The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-09-23 00:00:00

&ma nub NOD:

THE HOESTALL AND WHII'WORTH Gus.—A Board
of Admiralty, comprising his Grace the Duke of
Somerset, First Lord; Rear Admiral Sir Charles Eden,
C. 8., Admiral Charles Frederick, and Captain Moore,
secretary to the First Lord, with Captain Mends, and
numerous naval and military ofibers, proceeded to the
practice range, ShoeburynessAiSn Tuesday, for the
purpose of witnessing a series of experiments to test the
efficiency of the celebrated Horstall and Whitworth
guns when opposed to a strong combination ef wrought
iron plates end timber. A target used for the first was
made at Woolwich dockyard, and comprised two
sections—one being plates of 4i inches thick, bolted on
oak timber 9 inches in thickness • and the other being
2-inch plates, with a 4-inch backing. The first shot
was conclusive as to the enormous power of the Mendell
gnu. It was plead at the usual distance, 200 yards
from the target, and loaded with a charge of 751 b. of
powder and a 2701 b. solid shot. The shot smashed a
olear hole thraugh armour-plate and timber backing,
piercing the target through and through. No matter
what may be the thickness of the plates which iron-
cased frigates can carry consistently with their stfety
as sea-going vessels, artillery can always be made to
pierce them. Heavy shot and high velocity—in other
words, heavy shot and heavy charges of powder—will
smash through even 6-inch plates like glass. The
second and most interesting trials were made with the
Whitworth 12-pounder field gun and the 70-pounder
naval gun, with the view of te•ting the penetration of
Whitworth's fiat-fronted hardened shells against armour-
plates. All shells of whatever kind hitherto tried
against armour-plates have failed to produce the least
effect upon them. They have always broken like so I
many glass bottles, merely injuring the target
with the flame of their explosion, do constant and
invariable were these results that it was taken
as an established fact that vessels coated with 2i inch,
or even 2-inch armour plates, would suffice to keep
out any shell. As it is only shell which is dreaded in
naval warfare, the Danish, Prussian, and Russian governs
menta have each built gun boats covered with 2i-inch
armour, confident that this is ample to protect their ,
crews against all but solid shot. For the first time,
Mr. Whitworth on Tuesday proved the fallacy of this
theory. The first trial was made with the 12-pounder,
which sent its fiat-fronted solid shot completely through
an iron plate 2i inches thick. The next trial was made
with shell, fired from the same rifled 12 powder against
a target of 2.inch armour plate, with a backing of oak
beams, nearly a foot in thickness. The shell, with a
bursting charge of 11lb. 14oz. of powder, passed through
both plate and backing, and buried itself in the earth
beyond. The next, with a charge of 111 b. lloz. of
powder, also passed through the plate, but burst in
and shattered the timber backing behind. This result,
unexpected as it was, was surpassed by that obtained with
the 70-pounder naval gun when fired with shell against
stronger target. This target was constructed of
armour-plate bolted upon an oak frame 9 inches thick
attached by a aids framing to a back of oak of 4 inches
thick, coated over with 2.inch wrought-iron. The
interval between the front and back frames 1r AA be-
tween two and three feet, the target being intended to
represent tbe side of a ship. The shell weighed, when
charged, 701 b., and contained 21b. 6oz. of powder.
This fired with • charge of only 121 b. of powder
at the usual penetration range of 200 yards
passed completely through the 4-inch armour plate and
backing, and burst inside the frame, shaWring it to
pieces. This startling result, it should be ri membered,
was obtained not by a gun of unusual weight or
calibre, but with one weighing some 15 cwt. less than
the naval smoothbore 95 cwt gun, with • charge of
powder of only one-sixth the weight of the projectile.
Since Mr. Whitworth pierced the sides of the floating
battery Trusty with the same kind of gun, no
such satisfactory trials have been made at Shceleury-
nem. "If (says the Times) the two great inventors,
Sir William Armstrong and Mr. Whitworth would only
consent to a compromise and Sir William use Mr. Whit-
worths' hexagonal mode of rifling, and Mr. Whit-
worth allow it to he used with guns made on Sir
William's coil principle, and with Sir William's breech,
England would possess ordnance which might defy the
iron fleets and iron forts of all the world. As it is,
both guns are now admitted to possess attributes of per-
fection which the other lacks, the balance of merits for
general purport's being, on the whole, decidedly with
that of Sir William Armstrong."
CERIMIANIA, September &—The Morgenbiad yester-
day, after announcing the arrival of the Channel Fleet,
under command of Admiral Smart, and commenting on
the different ships and the probable part they would
play in the event of war, makes the following remarks,
which, as representing the feelings of an independent
people, through the medium of an unfettered press,will
not fail to interest your readers:—' This squadron. in-
teresting in itself, is the more so as being the first
specimen Christionia has seen for a long time of the
most powerful military force history can yet record—
namely, the British fleet. Rome's legions conquered
the world, but were from time to time defeated. The
first Napoleon,surrounded by • halo of glory.stiocumbed
Wore the disasters of Beresins, Leipeie, and Waterloo;
indeed, the British army, that force which, since its
creation by Cromwell, numbers more victories in pro-
portion to the important battles it hes fought than any
other, has more than once suffered great disaeters,
while the British navy for upwards of one hundred and
seventy hears has never been defeated in any important
engagement,but has rarely failed to crush its opponents.
Dnring several generations it boa maintained in all