After Russia's defeat of the Ottoman Empire in de Russo-Turkish War of 1877-8 Britain was concerned that Russia would go on to take Constantinope and thus provoke an Anglo-Russian War. As part of the preparations for such a war a 'Particular Service' fleet consisting of a squadron of modern turret ships and a squadron of older Reserve (Coast Guard) ships was planned. In the event the Treaty of Berlin prevented war, but the ships of the two squadrons exercised briefly and were then reviewed by Queen Victoria on 13 August 1878.

Extracts from the Times newspaper
Date	Extract
Th 11 April 1878	Yesterday Vice-Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, accompanied by Lord Wharncliffe, visited Portsmouth and made an inspection of the Neptune, Inflexible, and Dreadnought. It is thought that in case of hostilities with Russia a second Channel Squadron would be formed at Portsmouth, and that the command would be given to Admiral Seymour.
Th 18 April 1878	A restless feeling prevails that this assembling of the Coastguard ships at the present time means something more than an annual refit, the more especially as instructions were received yesterday at Portsmouth from the Admiralty that the ships of the first Reserve must be surveyed at once, and prepared with all despatch for a six months' cruise in conjunction with the Channel Squadron. In consequence of the want of deck accommodation at Portsmouth for ships of heavy draught, the mere docking of the ships will occupy a considerable time. Some of the vessels — the Lord Warden, for instance —are understood to be in a very defective condition, but at present it is only proposed to effect such repairs as will prepare them for immediate service. Should an auxiliary fleet be formed, it is thought that the Hercules, instead of being sent to Greenock, will become the flagship.
Fr 19 April 1878	The Glatton, turret-ship, which has hitherto been employed as a tender to the Excellent, gunnery ship, is to receive an independent commission as a coastguard ship.
Ma 22 April 1878	Notwithstanding the satisfactory progress which has been made at Portsmouth in the fitting out of ships for commission, additional shipwrights and other artificers are still being engaged at the dockyard, though in comparatively small numbers. According to present arrangements the Triumph will be completed by Tuesday evening, and the First Reserve squadron, consisting of the Warrior, the Lord Warden, and the Hector, by the 3d, 6th, and 15th of May respectively. It now seems that the preparation of the gun-boat flotilla at Haslar, comprising seven vessels, is to be proceeded with at once for the purposes of coast defence. They will be launched from the slips to-day, and are to receive their guns and fittings on board by the 30th.
Th 25 April 1878	A large number of coastguardmen arrived from Ireland and various parts of England by train at Devonport yesterday. They were at once drafted to the five turret ships put into commission yesterday.
Ma 29 April 1878	There is great activity at Portsmouth in preparing fittings for the conversion of merchant ships into armed cruisers. These consist of shot cases, which are being made in great quantities, magazine tanks, port gear for the guns, and chock pieces. The Hector will be ready for sea by the 4th of May, the Warrior by the 8th, and the Lord Warden, which left Hawke Roads on Friday and arrived at Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, will be refitted about the 16th. It is expected that the Reserve Squadron, of which they will form part, will rendezvous at Portland at the end of May. The Thunderer, Capt. Wilson, left Cowes for Portland on Friday.
Tu 7 May 1878	In order to provide seamen for the auxiliary squadron which is preparing to rendezvous at Portland, the varions Coastguard stations hare been reduced to half their strength.
We 29 May 1878	The extraordinary work of refitting ships of war at Portsmouth to meet a possible emergency is gradually drawing to a close. By this evening the coastguard reserve ships Hercules, 11; Lord Warden, 18; Warrior, 32, and Hector, 18, will be finally out of the dockyard hands, and will be ready to sail for the rendezvous at Portland or elsewhere. The Warrior, which went out of harbour and anchored at Spithead yesterday; the Lord Warden, which was yesterday inclined by Mr. Wildish, of the Controller's Department for the ascertainment of her centre of gravity; and the Hector, which will go out to Spithead in the course of to-day, have only had such repairs made good as would render them capable of Channel service for five or six months. The Warrior, for example, has had her weather and main decks partially calked, her main deck ports relined with indiarubber, and slight repairs effected in the loading scuttles, magazine fittings, electric firing gear and capstan arrangements. Temporary fittings have also been provided for stowing about 250 hammocks. Beyond rocking, little has been done to the Lord Warden. The Hector has had her decks recalked and the fastenings let down, the gun deck ports refitted with rubber beading, the panes and rims of the capstans repaired, and the Downton pumps put in order. The Hercules, on the other hand, gad undergone a complete overhaul both as regards her hull and machinery, and is practically as good as new. These four ships will add eight 18-ton guns, three 12-ton guns, 21 9-ton guns, and 50 6½-ton guns to the fleet ready for service.
Th 30 May 1878	We understand that the undermentioned ships will during next week assemble at Portland. Seven armour-plated ships, namely:— Warrior, 32 guns, 705 officers and men; Hercules, 14 guns, 630 officers and men; Hector, 18 guns. 530 officers and men; Valiant, 18 guns, 530 officers and men; Resistance, 16 guns, 460 officers and men; Lord Warden, 18 guns, 605 officers and men; Penelope, 11 guns, 352 officers and men. Seven turret ships,— Thunderer, 4 guns, 359 officers and men; Prince Albert, 4 guns, 201 officers and men; Cyclops, 4 guns, 157 officers and men; Hydra, four guns, 156 officers and men; Hecate, 4 guns, 156 officers and men; Gorgon, 4 guns, 157 officers and men; and Glatton, 2 guns, 185 officers and men; the new fast corvette Boadicea, 16 guns, 363 officers and men; two torpedo vessels — Vesuvius, 14 officers and men, and Lightning, 9 officers and men; the despatch vessel Lively, 2 guns, 79 officers and men, and four gun-boats, 8 guns, 140 officers and men.
Fr 31 May 1878	The squadron assembling at Spithead, which consists of the Warrior, 32, Capt. R.G. Douglas; Hector, 18, Capt. Simpson; and the Boadicea, 16, Capt. Erskine, was yesterday joined by the Resistance, 16, Capt. Thrupp, which arrived from Devonport and exchanged salutes with the flagship. To-day the Hercules, 14, will steam out of Portsmouth harbour and join the squadron. She will make a measured-mile trial of her engines on Monday next. It is believed at Portsmouth that previous to the departure of the squadron the Lords of the Admiralty will hold a review at Spithead.
Sa 1 June 1878	Never since the famous visit which the Shah of Persia paid to Portsmouth have so many ships of war assembled at Spithead as at the present time. Yesterday morning, additions having arrived on the previous night and early in the morning from Devonport, Chatham, and Portsmouth harbour, eight broadside vessels were anchored in a single line stretching from opposite the Spit Fort to the end of Haslar Wall, the novelty and beauty of the sight attracting numbers to the beach. These included the Warrior, Hector, Hercules, Lord Warden, Valiant, Resistance, and Penelope, armour-plated ships ; the unarmoured corvette Boadicea, and the desapatch vessel Lively — representing a total of 145 guns and 4,254 officers and men. On the 3d inst. The Glatton, 2, single turret-ship, and the Tay, 4, one of the new river gunboats, will be commissioned at Portsmouth, the former with 185, and the latter with 45, officers and men, and will then join the fleet at Spithead. The turret squadron from Plymouth and Portland are also expected, and it is believed that the united fleet will be reviewed by the Lords of the Admiralty on the 6th inst., with Admiral Key in chief command, his flag being hoisted on board the Hercules, and Rear-Admiral Boys, as second in command, with his flag on board the Warrior.
Th 6 June 1878	Yesterday afternoon Rear-Admiral Henry Boys, late Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty, hoisted his flag on board the Warrior, at Spithead, as second in command of the Channel Squadron, in succession to Rear-Admiral W. Dowell, C.B., and exchanged the customary salutes with the flagship of the Port Admiral. … The Blazer and the Bustard, single gun, twin screw gun-boats, and the Tay, 4, one of the new iron river gunboats, were commissioned on Monday at Portsmouth, temporarily as tenders to the Duke of Wellington, the flagship of Admiral Fanshawe. The Glatton, 2, single turret-ship, which has had its under-water torpedo arrangement greatly improved. Was also commissioned on the same day by Capt. Morgan Singer. The whole of the vessels are expected to join the evolutionary fleet which will assemble at Portland. The Blazer and the Bustard had their guns placed on board at the gun wharf on Tuesday, and were afterwards coaled in the stream.
Fr 7 June 1878	Yesterday morning, on his return from the Command of the fleet on the North American and West India station, Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, K.C.B., hoisted his flag on board the Hercules, 14, Capt. Grant, at Spithead, and will assume supreme command of the fleet which will assemble at Portland for particular service.
Sa 8 June 1878	The squadron at Spithead, under the orders of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, K.C.B., will proceed to Portland on Tuesday morning next.
Ma 10 June 1878	The squadron at Spithead will not sail for Portland before Wednesday morning.
