Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-07-22
THE IRON CLAD FLEET OF ENGLAND

An fetal report OF the iron plated sbps and bate
rss sleady butt or buldsg in England, has jus. been
laid before P4Iliament l. includes the nsmss Of SIX
tesn mur Lltsd vessels saoa eleven vessels Of the
sane cas- now building, and seven batteries; 10 al
thirty four The vessels sA3st are the Back Prince
Warrior, Dsieuse, Resistance, Hector Valiant Achilles
Monotsur Royal Oak, Prince Censort, Caledonia O,
alous Research, Enterprise and Royal Sovereign. Toe
brst fSe cost respectively 1858 sl3 1850 995 f24O
7ls sg47 672 and 21S6 u.s. Toe Royal OAK c:st
1850 66s, t9e Prince Consers fs94 064 far the
accounts a. present IL oE aud the Cott Of other vessels
sa,St has not vet beeu accurately ascerained.
The Prince Albert, Wh'oh has just been launched il
an iron cared cupOlA chip Her length over al is two
bundled aud forty feet, Whl her breadth IL forty fee
proportions which gives her hsavj aud unweldlJ ap
pesraI Co. and which cer.siuly very likely tell
against very high rate of speed in heavy water. Her
dep is less than twenty eight feet aud her bureG,
10 tons, two thousand Eve hundred aud TWEEN y-nne
All the detail relating TO her general principle of con
suuction are amos: precisely similar TO those adopted
IN the Warrior, the Back P.iuce and other of ous
NOR sh p.
The same care Is shoE give extra rengh by lon.
gitudnsl bracirgs There the passages Glong
hs broadside, which virtually make double snip o.
her, Sue has 70 external keel but two blge pl tea at
zach sids which supposed to ths pur.
pose ia giV9g her stability The plating too is the
sems the Warrior. four hslfinches and
eighteen inches OF lead; but the Primes Albert ia PLACED
rom end 10 end instead Of only SVsr hs bfoadsids.
1He Nosbels OuuuWR are tlo ABuuCOutt NOftuDDeE'
and Beller lphoD, Pnoa Albert (siDcs huached) Roy
a AL red Lord CLYDE, Lord Warden, Plls, Favorie,
Viper and Vixen. Ths names OF tho h)atpg better es
and their oOa 30 far, as fellows Erebus $50 0S9;
rerror ESQ 726: Thunderbols ESQ $50; Etla $40 GOl
Clifton, EST 20S; Thunder, ESQ 776, aud the T us y,
e5S ass IL the remarks app Eded the tabular por.
o1oi the Ieturn, is mentioned, 10 references 10 The
dct FIVE vessels that the ference between the amounts
srosn he accounts and those given ia previous par
Smtntary TRpeTs lie caused by the addition OF incideu
tAl crarges expenses incurred in the eockyards Wb
nd o. at that time been included therein as the pIiu-
cpe OF making such charges had not thCn been ciITed
Oat. OF toe Ro-sl Sovereign, converted at an estma
sd cost OF &S6 600 IL Observed that this the
tmats for the original alteration, AMI id not include
tue value OF tue chip three decker. The design
considerably altered snbst qlenty to meet Cipain
Coles We've aud mucL aGdt ohal expense was incurred
As the extreme ED Of the bow and stern, how
ever the thickness Of the is diminished gradually
% three ieches, and instead OF going h'e feet below
he line, In other armor oad,, it is only taken
iOSn four feet, ssh,ness of immersion which rcems
to brig the vulnerable paIts dangerously near tbs
face. ~
Her upper deck ia Of pine wi'b three and quarter
inch deck beneath t. 20 keep out shells; thick
ne which tho recent experience Of the Danish iron
ad, the ROLft kraks, has shown to be insufficient.
Sac is 20 DO furnished with furnaces for be lii shos
aud mel ing ron ana Is 70 De driven by cu5iuvs 20
hundred hcIse poHtF nomiUal, an amount OF horse
yOu,t uLVb ~ small when compared with
the tuorage Of the area OF her mdship seoloin The
screw 10 10 kO iour blGded and lot -lifi. Ga OK
are be four iu'rets shieds they Dderenty
ca led, W'h 40 ion pa ed pilot house in the bows
rec OF tho tutTe;s are twelty-tWo diameter and
ono Of tseHty f,et.
Tbe D 10 hou,e is mere oval, about feet vide by
IL feet long but pa;ed like the turrets wi 81 tohes
Of arnor over Z inches of diagonal plapkhg. All
these III rets OF course movable and are rsVoved
on turn tables worked from the min deck bslow. Two
OF the urets 4. is understood, arc to carry two guns
each aad two are to carry each OF the h aviest ca
lbre tha. can be got. AL the turrets bsiog placed
amidsbips the buWafks around tbs upper dscS nave
20 be movable, and are accordingly made Of light iror
fastened by hoges the deck SO as to be capable o.
bang lowered at moments uoioe, leaving the gum
fee 70 6ra Anywhere. Nearly If not quite year !:
likely 10 elapss before she is commissioned and an'a
an effective m .mbes Of the Channel squadron