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

Experiments at Shoeburyness.

The daily and somewhat dull routine of the long com pe-
don 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, ata rough estimate, almost four er 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 Eft. 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 a La 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 had at
Shoebury.
First, as to the competing systems of riling, 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 71
tons, and all manufactured on Sir Willialfs 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 prejec-
tiles proposed both by Mr Bashley Brittain and Mr
JeKereys. 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
France—the "canon rays," 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 'Ain. long. The next gun
which now remains to complete is that of Commander Scott,
a rifling of five shallow grooves, and firing a conical
in. The trials of these guns have been made
shhaovti having
12
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 20Ib„
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 ordiwany good
,tamed

gun can do, and nothing more. The studs, however, are
in most cases torn away by the increased pitch of the rifling
towards the muzzle—a most serious fault, as the pieces,
flying like shrapnel, would make it dangerous to use the
gun over the heads of troops, to say nothing of the impos-
sibility of using same ammunition twice over, Never, we
believe, during the whole time the Armstrong shunt gun
has been in use have any of its studs become detached from
the shot in firing or after firing; in fact, during one stage
of the competition with Mr Whitworth, Sir William fired
many rounds with shot that were used for the third time,
and with the moat perfect success as regards range and
accuracy. Commander Scott's gun has also given, so far
as it has gone, a very good average result, but there is no
question that Mr Lancaster's gun is distancing all its com-
petitors, and is doing as well as, if not better than, either
Sir William or Mr Whitworth as regards range and accu-
racy. At all the elevations up to which this gun has yet
been tried he has been ahead of other competitors in initial
velocity and in range, while in accuracy the shooting has
been really astonishing, It is impossible to give the official
result of this last week's trial for a day or two, but the re-
sumption of trials to-day is looked forward to at Shoebury
with the interest natural to artillerists who find that at the
eleventh hour a competitor has arisen against whom both
Sir William and Mr Whitworth will have to work hard to
hold their own. Mr Lancaster's gun would perhaps ere
this have been pronounced perfect by the judges but for
one serious drawback in its efficiency—the difficult nearly
always experienced in getting its shot home. This hitch
has occurred with more or less obstinacy almost every time
the gun has been loaded, and of course unless such a defect
can be shown to be removable, the gun, no matter what its
accuracy, would be all but eselees for service, All these
guns will be severely tested by the Special Committee, as
the following programme sufficiently shows
" 1. The committee will ascertain the initial velocity due
gun employing lubricators :
fiveto the
refollowing
I be 11;
a fiverges rno eachun ds , 20%
wad placed between cartridge and shot, observing in both
cases the recoil on a wet platform without compressor, ob-
serving the slope very carefully.
" 2. The guns will be mounted on garrison sliding car-
riages on traversing platforms, and fired down the range,
with charge 251 b, without wad behind the shot, but with
the service lubricator and felt wad. One preliminary round
each, solid shot, at 2 deg, do 5 deg, do 10 deg.
"3. Fire 10 rounds at 2 deg elevation, by spirit level, from
each gun, at marks at the same distance apart as the guns.
Each gun to be laid directly on the mark, with no allowances
for wind or deflection.
" 4. Repeat at 5 deg.
" 5. Repeat at 10 deg.
" 7,8, 9. Repeat the practice at 2 deg, 5 deg, 10 deg, as
before with 201 b charge, firing one preliminary trial shot
from each gun at each elevation.
" 10. The bores and vents to be examined.
" 11, 12, and 13. Repeat the practee at 2 deg, 5 deg, 10
deg, with either 201 b er 251 b, to compare with previous
wPietrhg4charge and
n such lof the first
rperabeetiecgeeinin examined.
respect to uniformity of rango. Bores and vents
supply of shoelidresmhoat 3in(i11160) ninewiu
be d
elevation as the committee may direct with or without wads.
" 15. Ten projectiles of the first supply which have tra-
velled 200 miles to be fired with 251 b charge at 10 deg.
" 16. Fifty shots of the second supply will be flied for
the further test of the facility of loading, wear of the
grooves, effect of fouling on the loading and shooting, and
endurance of the guns with either 25th or 201 b charges.
Each gun will be separately tested.
" 17 Bore to be examined.
" 18. Each gun will then fire 50 rounds spherical cast-
iron shot of mean guage 6.90 plus or minus .02, with
charge 15th, to ascertain how far the several systems of
grooving can stand the use of round shot, and how far they
favour accurate shooting.
" 19. Bore to be examined.
" 20. The remaining :50 shots of the second supply to be
then fired with either 201 b or 151 b, as before.
" 21. Bore to be examined.
" 22. The committee reserve to themselves full latitude
in the use of this second 100 rounds to fire them in such a
way as to bring out the strong or weak points of any one
of the systems in such a meaner as they judge beat calcu-
lated to answer the purpose of this inquiry—viz., which of
these five systems of projectiles and four systems of rifling
is to be preferrred, and to determine wheiber any one of
them is to be recommened for further trial or adoption.
"`23. The trial of steel shot or shells against iron de-
fences •••••. --a a,nnnt uhnllo will h.
confined to the gun preferred as a shot gun."
Among others a must important experiment was tried
last week at Shoebury with the Armstrong
,600-pounder
shunt, to ascertain what its effect would be at about 4,000
yards range. Of course it was not possible to ascertain
this on a range actually of that length, as the Govern
ment have on land greater than 800 yards, and it would
be impossible to erect a target in the sands so ler
out to sea. The experiment was, nevertheless, just
as conclusively made by a calculation of initial velocities.
The initial velocity or speed at which the 600 pounder moves
has been taken by Narvaez's electric apparatus at ranges
from 200 up to 1,500 yards, and with these two numbers it
was easy to find the third—namely, what its speed would
he at 4,000 yards, which was found to be at the rate of 860 ft
per second. The next thing to be ascertained was the charge
of powder which would drive it from the gun at this velocity;
and this being found to be 401 b, it was at once easy to make
experiments at 200 yards, which would give precisely the
same results as to destructive effects that would be got at
4,000. The gun, therefore, was loaded with a 401 b charge
and a steel shot weighing 6031 b. This was fired against a
very celebrated target at Shoebury, called the " box target,"
and one of the strongest, if not the very strongest, ever
constructed. It is faced outside with one of John Brown
and Co's admirable 6/ inch armour plates, Behind this,
strengthened with horizontal stringers of wrought iron, are
18 inches of teak, and behind this, again, a double skin of
iron, liin thickness, the whole being backed by iron ribs
22in by 10in. As the resistance of armour plates• increase
as the square of the additional thickness, this target is
literally more than twice as strong as the Warrior broad-
side. The 600 pounder, as we have said, was fired against
this with a 401 h charge. The shot left the gun at a speed
of 860 ft per second, and
struck at a velocity of 840, crashing
unfort
througunately for h both plate
the shot, and backing. The
point of impact was,
just
where the target was
strongest from the support of nearly ;eft of solid pine beams,
which form the box sides. Yet armour plate and backing
were both crashed through, a perfect shower of pieces of
far and wide in all direction
the armour ands plinters, or little beams rather, being cast
/3.
conclusive than this proof t Nothing could be more
and ractice the Armstron hat, according to both theory
p,
of smashing through the stron g 60 pounder is capable
gest seagoing armourclad
that could be got to float at a distance of 4,000 yards,
or more. There is no reason to doubt that the same
result would have been effected if the shot had been fired at
500, or even 600 yards, instead of 200—increase of range
which, according to he
an he calculated scale we have described,
would have represented actual distance of all but three
miles. The experiment, h f
ere
-ore. Was satisfactory in this
result, and still more satisfactory in
another, the War- office
having now determined to try the 600-pounder regularly
with its full charges of powder a
ans. shot up to 14 delta. of
elevation, which is the highest that ea... . 0
o got with its pre.
sent carriage. The gun has, therefore, with the greatest
difficulty (for everything connected
with the transport of
heavy ordnance is of the roughest anti
Most primitive sea,
and Shoebury), been placed on the batik overlooking the sea,
and the experiments will be continued With it to-da and
to-morrow, till we shall at last know so y
urething of the piece,
good or bad. It has been nearly two
Years at Shoebury, but
incredible as it may seem, it has never been tested properly
yet.

