The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, J UNE 2, 1864.

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Royal tnited Service Institution.

A paper was read at this institution on Monday
evening, by Captain E. A. Inglefield, R.N., on a
proposed plan of his invention for working the
heaviest ordnance on board armour-plated ships, and
in fortifications, with complete protection for the
men. Large models of the section of a ship and of
a fortification were exhibited to illustrate this mode
of working large
guns, which on board ship con-
sisted of loading the guns between decks and then
raising them to the upper deck to be fired. The
power required for raising the guns Captain Ingle-
field ingeniously proposes to obtain from the weight
of the ship and its displacement of the water, the
upward pressure of water at the bottom being ap-
plied as the moving power. He proposes to place
the guns on a platform in the middle of the ship, so
adjusted as to be capable of being raised perpendi-
cularly, with Counterbalances to diminish the weight.
The platform is to be supported on five rods fixed
to pistons that work in cylinders placed vertically
at the bottom. When the guns are to be raised to
the upper deck water is
to be admitted through
apertures at the bottom of the ship into
the cylinders, and the upward pressure of
the water will be sufficient to lift the gun ; the
water, when it has done its work, being allowed to
flow into tanks to be used on the engine boilers.
In a ship that draws 20 feet of water Captain Ingle-
field estimates that there will be a lifting force of
9 lb. to the square inch. The gun would be pointed
under direction of its captain, stationed in the
middle deck, looking through a telescope, and the
only time that the man would be exposed would be
whilst pointing and firing the gun. When it was
lowered iron shutters on the upper deck would be
closed over to protect the men from the perpendi-
cular fire of shells,

At the conclusion of the paper a gentlemen put
forward the claims of a Mr. Matthews to a similar
invention, and a long discursive discussion took place
on the merits of Captain Inglefield's plan, in which
Sir Frederick Nicolson, Captain Selwyn, Captain
Scott, and other gentlemen took part. Whilst ad-
mitting the ingenuity of the invention, they all
raised objections to it of various kinds, and con-
tended that it would not be available in warfare.
Objections were also made to the Enterprise, which
had been highly praised by Captain Inglrfield in the
i
course of his paper, and t Was contended that as
that ship had only accomplished 10 knots an hour
it was practically a failure, and that the problem
yet remained to be solved of constructing a compa-
ratively small armour..plated ship, heavily armed,
that would attain such a speed as the Warrior.
Admiral Sartorius, who was in the chair, objected
to Captainlnglefield's plan on account of the time it
would occupy to raise and lower the guns. Rapidity
was, he said, most im•
of f
portent, fire duringan dbae
attributed
iabluatcetd the
nwe
victory of Trafalgar
principally to the rapidity with which the English
loaded and fired their guns. He said that during
that action there were 360 of the enemy killed or
wounded in the ship opposed to his own within 33
minutes, whilst on board of his ship there were not
more than 80 or 90 killed or wounded. In close
action, therefore, Captain Inglefield's plan would
be objectionable, and in distant firing the protec-
tion it would afford would signify little. Captain
Inglefield replied to the objections that had been
made to his plan, without touchiog however on
those raised by Admiral Sartorius. The meeting
then adjourned to the 6th of June, which will be
the last of the season.

honestly sold over again any number of times, and by the
fearful price attached to human justice; and which, lastly,
serves but too frequently to enrich unprincipled capitalists,
because they alone have the worldly gifts and the precious
element which Providence hardly ever grants to the genuine
inventor.

