The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-02 00:00:00

The Miantonomah.

This formidable war vessel, which, as the first
American turret-ship that has visited the shores of
Europe, created such an extraordinary degree of
interest during her recent visit to the anchorages at
Queenstown and Spithead, sailed from the latter
roadstead early on Saturday morning for Cherbourg,
where she will remain a short time open, as she has
been to us, to the admiration and criticism of our
good friends and allies across Channel. From Cher-
bourg existing understood arrangements send the
Miantonomah to the Medway or the Thames, and
thence to the Baltic. She is expected to call again
at Spithead on her return down Channel from the
Baltic. During the stay of the ship at both Queens-

town and Spithead she was, during each day, open

;o the admission of all visitors. Thousands o

people availed themselves of the opportunity, and
all must have left her impressed with the kindness
with which they were received by the officers and
the untiring pains taken to explain all the numerous
details of the plan and fittings of the ship's hull,
turrets, armour, and guns. We have learnt much
from the visit of the Miantonomah, and her officers
will not go from our shores without having added
to their previous knowledge of the manner in which
guns may be fought in revolving iron towers on
board a ship.
In their visit to the Miantonomah at Spithead on
Friday last the Lords of the Admiralty were ac-
companied by the Hon. G. V. Fox, the Assistant-

Secretary of the United States' Navy ; Captain
Cowper Phipps -Coles, R.N., Captain Bythesea,
R.N., V.C., Naval Attache to the British Embassy
at Washington ; Lord John Hay, M.P. ; the Earl
of Wilton, Commodore of the Royal Yacht
squadron ; Mr. Westley Richards, Scc., in addition
to a number of naval officers and others.

The Duke of Somerset, with the Controller and
other members of the Board of Admiralty, having
been conducted over the ship by Captain Beaumont,
and minutely inspected her on deck and below, took
up a position on the raised hurricane deck, in com-
pany with the Hon. Mr. Fox, to witness the firing
of two shots from the enormous 15-inch smoothbore
guns which form her turret armament. The officers
and crew of the ship took up their respective posi-

tions at general quarters, all hatches were securely
battened down, the supply of air below was pro-
vided for by setting the ventilating fans in motion,
and the ship in every respect preparel for action at
sea. These preparations having been made, a visit
to the deck below demonstrated clearly enough that,
although in certain portions of the 'tween deck the
atmosphere felt slightly oppressive after just leaving
the open of the upper deck, the air was really cool,
as proved by the thermometer ranges, and the ship
might be fought through a long summer day's
action under the same conditions without distress to
any on board from heat below beyond what would
necessarily be found in any ordinary steamship of
war.

The first gun fired was charged with a 351 b.
powder cartridge and a sabot live shell, at extreme
elevation. The effect was very grand as the vast
globe of metal propelled from the mouth of the gun

with a deep hoarse roar went hurtling on its course
until it fell at an estimated distance of about 3,500
yards from the ship.
The second gun was charged with 351 b. of pow-
der, a solid iron shot of 4601 b., and fired point blank.
If the last shot was grand, as exhibiting the flight
of a 15in. shell, this was more interesting, as exhi-
biting—what we have as yet made no provision for
in rifling our heavy naval artillery—the perfection of
ricochet firing. The immense ball spun along its
course over the surface of the water as truly as the
cricketer's ball passes over the smooth green sward
towards the wicket. The noise of the explosion, the
concussion felt, and the smoke which entered the
turrets on the firing of the guns were neither more
nor less than would be nearly expected in firing 351 b.
powder charges.
The working of the guns on board the Mianto-
nomah on Friday was somewhat slow, but this was
accounted for by the fact that it was the first time
the same crews had worked the guns in actual prac-
tice. The shutters, or port stoppers, were evidently
very much in the way of the men in loading the
guns, and it certainly appears that, with the quick
available means of turning away from the enemy the
port's face of the turret when loading, they mia.lat
be altogether done away with. The revolving of the
turret by steam power, and the twisting power
given to the ship's hull by the reversed action of her
twin screws, would always keep the gunports hid
from an enemy when the guns are not run out. The
port shutters, therefore, appear to be superfluous.
To pursue still further our friendly attempt at fault-
finding with a ship that has so deservedly won the ad-
miration of all who have seen her since her arrival on
these shores we must refer to the rotation of her
turret by steam. There are two faults here. The
first is that if any part of the steam gear is damaged
the rotation of the turret is stopped and the guns
are rendered 'useless for want of a second avail-
able motive power, with which the turrets of
the Miantonomah are not fitted.
is that the lateral' oscillation
hsottef The second fault
great when being turned by steam, and
turret is very
seri-
ously interfere with rapid and must
the guns on a small moving mg. and discharge of
e meOaurns
Sovereign has four available different Object.
Royal
foyrea-1 re-
volving her turrets, all, however, by manual labour
alone, and in revolving they are by means of their
greater circle of conical wheels perfectly steady.
Other faults that we can manage to find with the
Miantonomah, in addition to the weakness of the
ship as a wooden structure, to which we have for-