blutiislinoyebruifiryed
to
S's
no longer. Many
was the
When the 600• pounder came
haven
and general unlargestu
mr i fle
ne dt a
haven
ot te
uwo
to
one ,
i6toow-
numbers of 300-
pdoeursu,daenrda:
awbhoautt itsbestvilaliuwooortsew,htihcheythere
is
no second opi-
nion in any part of the world where they have been .
with so much Even
self-
used-
readinessthe
w Danes,
a sometimes
complacency, have not failed to provide themselves with
some of Sir William's 300-pounder shunt-guns. While
we
not only have none of this kind yet in the service, but we
believe almost none manufactured, except those now lying
idle in front of the targets where they have
been used only
to demonstrate their value to other countries.
The Ameri-
cans have now literally hundreds of 600-pounders, and have
just succeeded in casting at Pittsburg a 20.iaeh gun to throw
a spherical shot of 1,6001 b. To be sure, all these guns are
smooth bores fired with weak powder in low charges, but
the experiment of last week shows that the Americans
are not altogether wrong in trusting to heavy shot at
low velocities. There is no charge that could be expected
to send the 1,6001 b shot we have spoken of out of its gun
which would not at close range be sure to tell with almost
sinking effect on the very best of our ironelads. In Sir
William's large shunt guns, however, We have ordnance
which are strong enough to be equal to thehighest charges,
and a capable of throwing 150 or 300 pounder shot to a
range and with an accuracy which no other gun claims to
effect but Mr Whitworth's 150 pounder; for Mr Whit.
worth has not yet brought forward a 300 pounder.
If there could be enly a competitive trial with Sir
Willant's 150 pounder and Mr Whitworth's against
'armour plates and with shot and shell for range,
accuracy, and destructiveness, a result would be gained
one way or other on the finality of which, as far as these
ordnance are concerned, the public might depend. At the
same time it is in a manner unfair to Mr Whitworth to
proceed to try Sir William's shunt guns of large calibre
without inviting him to supply 150 or 300-pounders, if he
cw 2 do so, to be tried as soon as possible afterwards.