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Report to the Italian parliament on the Webb frigates


These two ships - the King of Italy and the King of Portugal - are progressing very slowly for the money spent upon their procurement. Although launched after eighteen months on the slips, and now being twenty-one months after ordering - a time which would suffice to bring the 9,000 ton Warrior of England to just short of completion - the King of Italy is barely at a stage where she may be sent out uncased for testing.

Examination of the engine power in an uncased test has the King of Italy making 8 1/2 knots, due to the deficiencies of the engines, which is far below the contracted speed and which would render her incapable of effectively serving with the fleet without slowing them to below the speed of a steam liner. This problem would only increase once cased and armed.

Inspection of the armour plates acquired for casing the two frigates shows them to be severely below the requirements, being silicaceous and fragile, and with unevenness resulting from the forging process that has not been corrected.
On my insistence a plate was tested, and showed a resilience far less than that in the original contract.

Commander Saint-Bon reports that the timbers making up the hull, both of the King of Italy and of the King of Portugal, are substandard - constructed from green timber rather than high quality seasoned timber, despite the assurances of the builder W.H.Webb that seasoned timber could be procured. The effects of green rather than seasoned timber on the sailing and maintenance qualities of an ironclad need not be elaborated upon.

No subdividing of the hull is present below the waterline, making the vessels far more vulnerable to submarine explosives or to the impact of a steam ram than would be desired - a point stressed in particular by Saint-Bon who feels that his design for the Sinker would be able to defeat both the King of Italy and the King of Portugal in the space of half an hour, as once holed there would be no stopping the entry of water.

I feel strongly, and Saint-Bon is in agreement with me, that these ships require serious remedial work unless measures are promptly taken to fix these defects.