The Express.
London, England, 1868-06-18 00:00:00

AT 8110KBURYNI388.

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_SHOIMURYNIIBB, WZDWRIMAY.

The spectators that came here this morning were
scores where yesterday they were hundreds, and
they were more purely scientific critics than before.
Although, however, the popular element was
wanting amongst the visitors, the programme from
a public point of view was quite as important and
interesting as that which was done through yester-
day before the Commander-in-Chief, the War
Minister, and members of both houses of parlia-
ment. Indeed in some respects they were of
greater value as experiments. The absence of
crowds and the removal of debris laid bare the
general result of yesterday's work. It showed in
the first place the undoubted superiority of our
Woolwich gun, which is affectionately spoken of
by artillerymen as "Big Will," and the experiments
on the whole were favourable to the armour-plating
with which it is at present proposed to shield the forts
at Plymouth and Bermuda. But a consciousness
of the fact that the system of layers of plate as
against one solid plate of equal thickness was on
its trial invested the results with more than ordi-
nary interest, and the discussions amongst non-
officials to-day have to a great extent boon directed
to the probability of the former being abandoned
for the latter. general surprise has been mani-
fested throughout, that with the marvellous force
brought to bear upon it, the target made at Shef-
field has been comparatively little injured, and
there have not been wanting gentlemen to declare
that the authorities have lost no opportunity of
doing as little hurt as possible to the object which
illustrates the principle they just now support.
The Rodman gun was the first used this morn-
ing. Yesterday it was fired at the extra thick-
ness-20 inches—but now at the thickness (13-
inch) that will represent the usual plating of the
Plymouth breakwater fort. The ball struck the
target where it is backed by girders, and so far its
powers were placed at a disadvantage. As before,
the mischief was confined to a saucer-shaped in-
dentation, only much deeper. Yesterday it was
17 inches in diameter and 41 inches deep ; to-day
the width was 161 inches and the depth nearly 8
inches. The trial was unusually severe, because
the ball struck the edge of a plate. At the beck,
the iron bar, 15 inches wide by 3inches thick, used
as a support, was bent, and a bolt was started.
The ball, not much injured, fell in front of the
target. The Woolwich gun, with its full batter-
ing charge, was next fired at the target, so as to
strike it upon the 15-inch thickness. The shot
penetrated fifteen inches deep, and stuck, bulging
out some eight inches at the back, and doing
other damage by fracturing the plate. Taking
this as a trial to determine the resistance offered
by the three layers of laminated plates, as com-
pared with a solid plate of the same thickness, we
have as the practical result, that yesterday after-
noon, with the Sheffield plate, the projectile pene-
trated between eleven and twelve inches, and
created &bulge of less than two inches. The next
experiment was a shell fired from the same
gun. For the first time a clean breach was
made through the breakwater fort target,
and the result was of a most decisive character,
because the target failed where it for the first time
faithfully represented the Plymouth fort. With
it of course goes the principle maintained by
Colonel Inglis. The construction of the target
here is a slight modification of what was origi-
nally proposed, and is, first, a layer of the ordi-
nary armour plates ; secondly, a layer of vertical
bars, five inches think and 161 inches wide, with
armour plating round the portholes ; and thirdly,
a layer of five-inch bars placed horizontally. The
shell went through a spot where the 13 inches were
composed of armour plate and two sets of bare, three
of which were broken off. This result, it is main-
tained, is beyond question; but one thing, in fair-
ness, should not be forgotten—the battery range
is 200 yards, and the ebk lice of a ship getting
within that distance problematical in the extreme.
Another gun was then selected, viz., the ten-
inch Woolwich piece of 18 tons. It is the same
length as the 23 tons, throws a projectile of
4001b5., and its full charge is 601bs. This
is the gun with which the Hercules is furnished.
A shell was fired from it, and it struck where the
target is built of three and five inch armour plates.
It penetrated to a depth of about 16 inches, show-
ing the point at the back just through the second
layer. The third plate had been shattered in a
wonderful manner, and one piece of ironstone weigh-
ing 6001bs. was hurled at a distance, while another
two or three hundredweight of fragments were
showered afar. The force of the shot was so
great that the heavy mantlet at the back was
slung backwards as if it were a sheet of paper,
and its iron bar bent like a reed. The bolts in the
vicinity were twisted all ways, but they kept
their grip, and the only effect of the pressure
against them watt a slight drawing.
The trial which followed of the 13-inch plates
produced effects which were absolutely sensational.
The 6001 b. rifled shot yesterday penetrated
the plate rolled at the Atlas Works, Sheffield,
starred the back (not penetrated it as tated), and
did no further damage. But it was a shot at the
centre of the plate, and was, therefore, a good test.
The shot fired at the hammered plate made at the
Thames Ironworks, at Blackwall, struck near
the ground edge, and was not therefore, as a test,
equal to the other. Both plates were now totted
again, the Thameshammered plate with the 12-inch
gun, to make amends for the previous trial, the
Sheffield rolled plate with the 10-inch gun. The
hammered plate was rent in twain notwithstanding
that it was a solid masa of iron 9 feet long, 41 feet high,
and 15inchesthick. Theshotenterednotfarfromthe
middle, penetrated three-quarters through, and
severed it very much as though it had been a bit
of short-grained wood. One portion was hurled
three yards to the right, and another three yards
to the left, and the wreck was complete. The
gentlemen who were friendly to this plate partly
attributed the result to the effects of the shot of
the previous day, the distance between the two
shots being about two feet. Unmistakable as the
issue was, there was but one opinion as to the
splendid specimen of forging which the plate ex-
hibited ; the system alone was at fault. The
Sheffield plate, on the other hand, which was fired
at by a 10-inch gun with rifled shot, stood its
ground well, the shot penetrating as before a little
more than three-fourths through, with indentation
remarkably clean. On account of vibration caused
by the loose way in which the plate was fixed (a
disadvantage shared by both plates) a alight crack
was caused upwards from the hole made by the
6001 b shot of the previous day. A shell from
the 10-inch gun next fired at this plate, made a
clean indentation, ands few cracks in the back ;
but, contraryfto the expectations of nearly every
one present, the plate kept together in its entirety.
This success is especially significant considering
that there were no adequate supports in the rear
or front. The superiority of the rolled over the
hammered plate was never more established than
by this test. The remari trials were equivalent
to a distance of 1,000 yards, with shells from both
10-inch and 12-inch guns, at one of the strongest
portions of the target. The larger projectile
struck so near the upper edge of the shield that it
can hardly be reckoned upon, and its chief effect
was to scatter a shower of iron nearly 500 yards
away, one large piece being found 147 feet off.
The other shell went through on the curved work
at the top, and penetrated to the remarkable
depth of 2 feet 4 inches, the larger portion being
concrete.

A great many experiments remain for to-mor-
TOW.

POSTAGE RATES BETWEEN ENGLAND AND
Ilrnu. —A deputation from the East India Association
waited on the Beisetary of State for India on Tuesday, on
the 'abject of the increased rates of postage between
India and England. Sir H. Rawlinson, Mr. Bostwick,
C. 8., Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji and Mr. J. G. Coleman
having addressed Sir Stafford korthoote on the hardships
consequent upon the increased rates of postage between
India and England, Sir Stafford Neethoote replied that he
would carefully consider the various points raised, and
promised that he would at an early date invite a conference
with the Treasury and Post-office authorities on the
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