NAVY boiler, the experiment seemed to be justified. Great difficulties were, however, found to attend the use of such boilers in numbers sufficient for a sea-going vessel, and while the experiments were in progress it was ascertained that, by using closed stokeholes and forced draught, the ordinary cylindrical marine boiler using salt water could be made as economical of weight as the locomotive type. The ordinary practice up to this date had required a total weight of machinery of about 4 cwt. for each indicated horse-power in a sea-going ship. The employment of forced draught, and con current improvements in machinery, made it possible to get a horse-power in such ships with not more than from 2 to 2 cwt. total weight of engines and boilers, including the water in boilers and condensers. The locomotive boilers have therefore been given up in this ship. The following extract (with slight variations and additions) Strength from the Statesman s Fear-Hook, 1883, gives a fair idea of the of iron- present position and strength of the British ironclad fleet : clad fleet. " The most important division of the navy, the ironclad fleet of war, consisted at the end of 1882 of 74 ships afloat and building, of which number 55 were afloat and described as efficient for sea or for coast defence, while 3 were not strictly British, being built solely for the defence of the colonies, 6 were on the stocks, and 10 had become inefficient for naval warfare. The following is a tabulated list of the so-called efficient ironclads, and of the ironclads still on the stocks, divided into five classes according to the strength of armour and armament and mode of construction. 1 The ironclads marked with an asterisk were not com pleted at the end of 1882." Names of Armoured Ships. Material of Hull. Single (S.) or Twin (T.) Screw. Armour. Thickness in Inches. Guns. Indicated Horse- Power. Displace ment. Number. Weight. FIRST CLASS. Turret Ships. Inflexible Iron. T. T. T. T. S. f. S. f. S. T. T. S. T. Hydraulic. S. 16 to 24 Steel-faced on turrets. 11 to 14 10 14 10 14 I 14 18 f j Steel-faced. 1 10 to 18 ( J" Steel-faced. 1 > 12 to 18 j J" Steel-faced. 1 14 to 18 Steel-faced on turrets. Si to 12" Steel-faced 9 to 14 8 11 10 14 6 to 12 7 12 7 to 12 9 13 6 10 6 9 G ,, 9 C 12 8 ,, 11 6 9 6 9 6 9 6 5 to 6 1 8 10 j ( Steel-faced. ( 6 to 8 6 8 6 8 6 8 6 8 2 to 3 Hard steel. 6 to 10 6 10 6 ,, 10 6 10 4i 10 4* 5 44 5 4i 44 44 4* 4 44 Si SJ 54 44 44 4j 4* 44 to 54 6 4 4 4 4 9 9 10 10 10 10 12 10 6 6 6 4 4 2 4 4 16 6 7 14 12 12 8 12 12 9 15 11 10 10 18 14 14 18 14 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 32 28 16 17 17 27 18 18 16 16 18 12 80 ton. 38 35 Two 35 ton and two 38 ton. Four 43 five 89 cwt. 43 89 Four 43 ton and six 89 cwt. 63 ,. 89 63 89 ., 63 89 Two 110 ten 89 Four 63 six 89 Four 38 ton and two 89 cwt. 38 89 Two 43 four 89 , 18 two 70 25 ,, 81 25 ton. 25 ton. 25 18 ton. Four 38 ton and two 12 ton. Four 25 ton, two 12 ton, and one 64 ton. Eight 18 12 four6J Eight 18 ton and four 12 ton. Two 25 ten 18 Four 25 four 18 18 eight 12 ,. 18 12 Two 18 ,, seven 12 Ten 12 five 6J Eight 9 three 40rpounders. Four 18 six 89 cwt. 18 89 Ten 12 eight 22 12 four 71 12 71 12 eight 22 12 four 71 Machine guns only. 18 ton. 18 18 18 12 12 12 Two 6i ton and two 24-pounders (howitzers). ,, 64 ,, 24 ,, ,, 64 24 Four 9 ton and twenty-eight 6J ton. ., 9 twenty-four 64 Fourteen 12 ton and two 64 ton. 12 ton. 12 Seven 12 ton and twenty 9 ton. Two 9 sixteen 64 ,, ,, 9 ,, ,, 64 9 fourteen 64 9 6J,, Two 12 ton, fourteen 9 ton, and two 64 ton. 9 ton. 8,000 8,200 6,650 6,270 6,DOO 6,000 7,000 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 6,000 6,000 4,500 4,600 3,060 2,870 3,200 4,040 6,580 8,000 7,840 6,750 7,720 8,610 7,520 6,640 6,070 3,370 6,520 4,700 8,000 8,000 4,830 4,830 4,270 4,910 5,110 5,500 1,660 1,670 1,750 1,470 2,130 1,450 1,450 700 740 780 5,270 5,770 5,720 6,700 6,870 6,560 3,260 3,350 2,540 2,430 6,700 3,350 11,880 10,820 9,330 9,330 9,150 9,150 9,150 9,600 9,600 10,000 10,000 10,000 8,500 8,500 6,200 5,440 4,010 4,910 4,870 4-870 9,170 9,310 8,320 8,680 9,290 9,490 8,540 7,630 7,630 5,390 7,550 4,470 7,390 7,390 6,010 6,010 6,010 6,910 6,640 2,640 3,480 3,480 3,480 3,480 3,880 2,750 2,750 1,230 1,230 1,280 9,210 9,210 9,820 10,690 10,690 10,780 6,710 6,710 6,270 6,270 7,840 6,190 Steel Steel. Thunderer Barbette Ships.
- Collingwood
- Rodney
"Camperdown
- Benbow
Iron. Steel. Iron. Iron. Iron. Iron. Sheathed. Iron. Iron. Sheathed. Iron. SKCOND CLASS. Turret Ships. Agamemnon
- Conqueror
Hotspur Glutton Corvettes. Belleisle Orion THIRD CLASS. Rigged Ships. Superb Neptune (turret) Hercules Sultan Temeraire (barbette)... Northampton Shannon Bellerophon Penelope
- Impe"rieuse
Steel.Sheathed. Iron. Sheathed. Iron. Iron. Sheathed. Steel. Iron.
- Warspite (barbette)....
Audacious Iron Duke Swiftsure Triumph Special. Polyphemus FOURTH CLASS. Turret Ships. Cyclops Hecate Hydra Prince Albert Iron. Iron. Sheathed Iron. Iron. Wood. Wivern Gunboats. Viper Vixen Waterwitch FIFTH CLASS. Rigged Ships. Warrior Black Prince Achilles Minotaur Agincourt Northumberland Hector Valiant Defence Resistance ITord Warden Repulse 1 The classification is without authority, and is open to question.
