FRENCH IRON-CLAD SQUADRON. 191 



that her hull is of iron, built with plates two centimetres thick. To ari'ange the 

 * armour on this shell, it has beeu strengthened on the outside by a framework of 

 ribs, the intervals of which nre filled up by a thickness of teak of 28 centime- 

 tres, on which is placed a thickness of iron of 34 millimetres, which is itself sepa- 

 rated by a second 'wainscoating of teak, 10 ceniimetres thick, from the plates of 

 the armour proper, ■which islO centimetres thick on the "water-line, and 8 above . 

 -So that at last we find the defensive system of this frigate to eorisist of a double 

 thickness of wood of 38 centimetres and a triple thickness of iron of 13-^ centi- 

 metres on the water line, reckoning in the thickness of the shell. She was proved 

 at Vineennes in ISS*/, and gave good results as reg.ards strength and solidity ; it 

 was expected that if she had to undergo the trial of artiller}', she would resist 

 better, by reason of the raomeatum of the projectiles being more easily dissipated 

 by the ditference of the successive media they would have to cross. On the 

 other hand, it is proper to add that this ingenious system, whatever its defensive 

 virtues may be in other respects, has the inconvenience of being sufficiently 

 costly, so far that the Couronne, though its capacity differs little from that of its 

 predecessors, has cost 20 and possibly 25 per cent more than thelGloire. How- 

 •ever this may be, the Oouronne is a very fine and elegant ship, and has distin- 

 guished herself in many respects during the trip. Not one single time, it is said, 

 during the 36 days of actual sailing, did this frigate leave her place, or check the 

 ■course of the squadron, to repair any one of those little damages which so fre- 

 quently disturb the order of a squadron consisting of steamers, and affect the ac- 

 curacy of their movements, and this is no mean title of glory for the Couronne. 

 She was built at Lorient according to the plans, and under the personal superin- 

 tendence of M, Audiuet, naval architect. Her engine, which is of the type that 

 naval genius has made common to sucli a large number of our vessels, and par- 

 ticularly on all our iron-elads, was made by M. Mazzeline of Havre. 



4. The Solferino, and 5, the Magenta. "We must speak of these two ships 

 ynder the same title, for what is true of the one is true of the other. They have 

 been built on the same plan, and any difference between them can only have 

 arisen from difference in the mode of execution on the stocks. To exhibit the 

 features which they have in common with the other ironclads, we may say that 

 they are ships with wooden bulls, 8ii metres in length, breadth 17 metres 30- 

 100, draught of water when loaded 7 metres 90-100, tonnage 6796, height of 

 battery 1 metre 82-100, engines nominally of 1000 horse-power, armament 50 

 breach-loading rifled guns of calibre SO, stored for 155 rounds apiece; carrying 

 one month's water, 75 days' provisions, and 700 tons of coal by regulation; they 

 liave three masts which are rigged exactly as we have described for the Invincible, 

 except that they have about 50 metres more surface of sail, 1450 instead of 1400. 

 Lastly, the plates of their armour, having a total weight of 900 tons for each, are, 

 like those of the Gloire, of a single thickness of iron, varying from 11 to 1 2 centi- 

 -metres. 



The Solferino and Magenta differ, however, iu many respects from their prede- 

 cessors. Although we continue, I know not why, to class them as frigates, they 

 are in reality ships of the line in the strict sense that the term has always 

 -borne in the navy, that is to say, they have two covered gun-decks, 26 guns in the 