Tu 11 June 1878	Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key will join the fleet at Spithead to-day on the conclusion of a short leave of absence, and the eight ships which comprise the Reserve Squadron will get under way to-morrow for Portland, the port division being under the command of Rear-Admiral Boys. On arriving at Portland it is arranged that the Rear-Admiral shall proceed to Plymouth on board the Lively, Lieutenant-Commander Sir W. Walker, and take command of the turret squadron, consisting of the Prince Albert, 4, Capt. Loftus Jones; Cyclops, 4, Capt. E. Kelly; Hydra, 4, Capt. Markham; and Hecate, 4, Capt, Cleveland, and bring it to Portland. Evolutions and steam tactics will be daily performed by the combined squadrons, Portland being made the base of operations, the whole ending with a cruise to Berehaven. Capt. Fisher, who bas been appointed to the Hercules by Admiral Key as his flag captain, served in a similar capacity under the Admiral in North America, and was for several years chief of the torpedo school at Portsmouth.
Th 13 June 1878	The reserve squadron, under the command of Admirals Key and Boys, was prevented getting under way yesterday morning by the gale, and all boat communication with the ships was arrested by signals. Should the weather moderate in the meantime the squadron will proceed to Portland at daybreak this morning. The Glatton and the small craft, consisting of the Vesuvius, Lightning, Tay, Bustard and Blazer, are ordered to remain at Portsmouth until further orders.
Fr 14 June 1878	The Reserve Squadron commenced to weigh anchor and move into position at 5 o'clock yesterday morning, and eventually left Spithead for Portland about 8 o'clock, rounding the Warner in the following order of columns of division — the starboard division consisting of the Hercules, Captain Fisher, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key; the Hector, Captain Simpson; the Resistance, Captain Thrupp; and the Lord Warden, Captain Fremantle: the port division consisting of the Warrior, Captain Douglas, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Boys; the Valiant, Captain Chapman; the Penelope, Captain Brown; and the Boadicea, unarmoured corvette, Captain Erskine. The despatch vessel Lively, Lieutenant-Commander Sir Baldwin Walker, occupied a position between the columns. The Glatton, turret-ship, Captain Singer, and the gunboats and torpedo vessels remain at Portsmouth until further orders.
Sa 15 June 1878	The Glatton, single turret-ship, Capt. Morgan Singer, and the Bustard and Blazer, gunboats, sailed from Portsmouth yesterday morning, to join the reserve squadron at Portland. The Tay, gunboat, was unable to leave, as it has been found necessary to dock her in order that some leakage and other defects to her machinery may be rectified. The reserve squadron anchored at Portland at half-past 4 on Thursday afternoon, and as the Thunderer had shifted her berth on the previous day she was in her proper position when the squadron arrived.
Th 20 June 1878	On Tuesday the whole of the turret strips assembled at Portland, with the exception of the Cyclops, whose machinery has been found defective, proceeded outside the Breakwater for a cruise. The squadron steamed in two lines, the Thunderer, Capt. Wilson, with Admiral Key on board, leading the port division, consisting of the Gorgon, Prince Albert, and Hydra; while the Glatton, Capt. Morgan Singer, led the starboard division, which comprised the Hecate and the Tay. In the forenoon the crews were bugled to quarters, and each ship fired three rounds from each gun, the object being to show the admiral the comparative facility with which each vessel could be cleared for action. A thick fog came down upon the squadron during the afternoon, and when it lifted the Hecate was not to be seen. However, in a short time she appeared on the horizon, having fallen a few miles out of her station. On the whole, the turret ships appear to answer very well, with the exception of the Prince Albert, which steers so badly that she cannot be kept in line.
Sa 22 June 1878	On Thursday the turret-ship squadron at Portland again got under way as early as half-past six in the morning. and did not anchor until 4 in the afternoon. They steamed away in columns and divisions in line ahead, the formation being as follows:— Port Division.—The Thunderer, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key; the Gorgon, Hydra. Prince Albert, and the Tweed gunboat. Starboard Division.—The Glatton. Capt. Morgan Singer; the Hecate, Cyclops, and Tay gunboat, the whole making a formidable fleet of 32 guns, of which two are 38 ton, two 35 tons, two 23 tons, 16 18 tons, and four 12 ton guns. Steam tactics were practised in the morning, and at 10 o'clock the crews went to quarters and fired a couple of rounds from each gun with battering charges. The afternoon was wholly devoted to steam tactics. The Admiral was well pleased with the performances of the monitors, though the behaviour of the Prince Albert was such as to confirm the previous bad impression as to her steering capacity and to prove that she would be a dangerous neighbour in a fog. There is a rumour in the fleet that the ships will leave, Portland for a cruise to Bantry Bay on the 29th inst., and await orders at Berehaven.
Th 11 July 1878	On Tuesday night a boat belonging to Her Majesty's ship Tay, with five of the crew, left Portland for the ship. When a short distance from the shore a squall suddenly caught the boat, which was under sail, and capsized it. The accident having been witnessed from Her Majesty's ship Glatton, a boat from that vessel rescued the men in a very exhausted condition. One of them, an officer's servant, has since died.
Th 18 July 1878	The ships forming the turret squadron, which have been lying at Portland, left that anchorage yesterday and proceeded westward to Torbay, To-day they will go on to Plymouth to re-provision, and will return to Portsmouth on Saturday.
Sa 20 July 1878	The Turret squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Boys, and composed of the Glatton, Hecate, Cyclops, Gorgon, Prince Albert, and Hydra, and accompanied by the Tay, Tweed, and Bustard gunboats, and the Lively, despatch boat, flying the Admiral's flag, arrived in Plymouth Sound on Thursday evening, and, having re-coaled and re-victualled, will, with the exception of the Hydra, which has defects to make good, return to the former anchorage at Portland at an early hour this morning.
Ma 22 July 1878	At daybreak on Saturday the turret squadron, with the exception of the Hydra, which has some defects, left Plymouth Sound for Portland. The Hydra joins to-day.
Tu 30 July 1878	It is now definitely arranged that the Special Service fleet of broadside and turret ships, under the command of Admiral Key and Rear-Admiral Boys, will be reviewed by the Queen at Portsmouth, and not Portland, as previously announced. Monday, the 12th of August, has been fixed as the day.
Sa 3 August 1878	The review of the special service fleet, under the command of Admiral Key, by the Queen, has been finally arranged to be held at Spithead, on Tuesday, the 13th inst. Orders have been received at Portsmouth for the Euphrates, Indian troopship, to be prepared for the occasion for the accommodation of the members of the Houses of Lords and Commons. Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, the Controller of the Navy, will arrive at Portsmouth to-day to make the necessary arrangements for the review.
Th 8 August 1878	The following Information has been officially notified:— "The inspection of the Fleet by Her Majesty the Queen on Tuesday, the 13th inst., will take place about 4 p.m., at Spithead. There will be no general issue of tickets as only a very limited number of vessels can be set apart for the conveyance of official visitors. Naval officers on half-pay and military officers of the Portsmouth garrison will be accommodated on board Her Majesty's ships Valorous and Dasher respectively, and should apply at the Commander-in-Chief's office at Portsmouth Dockyard." The special service fleet of masted ironclad turret ships and gunboats, under the command of Admiral Sir Cooper Key and Rear-Admiral Boys, numbering 19 sail all told, arrived yesterday afternoon at Spithead, where they will be reviewed on Tuesday next by the Queen. After leaving Portland Admiral Boys hoisted his flag on board the Thunderer and took command of the turret ships. The fleet forming into columns of sub-divisions, line abreast, each column of masted ships having a column of monitors on its starboard beam. In this order the fleet proceeded up Channel at a speed of five knots. On rounding Culver Cliff previous to entering the Solent the formation was altered to columns of division line ahead, the weather line being headed by the Hercules, flagship of Admiral Key, followed by the Valiant, Hector, Lord Warden, Warrior, Penelope, Resistance, and Boadicea. The starboard line, consisting of the turret-ships, was formed as follows:— Thunderer (bearing the flagship of the Rear-Admiral), Belleisle, Gorgon, Hydra, Hecate, Glatton, Cyclops, and Prince Albert, the rear being composed of the gunboats Tay, Tees, and Blazer. In this order the ships steamed towards Gilkicker Point, when the helms of both lines were put hard over, the frigates turning outwards to the Isle of Wight and the monitors outwards to Portsmouth and Southsea, and steamed back to the Noman and anchored in the same relative positions in line in readiness for the review. The Valorous, paddle steamer. Has been appropriated for the accommodation of naval half-pay officers.
Th 8 August 1878	The Bustard, on which the fatal boiler explosion occurred while steaming to Portland, arrived at Spithead yesterday afternoon in tow of the Lively, and was taken into harbour for repairs. Previous to leaving Portland a court of inquiry, consisting of Capt. Wilson (President), Capt. Sir Lampton Loraine, and Mr. Ellis, inspector of machinery belonging to the fleet, was held for the purpose of investigating the causes of the accident. Among the witnesses examined were Mr. Icely, inspector of machinery at Portsmouth; Messrs. Green and Kitts, of the Portsmouth Steam Reserve; Mr. Atkins, engineer of the sister ship Blazer; Lieut. Clifton, of the Bustard; and the two surviving stokers. It is understood that the cause of the explosion was satisfactorily established and will be reported to the Admiralty. A Court-martial was held on board the Warrior, while the reserve squadron was lying at anchor at Berehaven, at which Mr. Soper T. Sugden, third engineer of the Penelope, was tried for drunkenness, found guilty, and sentenced to be dismissed the service. The Emerald, corvette, Captain Maxwell, will leave Plymouth Sound on Friday for Spithead to form part of the squadron to be reviewed, after which she will leave for her destination on the Australian station. All available vessels are being sent from Plymouth to Spithead to be at hand at the coming review. The Vivid and Harpy will both go from Devonport.
