seven o'clock
It was not until nine o'clock in the evening that the two last British ships , the Invincible and Monarch , steamed out of port . At half-past four in the morning the ships got under weigh again , and moved to the positions marked out for them . Fort Mex , and the batteries on the sand hills were faced by the Penelope , the Monarch , and the Invincible ; the Alexandra , the Superb , and the Sultan faced the harbour forts , Ada , Pharos , and Ras-el-Teen ; the Temeraire and Inflexible prepared to aid the Invincible in her attack on Fort Mex , or to support the three battleships engaged off the port , as might be required ; and the five gunboats moved away towards Fort Marabout , which lay some distance to the west of the town . At seven o'clock , the Alexandra began the engagement by firing a single gun . Then the whole fleet opened fire , the Egyptian artillerymen replying with great steadiness and resolution . There was scarcely a breath of wind , and the ships were , in a few instants , shrouded in their own smoke ; and were frequently obliged to cease firing until this drifted slowly away , to enable them to aim their guns . The rattle of the machine guns added to the din .