The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-06 00:00:00

On Wednesday the gunboat Redwing conveyed
Capt. Jerningham, of the gunnery ship Cambridge,
from Hamoaze into Plymouth Sound, where he in-
spected the crew of the gun vessel Viper, 4, Com-
mander Hewett, just returned from the African
station. The Viper then got up steam, and, while
going into Hamoaze, fouled a schooner and carried
away her jib •boom. The Redwing, following, fouled
the Viper, and carried away her jib-boom. After
the crew of the Vi per are paid LIZ sho.wi4i4w-dis&l
mantled and placed in the steam ordinary, but her
internal fittings will he disturbed.

The new contract, built screw steam gunvessel
Steady, 4, went on Wednesday from Hamoaze out-
side the Plymouth Breakwater and tested her ma-
chinery a second time.
. .

The trial of the Victoria, 121, screw three-decker,
was resumed and. concluded yesterday at Ports-
mouth with the most perfect success, whether as
regards the working of her machinery or the
results obtained. The huge mastless vessel
steamed out of Portsmouth Harbour at half-
speed at 11 a.m., in charge of Captain George T.
Gordon, corm:nanding the steam reserve. On clear-
ing the narrow harbour channel the speed of the
ship was increased until nearing the Warner Light-
vessel, when full speed was put on, and the ship's
head shortly afterwards brought round and di-
rected towards the trial ground in Stockes bay,
Much interest has been felt as to the results of the
Victoria's screw trial, from the power of her engines
—l,OOO-horse nominal ; and also from the proba-
bility of her being the last three-decked ship which
will be built in Portsmouth Dockyard. The ship's
draught of water was—forward, 18ft. Tin. ; and aft,
23ft. 1 lin. The weather was all that could be de-
sired for the purpose of testing the steaming powers
of the ship at her present light draught of water,
which when she has all her weights and crew on
board, ready for sea, will be increased by nearly
five feet. Six runs were made at the measured mile
with and against the tide with the following re-
sults :-Ist run, 13533 ; 2d run, 12 631 ; 3d run,
14 063 ; 4th run, 11.803 ; sth run, 14 694; and 6th
run, 11.323, giving a mean of 13 129 knots per
hour. The ponderous machinery worked well in
every part, and there was a plentiful supply of
steam. Steam pressure was 201 b. ; vacuum, 211 b. ;
revolutions of engines, mean, 60 ; diameter of screw,
20 feet, with 25 feet pitch. The screw is Messrs.
Maudslay's adaptation of the common screw with
their shifting pitch, removeable and the leading
corners cut off. At the conclusion of the sixth run
the ship was again steamed out for the Warner
Lightship, on reaching which her helm was put
hard a-port, and she made a complete circle in 4
minutes. Great difficulty was, however, found in
steering the Victoria, as in all other full-powered
screw ships, as, with even eight men at the wheel
when under full steam, only 1t turn could be get
to port and two to starboard. The immense
pressure brought to bear on the rudder by
the action of the screw, it is well known,
causes this ; still the fact remains the same, and the
safety and efficiency of our high-powered ships of
war are thereby considerably imperilled. The
speed obtained by the Victoria is in advance of any
yet obtained by a line-of-battle ship, and the results,
so far, may be considered quite satisfactory. She
is fitted with Suffield's patent engine-room tele-
graph. The stokeholes of the ship are—forward,
54 feet in length, and containing 20 fires. The
after stokehole is 26 feet in length, and contains
12 fires. The engine-room is 31 feet long. Total
length of ship's hold occupied by engine-room
and stokeholes, 111 feet. The Victoria, at the
close of the trial, was brought into harbour and
berthed alongside the Duke of Wellington, at the
upper part of the harbour. From the manner in.
which everything on her upper deck is being housed
in, there seems no probability of this fine ship being
commissioned at present.
The following appointments were made yesterday,
at the Admiralty Waye, master, to the Wel-
lington, for the Desperate; J. Symon, second-
master, to the Impregnable ; T. Stringer, master's
assistant, to the Bloodhound ; Percy C. Smith,
master's assistant, to the Impregnable ; J. Bishop,
assistant-surgeon, to the Bloodhound ; J. Ferguson,
acting third-class assistant-engineer, to the Wel-
lington, for service in the Avon ; Patrick O'Connor,
pay master, to the Algiers ; Henry Gray (a), pay-
master, additional, to the Monarch; Marcus O'N.
W. Markham, assistant-paymaster, to the Centu-
rion ; and C. P. Skinner, assistant clerk, to the
Aboukir.