The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-22 00:00:00

The Royal Sovereign.

The Royal Sovereign terminated her smooth-
water trials off the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, under

the supervision of Captain Astley C. Key, C. 8.,
commanding her Majesty's ship Excellent at Ports-
mouth, after three days' firing from her guns with
shot, shell, and case, with full and reduced charges,
during which time 290 rounds have been fired with-
out scratching a man's finger or breaking a ropeyarn.
The successful working of the gun has indeed been
all that could be desired, and is thoroughly con-
firmatory of Captain Sherard Osborn's report on
the ship and her guns on the termination of his com-
mand. It may be safely affirmed that no officer in
her Majesty's navy could possibly have conducted
this second trial of the Royal Sovereign in smooth
water in a more impartial manner than Capt. Key
has done, and, at the same time, with the benefit of
the results of Captain Osborn's experience before
him, Captain Key has been enabled to make some
additional experiments in firing from the ship's guns
which are likely to prove of great value, as increas-

ing even the importance of the turret system. At
the same time it is necessary to observe here that
the present trials of the Royal Sovereign's turrets,
and guns as being carried out by Captain Key,
cannot be considered as exactly a repetition of the
trials carried out by Captain Osborn, the main
object of the present trials being rather the test of
endurance in the various fittings of the guns and
turrets than a renewed trial of the turret system as
represented by the Sovereign. If only rough-water
trials are added to those on smooth-water con-

eluded yesterday, the utmost will have been attained
that it is possible to attain with the Royal Sove-
reign, and although it is not probable the Admiralty
will follow the suggestion given in The Sun
and send the ship on a cruise to Lisbon for Captain
Key to pick up the materials for his report in the
Bay of Biscay, yet a cruise between Spithead and
some of the French ports may possibly furnish facts
to form a very complete and exhaustive report on
the fitness of the turret system for the Chan-
nel or even Mediterranean service. It is not at all
necessary here to enter upon the great question of
" turret v. broadside ships," it being quite sufficient
to state, and that without fear of contradiction, that
so far as Capt. Key as yet has conducted the trials
of the Royal Sovereign, the results are as favourable
to the system as any before Obtained, and that there
is no reason for supposing any difficulty need be
anticipated in working guns of 40 or 50 tons' weight
on the turntable of a turret as certainly and as
safely as the present 12-ton guns are. Whatever
may otherwise happen, it is certain that whatever
weight of gun may be carried on a ship's broadside
that weight may be trebled in a turret ; but whether
a ship built for ocean cruising should carry her ar-
mament solely in turrets, in a mixed plan of turret
and broadside, or, on the broadside alone, is yet open
to considerable and grave discussion. Of the 290
shots fired from the Royal Sovereign during the
three days, 65 were fired on the first day with 401 b
of powder, and 1501 b. round solid cast-iron shot.
On the second day there were fired 40 rounds with
401 b. powder charges, 75 rounds with 351 b. powder
charges, and 2 rounds with 201 b. powder charges ;
95 solid shot being used, with 20 shells and 2 rounds
of case shot. On Tuesday 108 rounds were fired,
107 being with solid shot and 401 b. powder charges,
and one with a reduced 201 b. powder charge.

Taking yesterday as a fair sample of the three
days' work, the steam launch of the Excellent, with
Captain A. C. Key and his staff on board, arrived
alongside the Sovereign at Spithead about 9.30 .a.m.
The vessel was lying at Spithead, with four
shackles of chain out to her hawse pipe (50 fathoms)
and with steam up in readiness. The chain was
at once taken to the steam capstan between
decks, and in a very short time the anchor was hove
up and secured, and the ship steaming out between
the Horse and Norman marine 'forts to open water
S.E. of Spithead, which was selected with St. Catha-
rine'sin line with Dunnose, and a pole and flag target
having been sent out the guns from the third and
after turrets commenced practice at 1,100 yards'
distance. Forty-eight rounds were fired, when
" Cease firing" was sounded, and the crew were
sent to dinner. In the afternoon the turrets were
again manned, and 55 rounds were fired at another
target at 1,300 yards' distance, the target being
during both this and the morning's practice abeam.
This was succeeded by two shots from the third tur-
ret gun depressed, the first being at 3 deg. with
401 b. of powder charge and shot, and the second at
3i deg. with 201 b. powder charge and shot. At 3
deg. the shot struck the water 100 ft. from the ship,
and at 3i deg. the shot struck about 80ft. from the
ship. The gun in the after turret, which in the
meantime had been lowered on its carriage for the
purpose (an operation completed in 16 min.), was
next laid at 18 deg. elevation, and two shots fired
from it with 401 b. charges, the time of flight in each
instance, from the discharge of the gun to the shot
striking the water, being 21 seconds. The firing
was concluded with a shot from the after turret be-
ing fired over the quarter and skylights of the cap-
tain's cabin, which was attended by the same satis-
factory results as in the previous firing, but gave a
job to the crew of the captain's galley to pick up
the lifebuoy, which had been shaken free by the
concussion. The shortest interval between the firing