The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-08 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Virago, 6, 220 horse power, Commander 11.
M. Bingham, having been inspected by Vice-A hni-
ra.l Sir B. Walker, Bart, K.C.8., Naval Comman-
der-in-Chief, left the Nore for the West Coast of
Ireland on Thursday evening, calling in at Spithead
on her way down Channel. She proceeds to Queens-
town, where she will receive her final instructions.
The iron troopship Malabar, 2, 4,173 tons, 700
horse power (nominal), one of the squadron of iron
transports building for the Hon. Council of India,
for carrying on the improved transport service of
officers and troops between this country and India,
will be launched from the establishment of Messrs.
Napier and Sons, Glasgow, to-day. The Malabar is
in all respects similar to the other vessels building
for the Government—viz., the Crocodile, building
at the yard of Messrs.Wigram and Co., Blackwall;
the EuphrateA building at Birkenhead by Messrs.
Laird and Sons, and launched a few days since ; the
Jumna, building at Jarrow by Messrs. Palmer ;
and the Serapis, building at the yard of the Thames
Shipbuilding Company, Blackwall. She is 360 feet
in lengt'a between perpendiculars, with a length of
keel for tonnage of 326 feet; extreme breadth, 49
feet ; depth in hold, 22 feet 4 inches ; burden, 4,173
tons ; and mean draught of water, 30 feet. The
whole of the five vessels, which will cost, when com-
pleted and ready for sea, rather more than a million
sterling, resemble each other in every respect, and
will unquestionably constitute the finest steam tran-
sport fleet in the world. The Malabar has been built
on the double-bottom unsinkable principle, the im-
portance of which is an iron vessel destined to carry
1,500 souls cannot be over-estimated. She has been
constructed from the designs of Mr. E. J. Reed,
Chief Constructor of the Navy, from whose plans
the other vessels of the squadron are being built,
while the whole of the internal arrangements
have been planned by Capt. W. R. Mends, C. 8.,
Principal Director of the Transit Service, aided
by his naval and military assistants. The cir-
cumstances connected with the designing of this
squadron of vessels were somewhat unusual. On
the original designs being requested to be prepared
for the Indian Government in the Controller's De-
partment at the Admiralty, Mr. Reed is understood
to have suggested that their construction should be
intrusted to private firms, several of whom were in-
vited to prepare plans and designs for the kind of
transports required, Mr. Reed being in the Rican-
time requested to make an official design for the
Admiralty. On the various designs sent in being
submitted to the transport officers, none was found
satisfactory, on which the official design of Mr.
Reed was called for and fully approved. Before
finally adopting it, however, the Lords of the Ad-
miralty thought. it desirable to subject the whole of
the designs to the investigation of an independent
and thoroughly well-informed committee, and ac-
cordingly -Mr..lsaac Watts, C. 8., late Chief Con-
structor of the Navy, was called on to report on the
speed, stability, and other like features of the de-
sign ; Mr. W. Fairbairn, of Manchester, was re-
quested to report on the structural features, and
Capt. Mends, C. 8., on the general arrangements
and accommodation ; the result being that the offi-
cial design of Mr. Reed was again pronounced the
best on all the points, and was forthwith adopted.
Some idea of the capabilities of the new transport
may be inferred from the fact that they will afford
ample accommodation for 1,250 officers, troops,
women, and children in each ship, in addition to the
complement of 200 officers and seamen attached to
each vessel. The Malabar is to be fitted with en-
gines of 700 horse power, nominal; but with surface
condensers, superheaters, and the other improved
appliances for econotnising steam, the actual power
of the engines will be about 5,000 horse, which will
enable the vessel to attain a mean speed of 14 knots,
or about 16 statute miles per hour. The space for
her coals will enable her to stow the enormous quan-
tity of 1,250 tons, or sufficient for 16 days' full
steaming. Two of the transports will be employed
in the service between Gravesend and Alexandria,
and two between Suez and the Indian ports, the
fifth vessel being kept as a reserve.