The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-20 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Rear-Admiral Augustus R. Yelverton, C. 8., with
four ships belonging to the Channel Fleet from
Portland, arrived in Plymouth Sound yesterday.
Wind north-east ; fine. `The Caledonia rounded
the west end of the breakwater at 10 minutes before
8 o'clock, and at 13 minutes after dropped her
anchor outside the breakwater, well to the eastward.
The Achilles followed, and within two minutes took
up her position to the westward. The Lord Clyde,
at a quarter after 8, stationed herself near the
Caledonia. The screw steam frigate Liverpool was
placed at the same time between the Lord Clyde
and the Achilles. When anchored four boats were
dropped simultaneously from the Caledonia, and
she saluted the flag of Port-Admiral Sir Charles
Fremantle, K.C.8., which was duly acknowledged
by the flagship Royal Adelaide, 25, Capt. Frederick
B. P. Seymour, C. 8., in Hamoaze. It is. stated
that the Achilles will receive provisions from the
Royal William victualling yard, to be prepared for
service in the Mediterranean in relief of the armour-
plated ship Prince Consort, 31, Capt. E. A. Ingle-
field, which is ordered home.
The ull importance of the trial of the Bellerophon
at Stokes' Bay on Friday last can only be under-
stood when the characteristic features of that ship
are compared with those of the first and finest class
of ironclad frigates laid down in this country—viz.,
the Warrior class. The great primary object aimed
at in the design of the Warrior class was the attain-
ment of a speed of 14 knots, in association with a
battery of guns, protected by armour-plating at a
wholesale height above the water. The class consisted
of two ships, the Warrior and Black Prince, both built
from the same design, and engined by the same
eminent firm of Penn and Son. The speed of the
•Warrior was 14.356 knots, that of the Black Prince-
-13.604 knots, the mean or average speed of the two
being 13.98, or very nearly 14 knots. In order to
secure this very high speed these ships were made of
the great length of 380 ft., and of no less than 6,109
tons burden, and, their armour plating was restricted
to a central portion of the ship over a length of
212 ft. The great tonnage, of course, involved a
great first cost ; the great length rendered the ships
extremely unhandy both under steam and under
canvas; and the restriction of the armour to the
central portion of the ship involved two manifest
and most serious defects—viz., first the complete
exposure of all the steering apparatus—a defect the
fatal character of which the case of the Re d'ltalia
at Lissa but too well illustrates ; and secondly, the
liability of the ship to instant injury at the water
line near the bow and stern iu action, an injury
which the watertight compartments at the ends
would prevent from proving dangerous, but which
would infallibly result in the partial sulimer.cwri,.
,s; vile -certain loss of that extreme

speed for which so much had been sacrificed. A
third defect of the restriction of the armour in the
Warrior class is also obvious—viz., their incapa-
bility to fire a single shot ahead, or within 60
degrees of the line of keel, from behind the armour
plating. Some of these defects were justly deemed
so serious that when the next class of fast ironclads
was designed—the Minotaur class—it was deemed
necessary to secure the protection of the steering
apparatus and the provision of a chase fire from
protected guns at any cost, and as the universal
opinion was that great length was indispensable to
a 14-knot speed, these ships were made of the
enormous, not to say preposterous, length of 400 ft.,
and of 6,621 tons burden, to the still further sacri-
fice of that handiness which under steam is essen-
tial to the efficiency of ironclads in action, and
under canvas is no less essential to save them from
going to destruction on a lee shore in the event

of an injury happening to their machinery. We need
hardly add that the cost of such ships increased with
the tonnage, and it is to the construction of such im-

mense and unwieldly fabrics as these that we to
a great extent owe that deficiency in the num-
ber of our ships of which the present First
Lord so justly complains. It was at this point that
Mr. Reed stepped in, and in the face of all former
practice asserted that these monstrous proportions
were not in fact essential to speed in an ironclad
frigate, but that speed could be attained in com-
bination with moderate size and cost, and with even
greater efficiency in other respects. The Bellero-
phon was designed and built to put this theory to
the test, and it must be viewed as a piece of great
good fortune to the country that the trial of Friday
last has completely vindicated the soundness of the
principle upon which her designer has proceeded.
Before that trial it was universally admitted that as
regards armour and armament the Bellerophon
greatly surpassed the Warrior, that her steering
gear and water-line were thoroughly protected, and
that her handiness is not only far superior to that
of the Warrior class, but superior to that of every
other ship of every description in her Majesty's
navy. But the distrust of her steaming quality was,
until Friday last, all but universal. It was not to be
expected, indeed, that anything short of an absolute
demonstration of the fact, made under unimpeach;
able conditions, would ever persuade professional
men to have confidence in a theory which so utterly
reversed their own practice. On Friday, however,
the long and anxiously looked for trial came off ;
the Bellerophon was steamed on to the measured
mile in face of a wind so strong as to place her at a
great disadvantage ; but, in spite of this drawback,
the ship was put at once to the proof, and attained
offhand, and without a hitch of any kind, a mean
speed of 141 knots, kept up over a succession of
half-a-dozen runs, thus beating the Black Prince
by more than half a knot, and touching the speed of
the famous Warrior herself within a fraction of a
knot—so small as scarcely to deserve mention.
The Lords of the Admiralty have given direc-