As was to be expected in a case like this, men of all
classes come forward, and, of course, all sorts of ideas were
brought to the surface—some feasible, others absurd. Of
the former, many were characterised by an endeavour to
attain resistance at the expense of the backing, the plate
alone being looked upon as the element of impenetrability.
Many of our most eminent engineers adhered to this plan,
forgetting, strangely enough, the mechanical principles
which cause the blacksmith to give the anvil an elastic
foundation of wooi in solid blocks—which enable the cob-
bler to hammer leather on his knees, by using a thick and
heavy stone as a cushion—and permit railroads successfully
to bear enormous weights. Now, on referring to Sir Howard
Douglas's work on Naval Gunnery, we find that a plate of
iron, 6ft square and Bin thick, standing in an inclined posi-
tion against a wall, was broken up by twelve 681 b shots,
fired with the ordinary charge, at an average distance of
500 yards. We likewise know that the 4f-inch plate of the
vertical Warrior tat get will bear any amount of such pound-
ing. In the first instance, irrespectively of the favourable
inclination, the resistance is as 64; while in the second,
exclusive of the backing, it is as 2025. Surely, then, it
could not require much ability to see at once that the back-
ing was endowed with a latent force, which came out on
impact, and contributed most usefully to the resistance of
the plate. This force, whioh might be called reactive force,
is due to the elasticity of the backing, coupled with suffi-
cient rigidity. It supports the inert matter of the plate,
enlivens its resistance, spreads the concussion over a sur-
face which increases with depth, and, lastly, it acts directly
against the projectile, to the prejudice of its penetration.
With all this, the Admiralty countenanced many plans
which, though backed by great names, were sadly deficient
in the very elements of this valuable force, and of coarse
the penalty had to be paid, in the shape of repeated de-
feats ; whence they eagerly declared that there was nothing
better than their first child, the original 44-inch armour.
The Minotaur target was a kind of compromise between
some of the anti-backing plans and the Warrior, being a
thicker plate (51in), with only 9in of wood behind ; yet,
notwithstanding such extra thickness, it was pierced and
literally destroyed by 7501bs of metal thrown ; while
the Warrior stood 4,0001bs comparatively well —at
least, its skin was not broken: There is nothing won-
derful in this; the more you diminish your reactive
force, the more you facilitate penetration. Fer instance,
in the Warrior, the resistance of the iron being as 20.25,
that of its 18-inch backing as 324, the total of the reactive
force might be represented by the area 20'25 X 324 6,561;
while in the Minotaur the resistance of the iron was 3025,
that of the 9-inch backing ss 81, giving an area as 2,450 ;
wherefore, when the 300-pounder, fired with 501bs of
ipnogwd
fiveer,
isnennhte
ei t se
fc at
ismt -ib reovn
eround
eshot inton
untbhvee
kfoe rmn ei rt ,
couldie a v -
easily be foreseen the same gun fired under similar condi-
tions would sweep "clean through the Minotaur target,
carrying plate, backing, skin, frame, and all before it."
The 11-inch plates tried without backing were broken
through at the first round of the 300-pounder, though the
iron resistance was as 121, six times greater than that of
the Warrior; but there was no reactive force, so the shot
only encountered inert matter of great tenacity. With a
little care, how easy it would be to save the country of a
vast amount of wanton expenditure!
Other plans, on the contrary, laid great stress on the part
played by the backing ; in fact, they took a line diametri.
cally oppposite to that followed by the former, their origi-
nators having evidently understood the lesson conveyed by
the comparative superiority of the Warrior with regard to
a system based on the use of thicker plates and thinner
backing. They may not have seen what constituted the

secret of impenetrability, but it was apparent to them that

by :improving the rigidity, and at the same time the
elasticity of the backing, they would increase the resistance
to compression, and proportionately diminish the plate's
tendency to buckle and give way before the shot. One
would have thought these principles plansable enough to
merit fair consideration, or novel enough to excite
official curiosity. Such, however, was not the case in
any way ; the Admiralty being either unable to
appreciate the scientific features, or determined never to
depart from their own favourite ideas, right or wrong, Be
this as it may, we find that amongst the persons who sided
with the backing a certain Mr. Chalmers distinguished him-
self especially for his perseverance in bringing the question
into notice, and at the same time for his faith in the prac-
tical success. Early in 1862 he became convinced that ar-
mour needed three essential conditions, viz., more support
tWttiepsti6ltrotike—tntie'ffrii and
third conditions we fully concur. We likewise concur in
the second—but not as to the purpose it is intended to fulfil.
In August, 1862, he submitted his plans to the Admiralty;
they, of course, refusing to give them a trial. Upon which
he proposed (September 22) to furnish a target at his own
expense—the conditions being that in case of failure it
should remain his property, whereas in case of success
further trials were to be made, preparatory to the general
introduction of the system, in the armour-plating of new
iron-clads. On the 15th October their lordships refused
over again, characteristically referring Mr. Chalmers to
their "former answer on the subject of his proposal to con-
struct a target;" but there had been no " former answer"
to the proposal based on the risk of the projector. So Mr.
Chalmers immediately reiterated his offer, reserving to him-
self the right of reimbursement up to £1,650, on condition
that, first, his plates should neither buckle nor be pene-
trated, on being tested in the same way as the Warrior ;
secondly, the armour should afford protection to the skin
against the 'Whitworth projectiles, which had succeeded in
penetrating the Warrior; thirdly, plates 31 inches thick
should afford better protection than 4i-inch plates backed
by wood only. Failing in these conditions, he claimed the
right of removing his target ; succeeding, he left himself en-