Sa 10 August 1878	The following notice is published in the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Lords:— "INSPECTION OF THE FLEET ON TUESDAY, AUG. 13. "A special train will leave Victoria at 9 20 a.m., arriving at Portsmouth Harbour at 11 30 a.m. A special train will leave Portsmouth Harbour at 6 p.m., arriving at Victoria, at 8 10 p.m. Tickets for the train can be taken at the Printed Paper Office, House of Lords. The tickets for the steam-vessel will be sent to those who have applied for them as soon as they are received from the Admiralty." The squadron to be reviewed will consist of 23 vessels carrying 219 guns and 6,691 officers and men. A correspondent with the Reserve Squadron at Spithead writes that the Queen will not visit any of the ships, nor will they get under way. Admiral Fanshawe has made arrangements that 100 visitors should be accommodated on board each ironclad.
Sa 10 August 1878	The Admiralty has given instructions for the immediate despatch to Portsmouth of the two torpedo boats built by Messrs. Yarrow and Co., and recently purchased by the Government, it being intended that they should take part in the review at Spithead on Tuesday next.
Ma 12 August 1878	We have received the following Information from the Admiralty:— "Programme of the Inspection at Spithead, by Her Majesty the Queen, of the Fleet, under the orders of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, Tuesday, August 13. "Her Majesty's ships at Spithead and in Portsmouth harbour will be dressed with flags at noon. "It is expected that Her Majesty will embark in the Royal yacht about 3 30 p.m., and as soon as the Royal Standard is sighted a Royal salute will be fired. "As the Royal yacht passes between the lines the crews of the masted ships will man yards, and the crews of the turret ships will line the decks. "The Royal yacht will pass slowly down between the lines, preceded by the Trinity-house yacht and followed by Her Majesty's ship Enchantress, with the Board of Admiralty; the Fire Queen, bearing the flag of Admiral Fanshawe, C.B., the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth; and the steam vessels of the Royal Navy, conveying officials, naval and military spectators. "If the weather is fine the squadron will probably weigh anchor and proceed in single line to the eastward, passing round the Royal yacht and returning to the anchorage at Spithead. "The Euphrates, which will convoy the members of both Houses of Parliament, will have to leave Portsmouth harbour at noon, in consequence of the tide. "Tugs will leave the dockyard at 2 30 to convey such persons to Spithead as have not embarked in her in harbour; but as the transfer of passengers at Spithead might be incommodious if there should be any swell, it is recommended that all ticket-holders should join the ship in the dockyard." The Particular Service fleet, under Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key and Rear-Admiral Boys, which is thus to be inspected to-morrow by Her Majesty, together with a few other ships which, like the Euryalus, Emerald, and Cormorant, have not as yet sailed for their destinations, has at length, after various fluctuations, been moored in review order. The Emerald joined on Saturday, and the Ready yesterday, and as the Euryalus will drop down from Cowes and some small craft be taken out to Spithead to-day the lines will be completed this evening. It was at one time intended that the Dreadnought (Captain Horbert) — an improved Thunderer — should join the fleet at Spithead, but the order has been countermanded. The ships to be inspected will, consequently, comprise ten broadside ships, armoured and unarmoured, eight turret ships, including the Belleisle, purchased from the Turkish Government, and the "Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimæras dire," which constitute our coast defence squadron; six sloops and gun-boats, carrying from one to six guns each, and a couple of torpedo boats — making a total of 26 ships of all classes, 219 guns. 72,350-horse power, 99,549 tons of displacement, and 6,691 officers and men. Though surpassed in power and number by the fleets which were drawn up for the inspection of the Sultan and the Shah on the same spot in 1867 and 1873 — on the latter occasion there were 23 broadside and turret-ships and 21 gunboats in position — the particular service fleet is yet too formidable and ill-assorted to be safely manoeuvred in so circumscribed a body of water as the Solent, crowded as it will be by multitudinous yachts and longshore craft filled with sightseers. Those, it is true, have been informed by placards and advertisements that they will not be permitted within the lines, or to approach from the windward of the fleet, or to cross the path of the Royal yachts, and so long as the ships remain at their anchorage there is every chance of the regulations being observed. But it is to be feared that the moment the war vessels get under way some unfortunate craft will get in the way, and great precautions will be necessary to prevent some armour-clad from coming to grief in the endeavour to avoid a collision. These considerations have led to the abandonment of the various evolutions which were contemplated. As the official programme indicates, the fleet will, if the weather be favourable, steam round the Nab, though in view of the flotilla of pleasure steamers and yachts, it is not thought advisable to manoeuvre. It is probable that the fleet will go out in single line, headed by the masted ships. At the outset it was intended to attempt some sort of classification in the ships, the broadside ships being stationed on the starboard line nearest the Isle of Wight, and the turret ships on the port line, a third inshore division being composed of the sloops, gunboats, and torpedo craft. This arrangement has, however, been altered. According to the present order all the broadside ships will be placed in one division, and all the monitors, headed by the Thunderer, in another; but instead of the small craft forming a division of their own they will be placed in line at the rear of the large ships, so that each division will consist of 13 vessels. The following are the stations, from the Warner, of the various ships, the lines being 2½ cables or 500 yards apart, and the distance between each vessel 1½ cable, or 300 yards:— PORT DIVISION. 1. THUNDERER, 4. Capta1n J.C. Wilson. A double turret ship, 235ft. Long by 62ft. 3in. Beam, and having a depth of hold of 18ft., and a displacement of 3,190 tons. Her set of engines have a total power of 6,270 horses. Her turrets are armoured to the thickness of 12in.to 14in., and are placed within a breast-work the walls of which are 10in. And 12in. The fore turret is armed with two 38-ton guns, which are loaded and trained by hydraulic power, white the after turret contains two 35-ton guns, which are worked by hand-gear. She was launched on the 12th of March, 1872, and realized 13½ knots on the mile. Crew, 349. 2. BELLEISLE, 4, armour-plated ram. Captain C.J. Rowley. This was one of the armour-plated ships purchased from the Turkish Government. Her original name was the Payki Sherref, and she was built by Messrs. Samuda, and engined by Messrs. Maudslay and Co. She is an armour-cased corvette, properly speaking, having a raised octagon fighting battery deck amidships, mounting four of Sir William Armstrong’s 25-ton 12-inch muzzle-loaders. Two of the guns fight on the starboard and two on the port side, and are so arranged that they can fire direct fore and aft, or combine upon one spot at 90 yards' range. The belt armour is 12in., the thickness of the iron which protects the battery being from 9½in. To 10½in. She measures 245ft. By 59ft.,and her displacement is 4,720 tons. She is propelled by a pair of engines having a total power of 3,900 horses, and her measured mile speed was 13 knots. Crew 206. 3. PRINCE ALBERT, 4, Capt. Loftus Jones. Though carrying the same number of guns as the other monitors, this ship has the singular distinction of being constructed with four turrets, each turret mounting a single 12-ton gun. Her length is 240 ft., breadth 48ft., depth 25ft. 3in., and displacement 3,905 tons. Her armour is 4½ in., worked upon 18in. Of backing. Her engines are of 2,128 horse-power, and her speed on trial was 11·6 knots. She was launched in May, 1864. Crew, 198. 4. GORGON, 4, Capt, Sir Lambton Loraine, a double-turreted breastwork monitor, measuring 225ft. In length, 45ft. In breadth, 16ft. 7in. In depth of hold, and having a displacement of 3,430 tons. In each of her turrets, which are built of 8in. Armour, she carries two 18-ton guns. Tho armoured breastwork varies from 6in. To 10in. She was launched in 1873. Power of engines, 1,669 horses; speed of ship on trial, 11 knots. Crew, 147. 5. HYDRA, 4, Capt. A.H. Markham, sister ship to the Gorgon. Horse-power, 1,472; speed at trial, 11 knots. The engines of this monitor, and the Cyclops were the first examples of the compound type introduced into armoured ships. Crew, 146. 6. HECATE, 4, Captain E. Howard, a sister ship to the Gorgon and Hydra. Horse power, 1,755; speed, 10·89 knots. Crew, 149. 7. GLATTON, 2, Captain Morgan Singer. This is a single turret breastwork monitor, carrying a couple of 25-ton guns. She measures 245 feet in length, 54 feet in breadth, and 19 feet 4in. In depth, and has a displacement of 4,912 tons. The armour on her sides is 12 inches, and on her turret 14 inches, and she is thus one of the most powerfully-protected ships afloat. She was launched in January, 1871. She is propelled with engines of 2,868-horse power, and has attained a speed of 12 knots. Crew, 163. 8. CYCLOPS, 4, Captain E. Kelly. A sister ship to the Gorgon, Hydra, and Hecate. Her engines are of the indicated power of 1,660 horses. Speed of ship, 11 knots. Crew, 150. 