tions for the preparation at Chatham dockyard, for
exhibition at the International Exhibition to be held
in Paris next year, of models of the various descrip-
tions of ironclad ships and other vessels forming the
distinguishing type of the different classes of ships
of war belonging to the Royal Navy. The list of
vessels which are to be reproduced in half-block
models includes the Monarch, Hercules, Achilles,
and Lord Warden, ironclads, built or building at
Chatham, together with the wooden screw two-
decker line-of-battle ship Rodney, the screw steamer
Blanche, the paddle-wheel steamer Salamis, and the
paddle-wheel steam yacht Elfin, tender to the Vic-
toria and Albert. The order further directs mid-
ship se3tion models of the Bellerophon, Hercules,
and Warrior, iron-cased ships, also to be prepared
for forwarding to the Exhibition. The ships enu-
merated include, with one or two exceptions, speci-
mens of the various descriptions of vessels making
up the British navy.

Major-Gen. A. B. Stransham, inspector-general
of the corps of Royal Marines Light Infantry, at-
tended by Capt.. J C. Travers, aide-de-camp, ar-

rived at Chatham on Saturday, for the purpose 01
commencing his summer inspection of the officers
and men of the Light Infantry companies comprising
the first, or Chatham, division of that branch of the
service. On arriving at bead-quarters, theinspector-
general was received by Col.- Com m and an t J. °'
Travers, C. 8., commanding the division, Colonel
Second-Commandant W. S. Asldtt, and the other
officers of the staff attached to the divisional head-
quarters. Shortly after his arrival, Major-Genera
Stransham proceeded to make an inspection of the
companies drawn up for that purpose in the barrack
square, one of which was selected for the customarY,,
examination of the arms, kits, and accoutrements of
the non-commissioned officers and men. The re
mainder of the day was devoted to the inspection
of the officers and non-commissioned officers at
head-quarters in the sword drill, and also to an in-
spection of a portion of the battalion in the cons"
pany drill, in which both officers and men acquitted
themselves in a highly satisfactory manner. Ou the
completion
.of this portion of his duties, Maier-
Gen. Stransham visited the various barrack estab;
lishments, a portion of the divisional offices, an",
other departments, the day's inspection being brought,
to a close in the afternoon. The inspector-general
will resume, and probably bring to a conclusion, his
inspection of the battalion to-day, when, should the
weather be favourable, the customary field-day re
view of the division will take place on Chatham-lines,
together with the inspection of officers and men a
the gun-shed battery, and other details, the garrisl
orders issued yesterday exempting the officers an
men from all garrison duty to-day, in order that the
whole available force of Royal Marines at head-
quarters may be present at the inspection.
An order has been received at Chatham garrison
directing Capt. J. D. Bradley, 2d Battalion, 1011
Regiment, to be held in readiness to embark for
New Zealand, and Lieut. R. A. Oswald, 29th Regi-
ment, to embark for Malta, to join the headquar-
ters of their respective corps.
The detachment of Royal Engineers doing duty
at Shoeburyness, consisting of 200 men of all ranks)
is ordered to rejoin the head-quarters of the corps
at Chatham garrison.
The 3d battalion Grenadier Guards, commanded
by Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and numbering
20 officers, 40 non-commissioned officers, and 650
men, are expected to leaye the infantry barracks'
Sheet-street, Windsor, on the 28th inst., en route for
the Tower. This fine battalion will be relieved at
Windsor by the 2d battalion Scots Fusilier GuardS•
The Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief has
approved Major El liott,lB th Regiment, being posted
to the Ist battalion ; he will therefore proceed to
Shorncliffe to join the head-quarters of the Ist bat"
talion 18th Regiment. Capt. Burke, 2d battalion.
18th Regiment, has been ordered to join the depot
companies.

A testimonial has been presented by the non-c 0111"
missioned officers and men of the Bth Depot Battallo
to Sergeant-Major Rice on his retirement from 0'
service. Sergeant-Major Rice has been appointed
Sergeant-Major to the South Devon Militia.

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