnace and fan has been erected for molten iron
shell. Tramways in coal-boxes and stoke-holes,
with engines for rais;ng ashes, &c., and a feed en-
gine for the auxiliary boiler have also been fitted.
The ship's upper deck, being free from any rifle
tower, such as encumbers the deck of the Warrior,
presents a fine roomy space to the eye, and the
sheer of the hammock rail forward and aft, to
which We have before alluded, gives her a much
smarter appearance than the Warrior on deck.
Here she carries two 110 -pounder Armstrongs, four
40-pounders,. and two 20-pounders, also Arm-
besides rifted and smooth bore bore guns for
boat service. On the main deck she carries, in the
forward and. aft of her armour
two compartments,
plating, eight 110-Pounder
Armatrongs—four in
each compartment. Behind her
armour plating all
the guns are the 95 cwt. smoothbore for 68-pound
solid shot, mounted on carriages
i fitted with direct-
ing bars. On deck and below, n every part, the
ship, considering the large number of dockyard
men that has been daily employed on board, and
the amount of work which has been in hand at
one
time, is in an exceedingly clean and orderly condi-
tion, and reflects credit upon her captain and offi-
cers for their management.
The ship was appointed to have her anchor short
a-peak at Spithead by 9.30 a.m., and at that time
the Pheasant gun-boat embarked from the dock-
yard Captain H. Broadhead and the officials ap-
pointed to execute the trial, and conveyed them out
to the ship, which tripped her anchor at 10.30. In
running the anchor up to the bows, however, by
the steam capstan, the chain became jammed round
the base of the capstan, with the ring of the anchor
at the he wse pipe, and the auxiliary engine in con-
sequence set fast below. This caused a considerable
delay, and after this had been remedied, in bringing
the ship's head round to the westward to go en the
" mile," the screw steering apparatus was found so
deficient in direct power upon the rudder that the
ordinary tiller had to be shipped and connected
with the common wheel, and both worked together.
This made it afternoon before the ship reached the
trial ground, where four runs were made with the
following results:—

Time. Speed, Revols. of Steam. Vacuum.
First run . :111.4u. sec. in knots. engines. for. aft.
Second run 5 58 ' • 13.84610 .. 1,5 .. 201 b, ..
.255 2233
Third run .. 4 9 •••
14. 457 * * "19 • • " • • 2'4 23
Fourth run 6 69 . : 10:286 : : 49.5 , , 7: .... 24 23
Mean speed of the four runs, 12.209. This result
was so unsatisfactory, as compared
with the War-
rior's trial, that ship having attained a mean speed
of 14.354 knots, that it was resolved to abandon any
further trial of speed, and to recommend to the
Admiralty that the ship should be taken into the
harbour to-day and placed in
on her safetyndoektoel clean
bottom. and that the weight Iher
valve-
should be increased to a level with that given to the
Warrior on her trial trip, the Black Prince haying

been worked with 51b less than the Warrior. The
screws of both ships are precisely similar, improved
Griffiths's, and set at the same pitch; the draught
of water of the two vessels was, however, different,
and against the Black Prince, whose dq,ught was
261 t. 10in. aft, and 26ft. 2in. forward. '1 he Warrior
drew 26ft. 2in, aft, and 25ft. 6in. forwv d. There is
certainly a vast difference in the speed of the two
ships, which is not accounted for either by a foul
bottom or the increased draught of water. Looking
however to the load on the safety-valve in the two
trials we find in the five poundsdifference in favour
of the Warrior the cause of her, at present, supe-
riority over the Black Prince ; but, with a clean
bottom and this difference in the weights rectified,
it is expected that on the. Black Prince resuming
her trial, which it is intended she shall do this
week, the speed of both ships will be found as
nearly as possible equal. The determination hav-
ing been arrived at by Captain Broadhead to post-
pone for the day any further trial of the ship's
speed, she was taken off the trial ground and
steered for the Bembridge lightship, to test her
time in making complete circles to port and star-
board. On reaching the desired position the ves-
sel's helm was put hard to starboard, the ship at
the time going at full speed, and the time being
taken from the word of command being given. The
half circle was made in 5 min. 4 sec., and the full
circle in 10 min. 11 sec., the angle of the rudder
being 151 deg. Two and a half turns were got
with the wheel, and the rudder was hove into posi-
tion in I min. 3 sec. ; revolution of engines, 45.5.
With nelm to port, the rudder was hove up to an
angle of 16 deg. in 33 sec., with 31, turns of the
wheel. The first half of the circle was made in
7 min. and the full circle completed in 13 min.
33 sec. ; revolutions of engines, 45.5. In the third
trial the engines were stopped and the helm put
over to starboard before starting, and the circle
was completed in somewhat less time. In the
fourth trial, with the rudder amidships, the order
was given to hard-a-port, and the rudder was hove
over by the screw steering apparatus to 11 deg.,
the extent to which it could be got by this: pur-
ehase, in 1 minute and 2 seconds. The ship's head
was now turned towards Spithead, and in steam-
ing in to the anchorage the engines were tested in
their powers of changing their motion when at full
speed. From the time of moving the handle of the
telegraph on the bridge, to give the signal to the
engine-room, they were stopped dead in 19 seconds,
and were started ahead from standing still in 11
seconds, and to going ahead at full speed in 32 se-
conds. The temperature averaged during the trial
was as follows :—After stock-hole, 106 deg.; fore
stoke-hole, 904 deg.; engine-room, 961 deg. No
vibration whatever was felt in the ship throughout
the day's trial. Even on the bridges nothing was
felt beyond the slightly tremulous motion of the
plank flooring between the stanchions. The en-
gines, Which were in charge of Mr. Tucker, the
chief engineer of the ship, worked smoothly and
satisfactorily throughout, and the boilers furnished
a superfluity of steam. Capt. H. Broadhead, com-
manding her Majesty's ship Asia and the Reserve
at Portsmouth, was in command during the trial,
the working of the machinery being under the
supervision of Mr. A. Murray, chief engineer of
the Steam Factory Department, and Mr. Murdoch,
inspector of machinery afloat. Mr. T. Holliday
represented the makers of the engines, Messrs. John
Penn and Sons. Among the visitors on board
were Admiral H. Collier and other officers. The
Black Prince dropped her anchor again at Spit-
head at the close of the day's proceedings at four
p.m., and awaits orders at Spithead relative to the
resumption of her trials of speed with full and half-
power on Friday or Saturday next.