The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-11-28
work In the D0ckyards and
Muster Of Crews.
The Channel and Flying Squadr0ns
in Motion.
NAVAL POWER OF TIE UNITED KINGDOM.
TELEGRAM TO THE new YORK HERALD.

Iron-Clads-The Channel md Flying Squad
rons-Home from the Mediterranean.
LONDON, Nov. 81, 1870.
Orders have been despatched from London to all
the home ports requiring that returns shall be made
out OF all the men who are able to serve al oat at
sea who are now resident within each district and
OF the number OF pensioners who are available to
take their places In the reserves should they be
called on for duty.
Many Of the papers In reply have already come In
and is said that the number OF men in both classes
falls below the marx which was anticipated by the
Official estimates.
ACTIVITY IN THE DoCKYARDs.
number of extra hands have been placed at
work on the war vessels which are under repair and
building.
TIE CHANNEL AND FLYING sQUADRoNs
The 'pet' ircn-clad Bellerophon is In dock at
that she shall be made completely ready for service
by The middle OF next month
The Hercules, iron-cad will be ready for seq dur
Ing the next week, when she will proceed to join the
Channel squadron. under the command OF Vice
Admiral Wellesley and Rear Admiral Wlmot.
The Flying squadron is ordered to be ready for
sea by the 10th OF December.
The squadron WIN be maze mp OF the screw steam
rrgate Narcissus, thiryive guns, Captain CodrIng-
ton flagship OF Rear Admiral Paget Seymour; the
Jmmorialite, screw frigate twenty.eight guns the
Cadmus, screw corvette, sixteen guns; the Voltage,
ron screw corvette ceased with wood, eight guns,
and one corvette and one soop Of war, not yet Sc
leCted
COAST pEFENCEs
Her Malesty's ship Vanguard, double screw and
armor-plated fourteen guns, has been ordered home
from Lisbon.
Official Exhibit Of Great rsritnin's Forces for
sea-Vast Development Of the Iron Clad
Flcet-What Has Been Done and the Work
Nenrly Rendy-The Hercules and sultuu.
Al the present moment, one which IS likely to
eyentnate In great war in Europe-a war in hch
she iron-clad navies would play such an important
part-lt Is Of Importance TO recaptulate what Eng
land has been doing IN her dockyards lately.
An English Admiralty return was Issued, dated
Ath August, giving list Of vessels building, or
ordere, 10 be built for Her Majesty's navy in the
year 1870. "-a-as
1t includes the Inflated Captain completed last
april at cost OF s3s5.6ls - -@-
The list Of ships bnlld..ng. completely ironplated
up TO the main deck, and partially tthe Glaton
wholly above, includes also the f0iiowing:-Ihe
Repuse, IL guns, at Woolwch, completed, cost
E2i3, $40; Devastation, at Portsmouth, guns,
marked with turrets - the G!atton, at Chatham.
guns, turret: the Thunderer, at Pembroke.
guns tuIrets; the Sultan, Chatham, II guns, broad
side; the Rupert, Chatham, guns, turret; the
Swiitsure, Falmer's Company, IA guns; the Tri-
umph Palmer's, "A guns; the Iron Duke, Pembroke,
"a guns the Audacious and the InvIncible, at Ma
piers both "A guns; the Vanguard, Laird's, a guns
These last all broadsides, lot turrets. The
Ho'spur, by Napier's, guns. stands In the list as
"nxed turret." The Fury, Pembroke, guns, tur
Tets, Is marked mot commenced.o
the list OF vessels not armor-plated building or
ordered IN the year, includes the Voltage 8 guns,
10 guns, completed; the Bittern. guns completed;
the Nulture, guns, completed; the Active, guns;
10 guns. The last four were all to be completed this
The woodlark. guns is marked for completion
The time Of completion OF the following is un-
eertain:-Ihe Osborne; the Plucky, gun; the
the Thetis, 10. The Raleigh % guns and the
Blonde. 20 guns, are marked mot commenced
All but two OF these 81 vessels, not plated.
are building or to be Iuit in her Majesty's dock
Thames Company Blaciwali, and completed at
Portsmouth.
The Iron-llads SULTAN and Hercules.
report from London, dated in the early days OF
1870, says:-Three powerful! armor-ciad vessels Of
war are now building or fitting at Chatham. or the
vessels under construction the large iren-clad ship
Sultan, OF 1926 tons, and l,200 nominal horse
power is the most forward. The Sultan Is the same
type Of vessel as the Hercules but In many
respects the Sultan VIII be as superior 10
the Hercules as the latter was to the
whole Of the armor-pated ships which pre-
ceded her. The Sultan will carry commanding
armorplated battery OF her upper deck IN addition
10 The mdshp protected battery on her main deck.
MI. Reed, the chief constructor Of the navy, her
designer has been led to adopt the principle OF
placing powerful battery on her upper fighting
deck from the advantages which follow the placing
OF few heavy guns with long ranges, on the upper
deck ships or this GLASS; which the trials Of
the ships OF iron clad squadron in the Atlantic
In rough weather have conclusively proved: Inc
a%aiton to which she has on the same deck two
l2H.ton guns, protected BY armor, one at the bow
At the stern The sultan win carry the same arma
bows the Hercules but while the latter carries at
the stern one l21-ton gun, protected, on the main
ard t%o on a g npps1
battery on the upper deck with number Of smaller
guns, or howitzers on the same deck.
The Sultans upper deck battery will project
slightly beyond the sides. AMI Will be plated with
8-inch armor plating In the wake Of the guns, and
with 5-inch plating in tho other parts. Each OF
the battery guns Will have clear range OF l47 de.
Erees from fifty degrees before the beam 10
handing battery on the upper deck, armed with
guns OF the heaviest caliDre for the ordinary deck
OF the Hercules, will undoubtedly give the Sultan
greater offensive power than Ii now possessed By
any other iron-ciad. Tho Sultan is enabled 70
having the eight Of armor to protect
the stern guns, as in tho Hercules by being i'm
mersed six inches deeper and by the arTnor belt be-
Ing reduced in breadth TO that amount The central
batteries on the main deck of the two ships differ
only IN the sultan not being fitted with embrasured
ports az the alter end when the upper deck battery
renders unnecessary while the after bulkhead OF her
Dattery is moved trine further forward In struc-
tura appearance the Sultan win dlfrer somewhaf
rom the other irsnclad ships because, in order