9. READY, 4, Commander Edwards. A composite gunvessel of 592 tons, and carrying one 6½-ton gun, one 64-pounder, and two 20-pounders, and a crew of 77 men. Engine power, 715. 10. TWEED, 3, Lieutenant Hayes. An iron twin-screw river gunboat, carrying three 6½-pounders and a crew of 43. Engine power, 310. 11. TAY, 3, Lieutenant Miller. Sister ship to the above. The whole of this class is named after English rivers. 12. VESUVIUS, Lieutenant May. This is the largest of the torpedo vessels, having a displacement of 260 tons. She carries a submerged torpedo apparatus at the stem, and is propelled by twin screws; her engines working up to 379-horse power. Crew. 14. 13. LIGHTNING, Lieutenant Norcock. A steel torpedo boat of 28 tons, and having the great length of 84 feet, with a beam of only 10 feet 10in. Until recently she was the quickest craft afloat, having realized a speed of 18½ knots. Her engines are of 300-horse power. Crew, 9. STARBOARD DIVISION. 1. HERCULES, 14, Captain J.A. Fisher, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, Commander-in-Chief. Length, 325ft. ; breadth, 59ft.; depth of hold, 21ft. 1in.; displacement, 8,700 tons. Her engines have indicated 7,200-horse power. She is completely protected by 9-inch armour at the water line, 8-inch on the most important parts of the broadside, and 6-inch on the remainder. The armament consists of eight 18-ton guns in the central battery, two 12-ton guns in protected batteries at the bow and stern, and four 6½-ton guns on the upper deck, the latter being unprotected. She was launched at Chatham in February, 1868, and is a 14-knot ship. Crew. 698. 2. HECTOR, 18, Captain C.H. Simpson. This is a sister ship to the Valiant, and was launched in September, 1862. The indicated power of her engines is 3,256, and she made a speed of 12·36 knots at the official trial. Crew, 527. 3. VALIANT, 18, Capt. W.C. Chapman, one of the iron broadside ships of the old type, built with greater comparative beam to enable them to carry equal armour to the Warrior. Length, 280ft.; breadth, 56ft. 5in.; depth of hold, 21ft.; displacement, 6,713 tons. She is protected with a belt of 4½in. Plating extending from the upper to the main decks before and abaft the main portion of the broadside armour, so that for the first time in the history of the Navy the main deck, on which the guns are fought, was protected throughout its whole length. Her armament consists of 16 6½-ton guns and two 9-ton guns. She was launched in September lS862, and her engines, which are of 3,236-horso power, have realized a speed of 12·36 knots. Crew, 520. 4. LORD WARDEN, 18, Capt. The Hon. E.R. Fremantle, C.B., a wooden broadside ironclad of a now obsolete type. Length, 280ft.; breadth, 58ft. 9in.; depth of hold, 20ft. 9½in.; displacement, 7,842 tons. She was launched in May, 1865. The armour is in some places 4½in., and in others 5½in., worked outside a wooden hull, but in order to increase the resisting power of the ship's side, and more particularly to prevent the entrance of shells, a skin of 1½in. Of iron bas been fitted behind a large part of the 4½in. Armour, between the outside planking and the timbers. She is provided with a ram bow and a powerfully armoured bow battery on the upper deck. Her armament consists of two 12-ton guns, 14 9-ton guns, and two 6½-ton guns. Her engines are of 6,706-horse power, and her speed at trial was 13½ knots. Crew, 587. 5. WARRIOR, 32, Capt. R.G. Douglas. This was the first of our iron-clad fleet, having been launched from the Thames Ironworks on the 29th of December, 1860. Her length is 380ft. Breadth 58ft., depth of hold, 12ft., and displacement, 9,137 tons. So far as appearances go, she is by far the handsomest of our armour-clads. Though from the comparative weakness of her protection and the lightness of her armament she is no longer qualified to take part in an action at sea. Like the Resistance (described below), she has only part of her water-line protected — 213ft. Of her total length, — and is wholly unprovided with bow and stern fire, She has three divisions — viz., a side-armoured middle and protected ends, her plating being of the uniform thickness of 4½in. She carries eight 6½-ton guns on her upper deck and twenty 6½-ton guns and four 9-ton guns on her main deck. Her engines are of 5,469-horse power, and her highest realized speed 14·35 knots. Crew, 703. 6. PENELOPE, 11. Captain W.S. Brown. Length, 260 feet; breadth, 50 feet; displacement, 4,394. She is a double screw corvette, and has her hull protected near the water line and in wake of the fighting deck by 6-inch armour, and in the remaining portions by 5-inch,worked upon 10 and 11 inches of teak backing. She was one of the first ships in which the device of thickening the protection over the vital parts was introduced. As in the case of the Lord Warden, she has her stem lines relieved by short curved knees. She carries three breech-loading 35-cwt. Guns on her upper deck and eight 9-ton guns on her main deck. Her engines are of 4,703-horse power, and her speed on the mile was 12·7 knots. She was launched in June, 1867. Crew, 315. 7. RESISTANCE, 16, Captain A. Thrupp. An old broadside ship of the Warrior type, though of smaller dimensions, her length being 280 feet, breadth 54 feet, and displacement 6,070 tons. She is armoured in the middle with 4½-inch armour to the extent of one-half her length. Her armament consists of six 6½-ton guns on the upper, and two 9-ton and eight 6½-ton guns on the main deck. She has engines to the extent of 2,428-horse power, and has realized a speed of 12 knots. She was launched in 1861 Crew, 452. 8. BOADICEA, 1G, Captain J.E. Erskine. This is one of the new unarmoured corvettes, cased with wood and of an intermediate size between the Shah and the Volage. Her length being 280 feet, breadth 45 feet, depth in hold 15 feet 7in., and displacement 4,027 tons. The outside iron plating varies in thickness from ?ths at the keel plate to 7-16 ths of an inch in the bottom and side plating. She carries 12 4½ ton guns and two 64-pounders, the main batteries being carried under covered decks. Her engines are of 4,027 horse power, and at the mile trial she realized 14·8 knots. She was launched at Portsmouth in October, 1875. Crew, 385. 9. EMERALD, 12, Captain W.H. Maxwell. One of the "Gem" class composite of screw corvettes. Length, 220 feet; breadth, 40 feet; depth of hold, 13ft. 5in.; displacement, 2,162 tons. She carries 12 64-pounders, and her poop and forecastle are deeply embrasured to admit of the bow and stern guns being fired in a fore-and-aft line. Her engines indicate 2,100-horse power, and her speed is about 13 knots. Crew, 232. 10. CORMORANT, 6, Commander Bruce. A composite sloop of 1,121 tons, carrying two 4½-ton guns and four 64-pounders, and a crew of 139. Engine power, 900. 11. EURYALUS, 16, Captain J. D'Arcy. This is a sister corvette to the Boadicea, having, however, 95 tons of displacement less. She has also been built to utilize the power of the ram, and with this object in view, she is formed with upright bows and iron stem, and is sheathed with one thickness of wooden casing, which is covered with zinc, like that of the Bacchante, instead of copper, as in the case of the Boadicea. Her engines are of the total indicated power of 5,250 horses, and her trial speed was 15 knots. She carries a crew of 363. 12. BLAZER, 1, Lieutenant Lang. One of the Snake class of iron gunboats. She carries a single 18-ton gun. Her tonnage is 254 tons, and her engines have a power of 266 horses. Crew 23. 13. COMET, Lieutenant Foote. Another gunboat of the Snake class. Crew, 25. The Queen will arrive at Spithead at half-past 3 on board the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert, followed by the Osborne, containing the Prince and Princess of Wales and family, and it is not Her Majesty’s intention to visit any of the ships in the Fleet. The demand for tickets to be present afloat at the Review has been so great that, even with contingents of tugs and gunboats from other ports, Admiral Fanshawe, the Naval Commander-in-Chief, has found it impossible to appropriate any steamer for the accommodation of the general public. Each of the ships in the fleet, however, will receive a limited number as guests of the officers, and after the review the vessels will be open to the inspection of visitors. The First Lord paid a private visit, yesterday to the Hercules, flagship, attended church, and afterwards went round the decks with the Admiral. He was accompanied by his private secretary, Captain Codrington. The Board of Admiralty and their friends will go out in the Enchantress; and the Lords and Commons, who will leave the Victoria station by special train at 9 30, arriving at the Dockyard at 11 30, will be provided for on board the Euphrates, one of the handsome Indian transports, but as she draws about 22ft of water, and must leave the harbour just upon the turn of the tide, she will proceed to Spithead at 12 o'clock and anchor. The Vivid is reserved for the foreign diplomatic corps; the Valorous for naval officers on half pay; the Dasher for military officers belonging to the garrison; the Lively and the Seamew for Admiralty and other officials; the Medina for the engineer students of the Marlborough; the Speedy, for the officers of the Steam Reserve; the Harpy, for the Admiral-Superintendent and the General commanding the garrison; the Fire Queen, for the Port Admiral and friends; the Britomart, for l the Mayor and Corporation of Portsmouth; the Fox, for full-pay officers and dockyard, hospital, and victualling-yard officials ; the Sampson, for the residential officers of the dockyard ; the Perse-verance, for the dockyard foremen ; and the Manly, for the dockyard clerks. The local traffic between the mainland and the Isle of Wight will ee suspended for the occasion, and the railways will run excursion trains between London and Portsmouth.
