THE NEW FLAGSHIP.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 328, 26 December 1888, Page 5

THE NEW FLAGSHIP.

Auckland, Dec. 22. The first intelligence of any of the expected vessels of the Australian squadron leaving Sydney for Auckland, "vhere they were to rendezvous during the holidays, was the receipt yesterday afternoon by His Worship the Mayor of a tebgram from His Excellency the Governor at Wellington, stating that the new flagship Orlando with Admiral Fairfax on board had left Sydney for Auckland on the 17th instant. Ail the uncertainty regarding the visit of the squadron thus appears to have been caused by the fact of the Orlando's departure not having been cabled from Sydney as it should have been. Shortly after noon to-day a British man-o'-war was signalled outside Th*i, and the vessel . proved to be the Orlando. She rounded the North Head about 1.40 p.m. and steamed rapidly up the harbour, flying the Admiral's flag, dropping anchor at abont 2 p.m. in the stream, opposite the Queen-street Wharf, some distance from the Opal and Lizard. The Orlando is one of the finest specimens of naval architecture that has yet been seen in Auckland harbour, and is of a vastly superior type of vessel to her predecessor, the Nelson. The Orlando is under command of CaptainHammil, and has on board RearAdmiral Fai*fax, and his private secretary. She arrived at Sydney from Plymouth some six months ago, and has since been stationed at that port and at Hobart. Leaving Sydney on the 17th, she experienced fair weather and variable winds on the passage across. The Orlando rates as a belted cruiser, I cost £266,814, and is one of the most powerful vessels afloat, both for speed and armament. She is 300 ft in length, being 20ft longer than the Nelson, with a beam of 56ft feBt, or only 4fb less bhan the Nelson. Her displacement is 5,000 tons. Her armour weighs no less than 1,000 tons, is steel faced and belted from lft 6in above the waterline to 4ft below, the belt being lOin thick with a backing of 6iu of teak secured in steel plating of lin thickness. On the top of the belt is a protective deck, which extends the whole .length of the vessel, the deck being formed of 2in of steel plating, and all openings in this deck are fitted with either armour-shuttei'S or shellproof gratings, and with coppei dams to those openings necessary when the ressel is in action. All the movements of the machinery, the steering of the ship, and the firing of the gunsareunder complete control from the conning tower on the fore end of the vessel, the men employed there being protected by I2in. steel-faced armour, and all the communications to engine-rooms, magazines, and steering wheel? pass through a tube of steel Sin. thick. The stem forms a ram, and is of cast steel. Her armament comprises two 2-inch breechloaders, or 22-ton guns. One of these is placed forward before the conning tower, so as to command a the ahead and all round the bow, to about 50deji abaft either beam ; the other is placed ait and is able to fire in a similar sweep astern. Between her two masts she carries, five a side, ten 6in 4-ton breechloadeis, and the smaller pieces include 6in and eight Sin quick firing guns and four machine rifle calibre guns. Shu has aloo fcubeo for the discharge of Whitehead improved torpedoes, both above and below water. Her hull is built of Siemens - Martini, steel, and is divided into about 100 watertight eotupni tments. Regarding fuel endiuance the Orlando carries enough to steam at lull speed 2,000 knots, or if her speed is limited to 10 knots an hour she can steam without recoaling for nearly 10,000 miles. On her trial trip the new flagship, drawing 20 feet forward and 22 feet, aft, attained a speed of 19 "25 knots per hour, the engines developing 8,622 h.p., with forced draught. The vessel is fitted with engines of 3.000 h. p. , steam is provided by four double ended boilers working at a pressure of 1201 bs on the equare inch, and ! having a total grate surface ot 500 square I feet and a total weight of 720 tons. Her officers are : —Captain, Tynte F. Hammil ; commander, George C. C. Egerton ; lieutenants, R. S. D. Cuming, R. R. L. Risk. A. w. J. Portal, F. A. (Jarfortb, and C. C, Uhadwick ; feub-lieulenants, F. A Hodge and C. C. Fen wick ; midshipmen, Hugh F. Hopkinson, Arthur H. Oldham, Jtfhn U. T. Glossop, Allan G. Lindsay, Bertram S. Evans, Stewart A. Perry - Ayscouorh, Godfrey E. Corbett, Frank Peirse, John Armstrong, Hon. Algernon, D. E. H. Royal, Herbeit W. Richmond, Harry B. Heygate, George H. Baird, and Sydney Drury-Lowe ; Naval cadets, Astle S. Littlejohn, Cecil H. Fox, and Norman S. Stanley ; surgeons, Thomas H. Nott, Arthur W. Way ; chaplain and instructor, Rev. E. F. Fytte ; gunners, D. W. Flynn and T. | Larking ; boatswains, James Clarke and | W. T. Taylor.