The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-04-15 00:00:00

arum ant) Nalw.

A return has boon forwarded to the Admiralty of the
number of new vessels now building at Woolwich and
Deptford, and their present state of progress. In all
the navy yards the conversion of timber for ship-
building purposes has been suspended until further
orders. Every ezeition is now being used upon the
iron-cased (*gates, Caledonia, at Woolwich, end the
Velient, building at the premises' of &Measrs. Bailie and
Campball, Isle of Doge.
Captain Coles has written • letter for the purpose of
showing that he invented cupola shields on the ICIIIIO
principle as the Monitor no far back as 1855. The evi-
dence of this claim, if enybody doubts it, w 11 be ((void
no doubt in the report of the Board appointed in 1855,
by the Cominanderiiti•Chief, to investigate the merits
of Captain Cole's ahot-proof rafts, gnus, and mortars.
The Celes raft was a Monitor in pr nciple, if n 'tin
details. Mr. Whitworth, who fabricates instrumentv
of aggreseion, for the 'algaeo of battering to pieces the
means of defence fabricated by our Coles and Ericesons,
states that he is tutu :d by expiriments in asnerting
that not only podia, but also hollow, tled-fronted pro-
jectiles, capable of being charge I with explosive or
combustible compounds, may be fired through iron-
pleas(' vessels at much greater ranges than those at
which the recent action was fought between the
Monitor and the Merrimac The lioyil Sovereign, 131
gun ship, is now being converted into • 12-gums cupola
ship, on Coke's principle ; and the Bulwark, 91, im also
to be armour-plated ; and also PIO Belvidere frigate.
It is further stated that in the event -of no difficulty
beingraised on the part of the professional advisers of
the depaitment it is proposed to cut down several of
the three-deckers and plate them. Tim Duke of Wel.
lington, the sister ship of the Royal Sovereign, is to
be amongst the number that is to be thus dealt
with.