Tu 13 August 1878	Throughout the whole of yesterday the south cone was hoisted at the Dockyard semaphore at Portsmouth in token of an approaching gale and a falling glass, and as the character of the Review to-day is dependent in a great measure upon the state of the weather, the greatest uncertainty existed last night. The wind blew freshly from the south-west, and consequently right down the double line of ships, and should it continue, the probability is that the men-of-war will, as was the case at the two previous reviews at Spithead, remain immovably at their anchorages. The great difficulty is to get under way without losing station and getting mixed up. As soon as the engines have gathered speed there is no further trouble, as the power of the machinery enables the ships to effectually combat the wind. At the moment of starting, however, after the anchors have been slipped, and while the engines are moving slowly, the wind obtains a great hold upon the high freeboard ships. In the best of circumstances, a considerable time elapses before the vessels constituting a fleet can pull themselves together and get into their assigned positions, which, of course, is one of the prime elements in a review. With a stiff breeze blowing, the difficulty of getting Admiral Key's "Particular Service" fleet into proper line and station for the inspection of the Queen would be increased by the limited offing, the crowded roadstead, the double line in which the ships are anchored, and more particularly the short distance of the course to be traversed, which would prevent the engines going above six knots an hour. Should the wind, however, moderate during the night, of which there was little prospect, it is anticipated that Her Majesty, in the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert, Captain F.T. Thompson, will, at the conclusion of the formal inspection, take up a position about a mile to the eastward of the Warner lightship, a couple of moorings having been laid down for the purpose; and on a given signal being made from the Royal yacht, the fleet will slip anchors and proceed in single line to the eastward, and after passing round the Victoria and Albert, will return in the same order to the anchorage at Spithead. In executing this movement, which will be performed under easy steam, the Hercules, flagship, will lead, followed by the whole of though masted broadside ships, the Thunderer and the other turret ships, following the port division, taking up their positions at the rear of the starboard line. The distance between each ship will be one cable and a-half. In passing the Royal yacht the crews of the masted ships are to man yards and cheer, the crews of the monitors lining the decks and cheering also. According to a general order which has been issued by Admiral Fanshawe to the flag officers, captains, and commanding officers of the fleet, the ships at Spithead and in the harbour are to be dressed with flags at noon, and it is expected that Her Majesty will embark at Cowes about half-past 3 o'clock. As soon as the Royal Standard is sighted a royal salute of 21 guns will be fired by the fleet, commencing with the second gun from the Hercules, the easternmost ship, so that the Queen may not be inconvenienced by the uproar, and the smoke may partially clear away before the Royal yacht reaches the line. The turret ships, whose guns are not adapted for saluting purposes, are not to consume any powder on the occasion. As the Victoria and Albert, preceded by the Trinity yacht, and followed by the Admiralty yacht Enchantress, Commander Hills, and the Port Admiral’s yacht, the Fire Queen, Commander Pounds, passes slowly down between the lines, the crews of the masted ships will man yards and cheer, the crews of the mastless ships, which, as a sign of the times, are more numerous, lining the decks and cheering. During the inspection the ships will be left to the direction of Admiral Key. The uniform of the officers is to be undress, with cocked hats and epaulettes; but the dress of the seamen will depend on the state of the weather, and will be announced to the fleet this morning by signal from the Duke of Wellington. It is particularly stated that no steam vessel will be allowed to follow between the lines except such vessels belonging to the Royal Navy as have been detailed for the conveyance of spectators, and these, which compose a tolerable fleet in themselves, are peremptorily informed that they must keep astern of the Fire Queen at least two cables' length, that is, 200 fathoms. At night, at 9 o'clock, the whole of the fleet will be illuminated with blue and other lights from the yardarms and hammock nettings. This will afford a pretty sight to the thousands who will line Southsea Beach, Haslar Wall, and other eligible standpoints. The town is crowded with strangers. A platform and steps have been constructed alongside the line of rails on the Southern railway jetty in the dockyard, for the convenience of the members of the Lords and Commons and other spectators arriving by special trains; and temporary stands are being erected on board the Euphrates, Valorous, and the various gunboats and dockyard craft for the convenience of the favoured individuals whom they will take out to the review. The dockyard, and other Government establishments will be closed to-day at 12 o’clock. Of the whole flotilla of 21 gunboats which were reviewed by the Shah in 1873 only one, the Blazer, is represented on the present occasion. The Waterwitch, as being the solitary specimen of a novel method of propulsion, is another notable absentee. The whole of the coast defence squadron, including the Glatton, Prince Albert, Cyclops, Hydra, Gorgon, and Hecate, which were present in 1873, are again stationed at Spithead. Of the 15 masted ships which were inspected by the Shah only four, the Hector, Hercules, Penelope, and Valiant, are again in their places. The Devastation has been replaced by the Thunderer, and the Hotspur by the Belleisle; but the absence of the largest type of ironclads, represented in 1873 by the Northumberland and Agincourt, will detract considerably from the spectacle. The Vesuvius and the Lightning, and perhaps the two torpedo boats built by Messrs. Yarrow, of Poplar, which arrived at Portsmouth on Sunday, represent a new weapon of naval warfare.
Tu 13 August 1878	PORTSMOUTH, Monday Night. The south cone was lowered from the Dockyard semaphore at sunset this evening. The wind has moderated, and the glass is rising. The sky is rather suggestive of rain than wind, so that appearances are favourable to the fleet getting under way to-morrow.
We 14 August 1878	THE NAVAL REVIEW. Yesterday, amid storm and rain, the usual accompaniment of nearly all great naval spectacles, Her Majesty the Queen reviewed a small portion of that great Fleet on which the might of the vast Empire which owns her gracious sway rests in confidence and security. Nor was the importance of the interesting event of the 13th of August, 1878, in any way to be measured by the force represented, for the crisis through which the country has passed [the 1877 Anglo-Russian crisis] is yet of too recent date to permit of a recall from distant waters of large portions of the fleet which under ordinary circumstances of a review in home waters would have been present to swell the numbers. From one point of view it is eminently satisfactory that such a powerful fleet has been assembled at such short notice; for it must be borne in mind that the squadron now at Spithead is altogether distinct from any portion of the Fleet as a whole in ordinary times of assumed peace. This fleet was suddenly called into existence when war seemed probable, and it is no small matter for congratulation that, with the Channel Fleet absent on other duties, a naval force of such strength could be found at short notice. It is hardly too much to say that the fleet now lying at Spithead represents a force almost equal to the entire maritime resources of any one Continental Power, not alone numerically, but also as to fighting capacity; and when the great arsenal of Portsmouth, which stretched away to leeward of the fleet, with all its stores and appliances, is further considered, we may say that had England to protect her own shores alone, such a fleet and such resources would probably be found amply sufficient. There are reviews and reviews — reviews of stately wooden vessels which have returned from a campaign self-condemned, having been able to effect nothing against stone walls, and the days of which were seen to be numbered by all thoughtful minds; and there are reviews held with a special political object, which object has been in two cases to impress Oriental minds, on which occasions, whether legitimately or not we do not pretend to say, many vessels took part which had only been painted, masted, and manned for the nonce, and were immediately after the spectacle reconsigned to the limbo of the floating basin. But the Fleet now under the command of Sir Astley Cooper Key is none of these. It forms a bonâ fide part of the strength of the nation, and, had it been deemed advisable, or had some sudden emergency rendered it necessary, that fleet could have put to sea under the eyes of Her Majesty and have gone to the uttermost ends of the ocean to perform any duty that could be required of it. There were no dummies yesterday; no temporary crews except in one or two of the smaller order of craft, which are purposely kept in harbour unmanned. The salutes which were fired might have been transformed into a terrific whirlwind of flying iron, which would have swept away like mushrooms all the gay crowd of yachts and pleasure-boats which covered the waters, and the sailors, who stood facing the strong gale as they manned the yards, would