tirely in the hands of their lordships with regard to compen-
sation. Two days later, the Admiralty were pleased to sig-
nify their adhesion to this proposal, declaring beforehand
their intention not to enter into engagements as to future
remuneration, or costs ;" and there is every recson to be-
lieve that this answer satisfied Mr. Chalmers in spite of its
vagueness ; for the target was at once commenced by the
Millwall Iron Company, the work being completed suffi-
ciently in time for the first trial to come off on the 27th of
April last year.

On examining the system one could see that the outer
armour-plate was 31 inches thick; that the first backing
was composed of alternate layers of wood and iron about
11 inches deep, the iron ribs being equivalent to about an
additional thickness of nearly half an inch to the plate;
that this backing was supported by an inner armour plate,
1 inch thick, resting against a cushion or second backing
from '3 to 4 inches deep; the whole being firmly bolted to a
frame representing the side of an iron ship, The target
weighed as much as the Warrior per square foot. The pro-
gramme consisted of 27 rounds, of which 8 were from the
68 pounders-1 solid shot and 4 shell—with 16 lbs of
powder ; and 9 were from the 110 pounder Armstrong
(12 gelid, 6 shells, and one steel flat-ended)—the charges
being respectively 141 b, 121 b, and 101 b. Without going
into the various details of the firing, we may at once say
that the result was far more satisfactory than in the case of
the Warrior, thanks undoubtedly to the greater amount of
reactive bree located in the cushion, and the peculiar con-
struction of the cellular backing. Great hopes were im-
mediately founded on this good achievement; but they
eventually made way to bitter disappointments, despite
words uttered in the House of Commons, and which seemed
to be an acknowledgment full of promise for Mr Chalmers,
as well as for the friends whe had so heartily given him
their support. On the 4th of May two more rounds were
fired at this target from the 10.5-inch shunt Armstrong,
with spherical cast-iron shot, and 510bs, of powder, result-
ing in two belts and a few rivets broken, one of the ship's
ribs being bulged inwards a few inches; still, the inner
plate was not pierced. Unfortunately, however, Mr.
Chalmers consented to the firing of a 3001 b. steel shot, with
no less than 451bs, of powder : it effected complete penetra-
tion, and thus he himself enabled his adversaries to turn
the result against his own work; not with much good
faith, we grant—for we have yet to learn where the Admi-
ralty has the target able to stand such a shot at 200 yards,
especially after 29 rounds—but nevertheless with that
superficial show of reason, which was wanted for waging
war on bad grounds.
Contrary to their expectations, the Admiralty had been
taught a valuable lesson. They had been forcibly shown, not
by deep science, but by plain practical results due to sound
instinct, that backing has more to do with resistance than
they had imagined ; wherefore, according to the usual rules
followed between masters and pupils, one would have ex-
pected them ready to acknowledge the service done. )jut
official institutions cannot adapt themselves to vulgar
usage, so it was decided to pay for the tangible outlay—
that is, for the target furnished by the Milwall works—and
not to reimburse the master the small amount due fur per-
sonal expenses and for time expended during the manufac-
ture of the target. Moreover, acting after the same pro-
pensities which tempted them to build the slow Orontes as
an improvement on the swift Himalaya, they determined to
try another target on their own favoured plan, embodying
a shadow of the principles which had succeeded in the
Chalmers ; and again they had the deep mortification to
witness its failure, in the presence of a large assem-
blage, the first round of the 10.5-inch gun send-
ing the whole concern to ruin. A succession of
disasters was a matter not to be tolerated, for the sake of
official fame ; so one more effort was made to secure at least
a semblance of triumph in another target called the Belle-
rophon, by adhering as closely as possible to the most
essential features of the Chalmers : in fact the backing con-
sisted of alternate layers of wood and iron supporting 6-inch