iIIPORTANT EXPERIMIZNTS AT SHOESURTNEM
While all Europe is just now ringing with surprise
and almost consternation at the practical results of the
great eaval duel between the Merrimseand the Monitor,
we have to record still more important experiences,
which sre the very opposite of those elicited by the
contest in flampton-roads. In brief, some experiments
were tried at Shoeburyne.ss, on Tuesday afternoon, with
a new gun, of large sin and great calibre, which showed
at every diseemege that our beat and hitherto ceinsidered
invulnerable forma of ironsides were, an to speak,
almost as easily penetrated by its shot as if the targets
had been of timber! For the last two or three yeare
there has been a keen and wholesome rivalry between
the %Var-office and the Admiralty—the former striving
, to devise irresistible artillery, the latter to build invul-
nerable shops. In the course of this emulation an
I immense variety of experiment. has been tried at Shoe-
buryness upon every possible combination of iron, iron
: and wood, iron and Miliarobber, iron and wire, and
iron and hemp. Not only have the inventions of every
eminent engineer been tried at Phoeburyness. but
sections of the ships which foreign Power, were building
have also been tested. It may surprise our readers to
learn that even the construction of the Monitor has
not escaped the vigilance of our Government. A
section of it has been erected and fired et Shoe-
buryness, and proved to be as vulnerable almost
as timber, even to cur commonest muzzle-loading
guns. Even now, that no chance may be neglected, •
target is being made of railway bare dovetailed and
ri vetted together in the seine ingenions manner as the
coating of the Merriman, and this also will be tried in a
few days, and beyond a doubt with much the same
results as attended the trials at the Monitor target.
The practical results of all these experiments has been,
that the War-office has brought to perfection the
Armstrong guns, which, as rifled and breech-loading
ordnance, are the best in the world, while, on the
other hand, the Admiralty hal succeeded in turning out,
not only the fastest, but the least vulnerable ships
afloat. A short time since a target, 20 feet lorg by 10
feet wide, and mode exactly of the Fame msteriels and
strength as the Warrior's broadside, was erected to be
tested at elhoeburynees. During the whole of one day
and part of a second, it was subjected to the most tre-
mendous proof. Solid Ws, 100-poundera, and 200.
pounders were fired at it singly and in salaries of three
and six guns at a time, but all in vain. The conceit-
' tented volleys flew off in a bail of it-on splinters. The
target rang, grew almost red-hot in parts, but no missile
passed beyond its iron armour. The Warrior, therefore,
and her sister ships were justly deemed invulnerable,
and the War-office had for the time to admit that the
Admiralty lied constricted a vessel which practically
they conld not injure. But the victory has
not remained with them for long. Sir Williem
Armstrong has made a 300-pounder on his
own admirable principle of wrought-iron coil.. This
gun is about 14 feet in length. its weight is twelve tone,
and Ha diameter at the muzzle 101 inches. It bast not
been rifled, and therefore, during the experiments of
Tuesday, it only threw round solid shot of 1561 b weight.
If rifled for the Armstrong shot, which is about two
and a half times the length of its diameter, it would he
'a 300-pounder. ' The gun, unrifled, and with Solid shot,
was tried against that great champion of heavy weights
which has hitherto come oft victorious in all encounters
—the redoubtable Warrior target. The great interest
wan concentrated on the effect of the first shot. With
the high Kneed which our Warriors are known to possess, ,
and therefore the quickness with which they can steam
past batteries or iron ships, it was reasoned, with per- ,
feet truth, that it was next to impossible is a running
fight that they could be hit twice in the same place. If'
the target kept out one shot, there was every hope of a
ship keeping out all. The first shot, a 156-pounder, I
was fired with a charge of 4011). of powder, at a distance
of 200 yards. This solved all doubts: With an index-
cribable crash, that mingled fearfully with the report
of the gun, the shot struck wpon • comparatively unin-
jured t late, shattering the iron mass before it into little
crumbs of metal, splintering the teak into Wines liters
ally as small as pine, and, though not passing quite
through the ride, yet bulging and rending the inner
skin of the ship in a way that would have rendered it
almost impossible to atop the leakage. The second shot
(still with a4O lb. charge) struck close by the side of
tie first, making the previous damege tenfold worse, if
pissible. 'To thom who did not actually see the experi.
mints it would be difficult to describe the mentor in
which the iron opposite the tuissle was broken into
minute fragments like glass ; how the teak was so
utterly disintegrated that it more resembled tangles of
fine twine than even 'the remains of woodwork; and
h- iv, above all, the inner iron skin was ripped into gaps
like torn paper. These two shots were quite conclusive
as tit the power of the Kiln. Had they struck an iron
frigate at the wafer line, no means could have pre-
vented her from sinking in half an hour. Still,
however, the shot had not gone completely through
the side, which it was the great object of the experi-
meets to accomplish. The charge of powder was
therefore 'increased from 401 b. to 501 b.. and the gun
levelled at the uppermost plate of the target, which had
been left untouched in previous tests. On this plate •
white spot was painted to guide the artillerymen, and
so true was their aint,,--so exactly was the centre of the
mark struck,—thet tear/ vestige of the paint was
obliterated. With this Increased charge the shot
passed, not only through armour plate, teak, and inner
skin, but buried itself in the massive timbers that
support the target, and even loosened the blocks of
granite by which the whole is backed np. Had it been
the Nide of the Warrior against which this missile was
directed, it would not only have gone through the side,
but nearly through the opposite side 1.11 well. Another
white mark was then made on the lowest plate of the
target, and again the artillerymen bit it with the
mote marvellous precision, and with the same
result. The shot went through everything and eren
the fondetit believers la the invultierabilhy of our
present ironaides were obliged to confess that against such
artillery, at such ranges, their plates and sides were
filmiest as penetrable as wooden ships are now to the
plain old-fashioned long 32's. Of course after anch
decisive results, no further experiments were tried ;
indeed, they enold not be, as the 156-pounder evidently
thought it bad done enough work for the day, and at
the last discharge recoiled so much an to get off its
wooden phstforrn, and imbed the hind wheels of its
i carriage n tbe ;tiff, yet eretery clay, fur the production
of which in the largest quantities at the shortest
notice Shoebnryness stands unrivalled. But quite
enough had been accomplished, and Admiralty official.
and armour shipbuilders could only admit to each other
in a kind of confidential diemav, that artillery had at last
proved too much for them, and that if invulnerable ships
were to be constructed they Meat begin de novo. It
wee clear to all that the 'Warrior would not stand
the least chance against the new gun, even unrifled.
The Tiraes says :--It is underetiod that the Admiralty
on Thursday contracted with Messrs. Samna' for the
construction of one of the cupola iron ships-of-war,
under the invention of Captain Colea, R.N. of which
the Monitor is an imperfect imitation. ihe price is
£44 15s. per ton, including everything ' • and the vessel
is to be ready for launching on the 3rd of February
next, and to be delivered fit for sea on the lot of June
following.