But although shipbuilding of the modern type was initiated nearly three-quarters of a century ago, and iron vessels as warships had proved their utility more than once in the “affairs” of other nations, the British Admiralty remained faithful to wooden three-deckers long after a radical change in their allegiance would have been justified. It took a long time to convert the Admiralty. As early as 1842 an iron frigate was built by Laird at Birkenhead, called the _Guadeloupe_, for the Mexican Government. It was 187 feet long by 30 feet beam and 16 feet depth. An iron vessel, the _Nemesis_, was used in the Crimean War and was struck fourteen times by the enemy’s shot, the holes in every instance being clean and free from splinters. The Admiralty was not convinced, however, and as late as 1861 ordered nearly a million pounds’ worth of wood for warship construction. Other iron vessels carrying heavy guns, the _Nimrod_, _Nitocris_, _Assyrian_, _Phlegethon_, _Ariadne_, and _Medusa_, were built for the East India Company at Laird’s. The Admiralty had their first iron vessel, the _Dover_, built there, followed by the _Birkenhead_ troopship, both paddle-steamers. The brigantine-rigged steam frigate _Birkenhead_ was 210 feet in length between her perpendiculars, 60 feet 6 inches breadth outside the paddle-wheels, and 37 feet 6 inches inside the paddle-wheels, and had a depth of 23 feet. Her engines of 556 horse-power were by George Forrester and Co. A peculiar feature she had in common with several of her contemporaries was that she was clincker-built below water and carvel-built above. The unhappy ending of this ship is one of the most tragic events in the annals of the British Navy. She sailed from Queenstown, January 1852, for the Cape, having on board a portion of the 12th Lancers and of nine infantry regiments. She struck a pointed rock off Simon’s Bay, South Africa, and of the 638 persons on board no fewer than 454 of the crew and soldiers perished. The remainder, many of whom were women and children, were saved by the boats.