eight o'clock
With their smaller guns they made good practice , but though the shot from these pieces frequently struck , they dropped harmlessly from the iron sides , and only those that entered through the portholes effected any damage . The Condor , under Lord Charles Beresford , was the first to engage Fort Marabout ; and , for a time , the little gunboat was the mark of all the guns of the fort . But the other four gunboats speedily came to her assistance , and effectually diverted the fire of the fort from the ships that were engaging Fort Mex . At eight o'clock the Monarch , having silenced the fort opposite to her , and dismounted the guns , joined the Inflexible and Penelope in their duel with Fort Mex ; and by nine o'clock all the guns were silenced except four , two of which were heavy rifled guns , well sheltered . In spite of the heavy fire from the three great ships , the Egyptian soldiers maintained their fire , the officers frequently exposing themselves to the bullets of the machine guns by leaping upon the parapet , to ascertain the effect of their own shot . The harbour forts were , by this time , crumbling under the shot of four warships opposed to them . The Pharos suffered most heavily , and its guns were absolutely silenced ; while the fire from the other two forts slackened , considerably .