have been equally at home had orders been given to "Make sail." The events of the day may be said to have begun with the arrival, by the special trains from London of the members of both Houses and their embarkation on board the Euphrates, while at the same time, from various points of the dockyard, other parties were embarking on board the different vessels to which they had been allotted. A crowd of curious spectators had gathered in the dockyard, to witness the embarkation of the august personages, for whom the large transport had been got ready, hoping, doubtless, to catch sight of some of the great luminaries of the political firmament; but in this they were rather disappointed, as no stars of sufficient magnitude to be recognized through provincial telescopes appeared, and consequently none were recognized except such as had been rendered familiar by some course of systematic caricature. Under these rather depressing circumstances, and with a few ominous rain-squalls, as earnest of what was to come later, the embarkation was completed, and before 2 nearly all the vessels carrying the privileged ticket-holders had cleared the Spit Buoy, and were awaiting the arrival of Her Majesty. At noon a Royal salute was fired from all the vessels at Spithead and in harbour, and the ships were dressed; those about to proceed outside with masthead flags only, while the vessels which were to remain stationary dressed in rainbow, with the flags extending from masthead to masthead. As the programme for the day had been altered several times it was difficult for people to say when the real business of the day was to begin, and many vessels availed themselves of the spare time before Her Majesty should arrive in visiting the sad remains of the unfortunate Eurydice. It was impossible to resist a deep feeling of pain as the helpless hull, lying partly out of water, hove in sight, and a sense of awe seemed to pervade all who looked on her, knowing, alas ! Too well that down between her flooded decks lay her gallant crew, as did the crew of Kempenfeldt long years ago in the same waters. Towards 3 o'clock Her Majesty was observed to be putting off in a Royal barge towards the yacht Victoria and Albert. Which lay with a slip rope to a buoy off Osborne, and soon afterwards the Royal Standard was run up to the masthead, which was the signal for the Fleet to salute. At that distance, however, with the strong wind blowing towards the Fleet, the sound of the guns was quite inaudible, but the effect of the flashes of light and the columns of smoke swept away in clouds towards Hayling Island was very fine. A line was then formed of the yachts and tenders following in the wake of Her Majesty in the subjoined order:— Next astern of the Royal yacht came the Royal yacht Osborne, with his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and his friends; then the Enchantress, with their Lordships the Commissioners of the Admiralty; then the Fire Queen, with the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Fanshawe, flying his flag at the main; then the Euphrates, with the Lords, Commons, and a large bevy of peeresses and lady commoners; then the Vivid, with the foreign representatives, and in the rear of these the Dasher and Britomart, with half-pay naval officers and officers of the garrison. In this form the squadron of yachts, with a strong breeze blowing behind them, bore down on the Fleet, which was now seen to be anchored in most admirable order and perfect formation — the larger, but less formidable vessels forming the Starboard Division, the turret ships and monitors the Port. The following is the disposition and order of the Divisions: — Starboard. Ships Guns Horse Power Tons Crew Hercules, Admiral Sir A.C. Key 14 8,529 8,677 693 Hector, Captain C.H. Simpson 18 3,256 6,713 527 Valiant, Captain W.C. Chapman 18 3,550 6,713 520 Lord Warden, Captain Hon. E.R. Fremantle 18 6,706 7,842 537 Warrior, Rear-Admiral Henry Boys 32 5,469 9,137 703 Penelope, Captain W.S. Brown 11 4,703 4,394 345 Resistance, Captain A.T. Thrupp 16 2,428 6,070 452 Boadicea, Captain J.E. Erskine 16 5,130 4,027 385 Emerald, Captain W.H. Maxwell 12 2,100 2,162 232 Cormorant, Commander J.A.T. Bruce 6 900 1,124 139 Euryalus, Captain John D'Arcy 16 5,250 3,932 353 Blazer, Lieutenant H.B. Lang 1 266 254 23 Comet, Lieut. R.F.O. Foote 1 262 254 25 Port. Thunderer, Capt. John C. Wilson 4 6,270 9,387 349 Belleisle. Captain C.J. Rowley 4 3,955 4,720 206 Prince Albert, Captain Loftus F. Jones 4 2,128 3,905 193 Gorgon, Capt. Sir Lambton LoraIne 4 1,669 3,430 147 Hydra, Capt. Albert H. Markham 4 1.472 3,430 146 Hecate, Captain Edward Howard 4 1,755 3,420 149 Glatton, Captain Morgan Singer 2 2,868 4,912 163 Cyclops, Captain Edward Kelly 4 1,680 3,430 150 Ready, Com. H.H. Edwards 4 715 592 77 Tweed, Lieutenant John Hayes 3 310 363 43 Tay, Lieut. Thomas E. Miller 3 310 363 41 Vesuvius, Lieutenant W.H. May — 379 260 14 Lightning, Lieut. C.J. Norcock — 300 28 9   219 72,360 99,549 6,691 The vessels in these two divisions left a broad water way, down which Her Majesty now steamed, having previously made the signal that the Fleet would not be required to got under way. As the Royal yacht approached the yards were manned, and cheer after cheer rang from the ships. A crowd of small craft followed thickly in the wake and on both beams of the squadron of yachts, and fortunately at this moment the one stray gleam of sunshine which appeared throughout the day shone forth and lighted up the scene. The long, even rows of vessels, the fluttering bunting and the figures of the men as they stood on the yards presented a fine scene. The Royal yacht, now steamed towards the Warner lightship, passing not far from the wreck of the Eurydice, which must have attracted Her Majesty's attention, and then turned towards the Fleet again. The aspect presented by the fleet as a fleet was very curious, and to naval minds instructive. A broad line may be drawn by saying that while on one side, the starboard, some trace of the old lines of beauty which formerly graced our ships might still be observed, on the other hand, the port where lay the turrets and monitors, every trace of anything approaching to beauty of form has been unsparingly obliterated. But utility has no law in the engines of war, and committee after committee abandoned all idea of avoiding ugliness. Speculative designers have contemplated all kinds of services to be rendered by different orders of ships — all varying as much as in land warfare do ponderous siege guns from the smallest mountain gun carried on the back of a mule. Here were side by side vessels fit to go to the antipodes, and to weather the severest gales, while darting in and out among these great floating monsters, as if in parody of their weight and unwieldiness, were diminutive torpedo boats, travelling at railway speed. And yet, as has already been said, this mixed fleet is alone a powerful force, and from the very variety of armaments and diversity of uses to which they could be applied would present a serious obstacle to any foreign Power in any war in which we might be engaged. It was not Her Majesty's intention to have visited any of the vessels. So that the bad weather did not interfere with that part of the programme, but from the signal which was made it was evidently the intention that the Fleet should have been got under way and have performed some such simple manoeuvre as steaming round the Royal yacht, either in two columns or in single line ahead, and then resuming their stations at Spithead. But that it was wise to abandon this project all those who witnessed the review must agree, as from the confined space, the crowds of shipping and small boats, the violent squalls of wind and the occasional blinding showers, it would have been attended with considerable risk. This we say fearlessly, and regardless of the croakings of the old school, who cannot open their eyes to the plain logic of facts that a ponderous modern ironclad is not to be handled in narrow waters with the same impunity as were the old wooden vessels of bygone days. It is time this fact should be recognized, and that the Admirals of the present day, who have brought the Navy to its present state of efficiency, should be no longer twitted from the seclusion of Pall-mall with ignorance and want of seamanship. Her Majesty now made the signal, "Am much pleased, and regret that weather prevents evolutions," with which gracious message, and under the smoke of a second Royal salute, the Royal yacht and her train of followers steamed away towards the Solent. This was a general signal for the visitors to disperse, and soon the entrance to Portsmouth harbour was crowded with vessels of all kinds making for the various landing places. Dense crowds of people were now perceived to line the sea walls, the piers, and even the distant house tops of Southsea, waiting patiently through the gusts of wind and blinding squalls of rain to see the far off spectacle across the broad waters of Spithead. As the vessels approached their respective berths alongside the jetties of the Dockyard they were promptly moored, and in a very few minutes discharged all their passengers A special train was in waiting to convey away the members of the two Houses who had been sumptuously entertained on board the Euphrates as guests of the Admiralty. No accident of any kind it is believed occurred throughout the day, and no small credit is due to these responsible, when the crowded state of the harbour and the strong tide which sweeps in and out are taken into consideration. Except that the weather was not propitious everything went off most satisfactorily, and the Naval Review of 1878 will be long remembered; as giving proof what resources are at our command on the shortest notice.
