The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-18 00:00:00

Experiments at Shoeburyness.

The daily and somewhat dull routine of the long compe-
tition between Armstrong and Whitworth will, we believe,
be discontinued for the present week, to allow time for
making some experiments at Shoebury, which are, to say
the least, of quite as much interest and importance to the
public as any results that are likely to be elicited by the
gun contest. What has been done in this competition during
the last week may be summed up in a very few words. The
three 70-pounders have been tried entirely for range and
accuracy with common shot, and with a few rounds of Boxer
shrapnel shell for the Whitworth and segment for the Arm-
'strong. With solid shot the elevation was continued up to
21 degrees, the shunt gun ahead of the breechloader in
range, and the Whitworth ahead of the shunt, the latter
keeping a gradually increasing lead as the elevation got
higher, till at the highest, 21 degrees, it threw its shot very
nearly three-quarters of a mile beyond the Armstrong.
With a few rounds of shell burst in front of three target
screens, placed at intervals of six yards apart, Mr Whit-
worth was equally successful. The spherical form and in-
creased density of the shrapnel bullets in Colonel Boxer's
enabled it to inflict many damages which were apparently
beyond the reach of the rough iron segments of the Arm-
strong shell. In the first and second screens the perfora-
tions were about equal, but in the third screen the Boxer
shell effected, ate rough estimate, almost four or five times as
many perforations as the Armstrong. At 2 degrees of
elevation the shooting of Mr Whitworth's gun was some •
thing almost marvellous in its accuracy. In longitudinal

accuracy its shots made a beautiful group, while the mean
of the lateral deviation was as low as about 6ft. Even Mr
Lancaster, wonderfully as his gun now seems to shoot, can
scarcely hope to attain better results than this. But, as we
have said, the further prosecution of these trials stands
adjourned for a week, to allow some to be tried that are, we
venture to think, of more pressing interest to the service.
These trials are first to continue experiments on three
different systems of rifling,—viz., the French gun, Mr
Lancaster's, and Commander Scott's; secondly, to test the
range and accuracy of Sir William Armstrong's great 600-
pounder at high elevation; and thirdly, to test the resist-
ance of aLa Gloire target—a target that has been built to
precisely resemble, in all its most minute details of backing
and fastening, the broadside of the much praised French
frigate La Gloire, All these experiments are to take place,
if possible, in the present week, which promises, therefore,
to be one of the most instructive we have ever bad at
Shoebury.
First, as to the competing systems of rifling, the trial of
which is now in full progress under the Ordnance Select
Committee, which seems to get through its work with a
quickness from which the Special Committee on Armstrong
and Whitworth guns might derive a most valuable lesson.
Four guns were made for this competition at Woolwich, all
7-inch calibre, to throw 1101 b shot, all weighing about 7i
tons, and all manufactured on Sir William's improved plan
—namely, with steel barrels and wrought-iron coils wound
round them. One of these was a compound gun, with a
rifling of 15 grooves, made to fire the lead-capped projec-
tiles proposed both by Mr Bashley Brittain and Mr
Jeffereys. It is needless, however, to say more of this
piece, as it has now been withdrawn from further compe-
tition. Another was a three-grooved gun used throughout
Frame—the " canon ray e," with cast studs on the shot to
enable it to take the rifling, and otherwise resembling
though much inferior to Sir William's shunt gun. Another
is Mr Lancaster's gun—the grooveless rifle with a slightly
elliptical bore, having one complete turn in 52 diameters
and firing a conical -headed shot lltin, long. The next gun
which now remains to complete is that of Commander Scott,
having a rifling of five shallow grooves, and firing a conical
shot of 12tin. The trials of these guns have been made
along a stated range, over the sands at low tide, for range
and accuracy up to 10 deg., and with charges rising from
the lower to the higher elevations of from 121 b. to 201 b,,
and lastly, 251 b. The performances of the French gun
may be summed up as making a respectable average in its
range and accuracy, not worthy of much remark either as
bad or good; in fact, just what any ordinarily good rifled