The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-21 00:00:00

A PRUSSIAN IRONCLAD.

There must, after all, be a good deal of merit in
the English system of building ironclads, when we
find year after year our chief private yards, whether
belonging to companies or individuals, have always
one or more of their slips occupied with armoured
ships for foreign Governments. The only countries
which keep pace with us in the production of iron
frigates for the national fleet are France and Ame-
rica, and each of their systems of arming and plating
differs as much from ours as they do from each
other. Disused American ironclads, now sought
to be got rid of, can be bought in America as cheap
as old iron, and are worth very little more. France,
too, with a system totally different both from the
Americans and ours, can find no imitators either of
her style of building or style of armouring.
Whatever the cause, the simple fact remains—that
all Governments, except those of France and America,
no matter what their differences or alliances, come
to England to have their iron ships built, and even
the two exceptions we have mentioned copy our
improvements as far as they can in every particular.
Of the great private yards, such as those of Napier,
at Glasgow, Laird, at Birkenhead, Samuda, at
Blackwall, and the Millwall Ironworks, there is
hardly any which have not built ironclads for foreign
Powers, while the Thames Ironworks alone, besides
building such renowned vessels as the Warrior and
the Minotaur, have built iron frigates for the Rus-
sian, Prussian, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Greek,
and Turkish Governments. There is more than
the mere chance of patronage required to account
for this. The great fame of the Warrior, no doubt,

did much, and the fame of the John Brown armour
plates did more. But even these two causes would
be insufficient to account for the almost universal
preference shown for vessels of our construction,
and we can only find it in the fact that by the vast
majority of Powers our plan of building and back-
ing is considered superior to what can be got
anywhere else. England would hold a different
position now if the nation were in possession
of all the armoured vessels which her private
yards have sent forth to foreign Powers; but of all
the vessels ever built here the grandest and most
formidable is the King William, now just upon
completion at the Thames Ironworks for the Prus-
sian Government. The history of this magnificent
frigate is rather peculiar. About three years ago

Ithe Turkish Government wished for an ironclad that
should eclipse all other ironclads afloat, and be of
herself a match in fair fight for almost a squadron
of them. She was to be larger, stronger, faster,
and, above all, to carry a heavier armament than any-
thing yet attempted. These difficult conditions Mr.
Reed, with the consent of the Admiralty, succeeded
in combining, and the vessel was begun at the
Thames Ironworks ani rapidly pushed forward.
Unfortunately, however, for the Turkish Govern-
ment, its promises of payment kept no sort of pace
with the work done, and payment at last altogether
failing.] the frigate was left on the hands of the
Thames Company to dispose of it as they could. It
was at once offered to our Admiralty at the price the
Sultan had agreed to give for it. But the Admi-
ralty, while admitting the surpassing excellence and
strength of the vessel, hesitated about the pur-
chase, required time to think;about it, would rather
wait a little, and so on. The Thames Company,
however, did not like waiting, and offered it to the
Prussian Government, which as instantly replied by
an offer to buy it at a sum considerably higher than
at which it had been offered to the Admiralty. This
tender, if we may so call it, was taken, but hardly
had the contracts been signed when the Admiralty
appeared on the scene and wished to purchase the
frigate without further delay. But it was then too
late. The agreement with the Prussian Govern-
ment had been made, and there was no retracting.
Thus the strongest plated armour ship yet built
passes into the hands of a foreign Power, and we
may possibly some day see her arrayed against our
own frigates. Woe betide any of our vessels of the
Warrior or Minotaur class which shall meet her !
The Warrior carries 4i-inch armour over half her
length, and is meant to bear 26 guns—some only
68-pounders, some 100-pounders, and four 150-
pounders. The King William, which is as large as
the Warrior, and is designed t o have her speed,
carries 8-inch armour, with a battery of 26 300-
pounders, all of Krupp's steel, all breechloaders, and
capable, it is said, of being fired, with 751 b.
charges, as often as twice in a minute.

The length of this formidable craft is 365 ft., 15ft.
shorter than the Warrior; but her breadth is 2ft.
greater, being 60ft. against the Warrior's 58ft.
This gives her a greater midship section, and there-
fore enables her to bear her ponderous armour more
easily by giving her a greater displacement ; but,
on the other hand, this same displacement makes it
more difficult to move her through the water at
high speed, especially since the King William is to
be of 6,000 tons burden, and to draw at her mean
draught load no less than 26ft. of water. The en-
gines, however, will be fully equal to their work.
They are being made by Messrs. Maudslay, and are
to be of 1,150 horse power nominal, and capable of
working up to a power of 7,000 horses. With this
power, and guided by the ordinary calculations, it
is believed she will realise from 13 to 14 knots an
hour. There will be no less than 40 furnaces
required to keep her going at full speed, and
these will use rather more than 80 tons of
coals a day, and her coal bunkers only hold 700
tons. In this respect she is certainly inferior
to our Warrior class of ships, which only use 65
tons a day, and can carry 1,000 tons, so that,
with careful firing and proper husbandry of fuel,
they can easily keep the sea under steam for 20
days, or very nearly double the time which the
King William could remain• out of harbour without
coaling. There is nothing very peculiar in the con-
struction of this frigate beyond that she is built
with all the improvements and modifications which
our experience in armour-clads can suggest as de-
sirable. Her construction is on what is called the
longitudinal system—that is, a series of most power-
ful wrought-iron girders, or frames, laid at inter-
vals of 7ft. apart, and passing along her completely
from stem to stern. Between these frames the
wrought-iron ribs are bolted, below the water-line,
at intervals of four feet apart; but above it, and
behind the armour, they are bolted as close as to be
within two feet of each other. Within both frames
and ribs comes another iron skin an inch thick, so

as to literally make a double ship, the inner one
being 4ift. apart from the outer. Side passages, or
wings, as they are called, running the whole length of
the structure, conthcae this double form up to the main

deck. Inner side of these wings form the walls of the
coal bunkers, so that even were it possible for a shot
to pass through the armoured sides of the King
William it would still have to penetrate the iron

coal bunkers and pass through Bft. of coal before it
could do any mischief to the fighting crew of the
ship. The armour is Bin. thick amidships, tapering
gradually downwards to a thickness of 7in., at 7ft.

below the water-line. It also tapers in the same