We 14 August 1878 (continued)	(From our Portsmouth correspondent.) The fleet of armoured and unarmoured ships, monitors, and gunboats which had been organized under Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key and Rear-Admiral Boys for particular service, was reviewed by the Queen at Spithead yesterday, at the conclusion of their evolutionary cruise and previous to being dismissed to their different coastguard stations and quarters. As not unfrequently happens in a climate so uncertain and variable as ours, the Review was deprived of much of its charm as a spectacle by the unfortunate meteorological conditions under which it was held. On Monday night the wind went down and everything promised well for the Review yesterday, notwithstanding the appearance of heavy rain-clouds that came sailing over the Isle of Wight. During the night, however, the wind sprang up again from the south-west, accompanied by copious falls of rain, and when day broke nothing could have appeared worse in the shape of weather. A heavy haze hung upon the water and shut out the ships from the spectators on shore, while the wind, which had increased to half a gale, dissipated the last vestige of hope with reference to the fleet getting under way. The proceedings of the day furnished another illustration, if another were required, of the vanity of human wishes, and no one more regretted the result than Her Majesty, who did not countermand until afloat the orders for steaming to the eastward. The disappointment was all the more intense because had the elements not proved churlish more in the way of spectacle would have been performed than the published orders from the Admiralty and the Commander-in-Chief led the public to expect. The seamen by whom the special service fleet is manned are, on the whole, the noblest set of fellows that ever stepped on board ship, and Admiral Key was ready without further training to take them to the Baltic or anywhere else. They were all upon full pay at the time they joined, and were almost exclusively drawn from the Coastguard, and it speaks volumes for the naval resources of the country that a "particular service" fleet was fully manned in a short time without resort being had to extraordinary expedients. Having in the meantime been well drilled and exercised, the Admiral felt that he could do anything with them and the ships under his command, and when the wind moderated on Monday evening Her Majesty, in an interview with the officers of the flagship, expressed the pleasure which she would feel in witnessing the fleet manoeuvred out at sea. The plan agreed upon with the concurrence of the Queen was that the 16 masted and unmasted ships which had been exercised under Admiral Key at Portland and Bantry should proceed outside the Nab in two divisions in close order line ahead — in the same order, in fact, in which they were anchored, and there perform a series of evolutions under steam, while the Euryalus, Emerald, Cormorant, and the other ships which had only joined the evolutionary fleet at Spithead, should be constituted into a detached squadron and be separately manoeuvred at a distance of two miles from the larger vessels. Measures had also been taken to execute a movement which, we believe, had not previously been performed in the fleet. Instead of weighing anchor, which is at best a laborious and wearisome operation, every ship was in readiness at noon to ease down her mooring-swivels, and had the weather permitted, by a quarter-past 1 the signal would have been made to "Ease down," and preparations would have been made for slipping the cable with hawser on the end for heaving it up and with buoys attached; and Admiral Key reposed such confidence in the tried efficiency of his officers and men that in half a minute after the signal to slip had been displayed from the Royal yacht he undertook that the whole fleet should have been steaming to the Nab. Though the novel sight of a double line of ships of war simultaneously getting under way was reserved for a future occasion, it is something to know that the evolution is practicable even with an ironclad fleet. The spectacle of yesterday was got up in no one's honour, and the citizens of Portsmouth were consequently relieved of the responsibility of receiving with becoming ceremony a distinguished stranger whom the nation regarded as its guest and to whom it was anxious to exhibit the power and majesty of its first line of defence. As a result, the borough presented a busy rather than a festive appearance, The shipping, however, was gorgeously decorated with rainbow flags, and Royal standards, white ensigns, and other colours waved from every naval and military flagstaff. The borough itself made no attempt at ornamentation. The dockyard and the other Government establishments were closed at noon, but though no general holiday was proclaimed, many of the inhabitants, joining in spirit with the crowds who flocked into the town, closed their places of business. The spectators wero distinctly localized, but in consequence of the wretched weather and the evanescent and interrupted view which could be obtained of the ships from the shore, even the crowds which lined Haslar Wall and Southsea Beech and massed themselves upon the piers were not very dense. There were numerous steamers filled with the general public afloat, and the display of yachts was very fine, but the show upon the water was, apart from the fleet, largely composed of naval elements, the majority of the sightseers having come out in Government vessels and tugs. At half-past 12 the Euphrates, with the Lords and Commons on board, steamed out of harbour and proceeded to St. Helen’s to inspect all that remains of the Eurydice, and was soon after followed by the Valorous and other vessels set apart for privileged observers of the review. The fleet, the lines of which were headed with the most powerful ships of their class, and which terminated with craft so small that they seemed mere specks on the water, was drawn up in the following order:— THE WARNER. ↑ Port Division. Thunderer, 4, Capt. J.C. Wilson. Belleisle, 4, Capt. Rowley. Prince Albert, Capt. Jones. Gorgon, Capt. Sir L. Loraine. Hydra, Capt. Markham. Hecate, Capt. Howard. Glatton, 2, Capt. Singer. Cyclops, Capt. Kelly. Ready, Commander Edwards. Tweed, Lieut. Hayes. Tay, Lieut. Miller. Vesuvius, Lieut. May. Lightning, Lieut. Norcock. Starboard Division. *Hercules, 14, Capt. Fisher. Hector, 18, Capt. Simpson. Valiant, 18, Capt. Chapman. Lord Warden, 18, Capt.Hon. E.R. Fremantle. †Warrior, 32, Capt. Douglas. Penelope. Resistance. Boadicea. Emerald. Cormorant. Euryalus. Blazer. Comet. * Bearing the flag of Admiral Sir A.C. Key, K.C.B. † Bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Henry Boys.
We 14 August 1878 (continued)	Though less imposing as a spectacle than the magnificent naval demonstrations which were witnessed at the same anchorage by the Sultan in 1867, and by the Shah of Persia in 1873, the fleet which was yesterday reviewed by Her Majesty was yet such a one as could have been exhibited by no other country in the world. It was not, as on the occasions referred to, a mere assemblage of ships drawn from the various dockyard ports without any other purpose in view than that of making a show. With the exception of one or two ships, which, for the sake of congruity, would have been better excluded from the lines, the whole of the vessels had actually composed an evolutionary fleet, under the command of Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key and Rear-Admiral Henry Boys. They had been organized, officered, and manned for "particular service" — that is, for any service which might be demanded from them; and though they had happily not been called upon to undertake any more trying duties than a cruise to and from Bantry Bay, or to perform any more perilous manoeuvres than a course of steam and other tactics in the Channel, they nevertheless constituted a formidable reserve of naval force above and beyond the ordinary fleets of the country, and could have been despatched to the Baltic or to sweep the Channel at a moment’s notice. It was no "phantom fleet," and, indeed, the most surprising circumstance connected with the review was the possibility of the review itself; and the British taxpayer might be pardoned some little amount of glorification as he remembered that the array of war vessels which he beheld had been gathered together simultaneously with the strengthening of our fleets in the Mediterranean and all parts of the world. Approximately estimated, the Spithead Fleet consisted, all told, of 26 ships, representing 99,549 tons of displacement, 219 guns, and 6,691 men. To sum up the engine-power of the fleet would only mislead, as the power indicated on the measured mile is secured by abnormal means, which probably never again occur in the life of a ship. The power of the machinery, again, is converted into a lessening quantity by reason of the deterioration of the boilers, the wear and tear of the moving parts, and the fouling of the ships' bottoms. Taking, however, the Hercules, Boadicea, Thunderer, and Tees as examples of special types of naval construction, and more particularly as their machinery and boilers are all, comparatively speaking, new. We may state that the flagship is capable of realizing 14 knots with over 7,000-horse power; the Boadicea, 14½ knots, with 5,300-horse power; the Thunderer, 13½ knots, with 6,270-horse power; and the Tees, 9½ knots, with 318-horse power. The artillery carried by the fleet comprised two 38-ton guns, five 35-ton guns, six 25-ton guns, 32 18-ton guns, eight 12-ton guns, besides a number of guns of lower natures. This statement of the enormous armament carried by the "particular service" fleet will convey an idea of its power for war purposes; but, as regards the ships themselves, they were of a somewhat heterogeneous character. With the exception of the Hercules and Thunderer there were no "first-class sea-going ships of war" present, the whole of them, the Boadicea, Euryalus, and Emerald excluded, having long since been set apart for coast-guard service and coast defence. For the most part, they furnished admirable examples of obsolete types, the most perfect specimens of naval construction having been despatched to where there was every reason at one time to believe they were likely to be wanted. The Committee on Designs emphatically abandoned as untenable the idea of designing a perfect ship of war, since every approach in one direction inevitably brought with it disadvantages in another. Naval architects, they thought, ought to content themselves with a more or less satisfactory compromise, and the variety of system which Mr. Reed looks upon as the result of steady and determined progress where progress was all important, but which some have regarded as furnishing evidence of fluctuating purpose and divided counsels in the Construction Department, was certainly well represented in the double line of war vessels at Spithead. There were armour-clads with and armour-clads without masts; ships plated with armour to the extent of 12in. and 14in. At the water-line, and capable, as in the case of the Thunderer, of withstanding the blow of the 25-ton gun up to 200 yards, and ships so utterly destitute of all protection against shell-fire, except such as may be given to the boilers and engines by coal, that they are easily penetrable by the lightest ordnance afloat; ships unarmoured, partially armoured, wholly armoured; belted ships, such as the Warrior and the Resistance; and completely protected ships, such as the Hercules and the majority of the ship designed in England since 1861 and 1873. Then there were ships in which no end-on fire was provided for, and ships, including the whole squadron of turret vessels, in which almost everything — appearance, comfort, seaworthiness, and speed — had been sacrificed to obtain the important advantage of all-round fire; monitors with four turrets, two turrets, and one turret; ships with guns spread throughout the broadside, and others in which the whole armament is concentrated with a citadel or central armoured box; ships with ram bows and with ornamental over-hang bows; ships carrying the largest and the smallest guns afloat; and ships, like the Vesuvius and Lightning, without guns of any sort whatever, and depending entirely for their usefulness in attack upon their torpedo equipment. Among the ships reviewed there was not a solitary specimen of those "wooden walls" which were once held to constitute the naval strength of England; but there was a composite ship, in the instance of the Emerald, several ships cased with wood, and a singular specimen of naval architecture in the Lord Warden, which, like the Caledonia, Lord Clyde, and others of the class, was built of wood and iron for the express purpose of utilizing the large stores of timber which had accumulated in the national dockyards, and to which it was subsequently deemed necessary to add an internal strake of 1½-inch armour to enable her to resist the growing power of artillery. Of a certainty, if Mr. Reed be warranted in the belief that "if the English ironclad fleet were now to be engaged in a general action with an enemy's fleet, the very variety of our ships — those very improvements which have occasioned that variety — would be at once the cause of the greatest possible embarrassment to the enemy, and the means of the most vigorous and diversified attack upon the hostile fleet," then there can be no doubt that Admiral Key's fleet would be practically invincible in war. As in the case of the geological records, the fleet presented some important interruptions in the succession of sequences; but it would, nevertheless, have been possible to trace from the great variety of types of which it was constituted that evolutionary growth or principle by which the Dreadnought, with its four 38-ton guns, its 14-inch armour, and its revolving turrets, was gradually developed in course of years; and under the influence of the pressing exigencies of modern naval warfare, from the Warrior, with its armament of 6½-ton guns, and its meagre and inadequate patches of side armour. Our first armour-clad is a fine, handsome, fully-rigged frigate, having the form and appearance of an ordinary wooden ship. The transition from the old to the new type was thus scarcely appreciable. All that the Warrior possesses is a side-armoured middle division, with underwater protected ends, and she is wholly innocent of bow fire, and having at the time only wooden ships and comparatively small guns to contend against, her protection did not exceed 4½-inch armour. Of the next stage of development, as represented by ships of the Minotaur class, the Spithead review presented no illustrations. They carried somewhat thicker armour, but to enable them to carry it without entailing a fatal loss of speed, it was deemed necessary to build them of such an enormous length that they were ill-adapted for manoeuvring in line of battle. Next followed the Hector and the Valiant, both of which took part in the review, and which, though protected with armour of the same thickness as the Warrior, were less by 100ft. In length, the additional buoyancy required to float the weight being secured by giving them greater relative beam. But the feature in these ships which more than any other marked an important step in the evolutionary process was their complete protection along the water-line. In other words, the armour was no longer restricted to the midship portion of the ship, but was extended forward and aft, so as to protect them both above and below the water. From this point the transition was rapid and organic. The increasing power of the gun, the increasing weight of the armour which it was necessary for ships to carry to keep out shot and shell, and the structural devices which were required to protect them against the consequences of ramming, brought about various violent transformations and complications. When the armour became so massive that, instead of distributing it equally over the entire side of a ship, it was, as in the Hercules, completed in the region of the water-line, but not in the wake of the gun deck; and when, as in the case of the Invincible class (represented yesterday by the Triumph), the plating was continued up to such a height above the upper deck amidships as to protect at the corners of the battery four heavy guns capable of being trained in the line of the keel as well as on the broadside, it is clear that the principle of the turret system had been substantially conceded. Between placing heavy guns in a central battery and placing heavier guns in a turret, and between concentrating heavy armour in the middle of a ship, and placing still heavier armour in the breastwork or citadel of a monitor, the difference is not considerable. As soon as the importance of all-round fire was acknowledged to be supreme, it was inevitable that in some instances masts and sail-power should be sacrificed to obtain it; and when the gun grew to such a size as to be practically unmanageable by manual appliances, what so natural than that it should be trained by means of a rotating battery, and elevated and depressed by hydraulic power? Thus we have the turret principle established. The method of protecting by side armour on a middle division of the ship, associated with protected ends and raft bodies, is a further development of the same system; but though it has been introduced into the Inflexible, Ajax, and Nelson, the admitted failure of the attempt to unite in one ship a very high degree of offensive and defensive power with real efficiency under sail has led to the designing of special types of ships for special purposes. Thus, the Thunderer was designed for service in European seas, including the Channel and the Mediterranean; the Hercules as a first-class ocean cruiser; the Hector and the Valiant as second-class ironclads; the Penelope for use in harbours and rivers where the most powerful ships would not find water enough to float them; the Triumph as an ocean cruiser. With special reference to colonial defence, and though not belonging to the first rank, a powerful vessel both for offence and defence; the Boadicea and Euryalus as fast-sailing and fast-steaming vedettes, useful also for harassing an enemy's commerce and acting as the police of the sea; the Glatton for breaking into first-class ports and challenging the heaviest guns in fortresses, her armoured upper deck being intended to protect her against plunging fire; and the Prince Albert and the breastwork monitors for protecting our harbours in conjunction with land defences, gunboats, and torpedoes, and also for use in attacking shallow-water ports of the enemy. According to a generalization by Mr. Burnaby, all ships of 3,000 tons displacement and upwards should be protected. Those intended for high speeds and cruising, and not having large batteries or many men about the decks, might either be protected, as in the Comus class, by an under-water deck combined with a raft body, or after the manner of the Warrior; second-class battle ships should, at least for the present, be protected by an armoured belt throughout the water-line; but all first-class ships of the future must be protected by side armour on a middle division of the ship, associated with protected ends and raft bodies, unless, indeed, the Italian system be adopted of introducing protecting deck and raft bodies from end to end, without side armour, but with armoured batteries. At 12 o'clock, before the smoke of the time-gun had got clear of the muzzle, the ships in the fleet and harbour were simultaneously dressed with masthead and over-all flags, the sudden effect of the blaze of colour throughout the avenue of war vessels, about two miles and a half long, being marvellous, even under the light of a leaden-coloured sky. One of the features of the review was the performances of two long double-funnel torpedo boats, built by Messrs. Yarrow, of Poplar, and which have realized the extraordinary speed of 21 knots. The manner in which these malevolent-looking craft rushed up and down the lines and round the ships was the astonishment of all beholders. At 20 minutes past 3 the order was given to stand by the guns, and ten minutes later the Royal yacht, with the Admiralty flag at the fore, the Royal Standard at the main, and the Union Jack at the mizen, was seen entering the lines from the westward. With the second report from the 20-pounder boat guns the masted ships fired a Royal salute, at the conclusion of which the turret-ships, led by the Thunderer, fired three feu-de-joie. Then the sailors of the starboard division manned the yards, the monitors in the port division at the same time manning their turrets and breastwork decks on the side nearest the Royal yacht, while the guards feel in on the quarter-deck and the breaks of the poop, the whole cheering and presenting arms as the Royal yacht passed each ship. Her Majesty, who was accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales (the former in the uniform of the Naval Reserve), Princess Beatrice, and the Lords of the Admiralty, passed very slowly up the lines, eight bells having been sounded before the flotilla reached the flagship, which they passed in the following order:— The Trinity yacht; the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert, Captain Thomson; the Royal yacht Albert, Captain Balliston; the Royal yacht Osborne, Commander Pearson; the Fire Queen, Commander Pounds; yacht of the Commander-in-Chief; the Euphrates, Captain Brownrigg, with the Lords and Commons; the Vivid, Commander Wise, with the foreign diplomatists; the Harpy, with the Admiral-Superintendent and the Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth; the Lively, Commander Sir Baldwin Walker, with Admiralty and ether officials; the Seamew, with more Admiralty officials; the Foxhound, with full pay officers; the Valorous, Captain Boyle, with half-pay naval officers; the Sprightly, Lieutenant Tregidgo, with officers of the Steam Reserve; the Britomart, Commander Sullivan, with the Mayor and Corporation of Portsmouth; the Skylark, and the Medina. Until the Victoria and Albert had approached within a couple of hundred yards of the flagship it was still doubtful whether the fleet would or would not be ordered under way. Every thing was in readiness, steam was up, the signal to undress the ships in the event of proceeding to the eastward was prepared for hoisting, men were told off to let the cables slip at a moment's notice, and each ship of the first division was ready to turn to the southward and to follow in the wake of her leader. There were similar preparations on board the Thunderer with respect to the second division. Just as the Royal yacht, however, approached the Hercules a signal was made to "negative slip" in consequence of the weather, a second signal announcing that Her Majesty would not steam between the lines on her return from the eastward. The flotilla now proceeded round the Warner, the Victoria and Albert making a wide circle in order to allow the Euphrates to get round easily. At this period in the afternoon occurred the most impressive spectacle of the day. As the flotilla of yachts emerged from the lines they were followed by a magnificent fleet of yachts in full sail on the windward quarter, and on the other quarter by a fleet of steamers and dockyard craft, headed by Mr. Brassey’s yacht the Sunbeam, with the red, white, and blue ensigns at the mastheads. As they neared the lightship the yachts luffed their wind, and went round starboard, the steamers at the same time going round port, and with the Royal yacht in the centra the whole mass of vessels cam back with the squadron. As the Royal yacht approached the Queen made the following signa! To Admiral Key — "Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen is much pleased, and regrets extremely that the bad weather has prevented the evolutions." There was more manning yards and saluting as the Queen steamed down to Cowes, Her Majesty herself making the signal to fire. It was the Queen's intention to receive the captains of the fleet on board, but in consequence of the weather not admitting of her intention being carried out they will be presented at Osborne to-night. The ships undressed at 9 o'clock at night in the midst of a downpour of rain. The whole fleet was illuminated. The set division burnt long lights at the lower and topsail yardarms, and on the bowsprit and taffrail, sending up six rockets simultaneously, the turret ships at the same time burning eight long lights, one at the bow, another at the stern, and the remainder at conspicuous positions, ending with a discharge of rockets.
Fr 16 August 1878	The Queen received the Admirals and Captains assembled at Spithead at Osborne yesterday afternoon. Admiral Fanshawe, C.B., Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, who arrived with the officers in Her Majesty's ship Lively, presented Admiral Sir A. Cooper Key, K.C.B., to Her Majesty. Sir A, Cooper Key then presented Rear-Admiral Boys and the following officers to Her Majesty:— Captains.— E.H. Howard, Her Majesty’s chip Hecate (Aide-de-Camp to the Queen); J.C. Wilson, Her Majesty's ship Thunderer (Aide-de-Camp to the Queen); A.T. Thrupp, Her Majesty's ship Resistance; W.C. Chapman, Her Majesty's ship Valiant; R.G. Douglas, Her Majesty's ship Warrior; C.H. Simpson, Her Majesty's ship Hector; W.S. Brown, Her Majesty's ship Penelope; C.J. Rowley, Her Majesty's ship Belleisle; the Hon. E.R. Fremantle, C.B., C.M.G., Her Majesty's ship Lord Warden; M. Singer, Her Majesty's ship Glatton; J. D'Arcy, Her Majesty's ship Euryalus; L.F. Jones, Her Majesty's ship Prince Albert; E. Kelly, Her Majesty's ship Cyclops; W.H. Maxwell, Her Majesty's ship Emerald; Sir Lambton Loraine, Her Majesty's ship Gorgon; J.A. Fisher, Her Majesty's ship Hercules; and A.H. Markham, Her Majesty's ship Hydra. The officers who were presented to Her Majesty in the Drawing-room, then retired.