The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-12 00:00:00

EXPERIMENTS AT SHOEBURYISIESS.

The smashing powers of Sir Wm. Armstrong's
600 pounder shunt gun were tested yesterday at
Shoeburyness against the Warrior floating target.
The target is an exact counterpart of a sec\ *ion of
the Warrior's aide, awl measures 18ft. long by 10ft.
in height. IC is constrnc:ed of iron plates o fthe

best homogeneous metal 41 inches thick, boito d to
a backing of teak 18 inches 4;1 depth. Behind this
come two sets of 31-inch plates,. rivetted to massive
ribs of T iron, the whole being shored up by slanting
beams of fir of immense thickness. The target was
moored at 1,000 yards distance froi.l the firing
points of the 600 and 300-pounder Arms;rongs, and
wooden targets for ascertaining the correct eleva—
tion far this range floated close by, a little clear of

the iron one.
The first shot from " Big Will'l was a dummy caist-
iron shell weighing 6001 b, and was levelled with such
unerring aim at the wooden target as to smash it
literally to powder. The elevation of the piece in this
instance was 2 deg. 5 min., and the charge 70th.
The
next shot was a steel shell with a cast-iron .head
weighing 6101 b, and containing no less than 241 b of
powder, which is only four-fifths of its nor. lel
charge, Before firing this shot a consultation to ok
place among the artillerists present as to the ele-
vation to be given, it having been discovered that
the wooden target demolished by the first shot had
been moored at 1,020 yards instead of at 1,000 as had
been originally intended. After some discussion the
gun wus fired at 2 deg, 10 min. elevation, the shell
passing just over the top of the target a little to the'
right of the central lines. The next two shots--
live steel shells similar in all respects to No. 2—de
monstrated in a most surprising way the wonderful
accuracy of the gun in obeying the s:ightest change
in elevation. For shot No. 3 the piece was depressed
to 2 deg. 3 min., the shell pissing through the exact
centre of the top of the target, and carrying away
a piece of the wood framing of a semicircular ,shape.
The fourth shot was fired at only 3 minutes less ele-
vation and struck the target as near the cen tfc as
possible, making daylight through it, and expl oiling
at the very moment of impact. 'nose who diii not
mind getting a wet jacket from the spray masts a
rush far the boats, the more prudent making use
of
the steamtug Bustler. On boarding the target the
havoc made by the ponderous missiles was found to
to have surpassed all expectation. A hole 2 feet by 20
inches yawned iu the 41-inch plate, level with and a.
few inches left of the bull's-eye' The teak backing.
was splintered into fragments from the size of a
cocoa nut to the merest fibre, and the ;Finch plates
torn away like
and one of the ribs were completely
so much paper. In front, below the hole, there lay
three or four
a huge mass of iron plate, weigi:ing
all pres,mt
hundredweight, and looking like a piece of aumpled.
black rag. Thep late above the one which was
pierced aas started from its place and bulged out-
holtatiefaheft, ward, nearly the whole of the bolts holding it to the
gun versos
tallirogwetedbtehiantgsibnic•oektehne
plate had begun to be waged there had never been-
plate
enaYt.
such a complete triumph for the former combatant.
At first it had been intended to try the effects of
the 600 pounder upon the Warrior target at 2,000
yards, but the first blow at 1.000
yards BO disabled
it as to render a new target necessary,
Ou returning to the firing point -
the 300 pounder
was next tried, four shots beingfired, but owing to
several causes only one of them took effect. The
charges for this gun were f ,oan
short, the consequence of dtobe a few inches
Which was that in three
instances the target Was
missed. At the fourth shot
the charge for which
shell struck the was of the proper size, the
right
ing but not top corner of the plate, smash-
Penetraf
Illgit.
this shot was no The slight effect taken by
having been slowed doubt greatly owing to the target
degrees with
th wed round to an angle of nearly 40
" Big `rill.'' line afire by the fourth shell from
When the his concluded the firing for the
thoseday
e tide had ebbed sufficiently. man.° °f
present all
revisited the smashed target.
aroundl,---
it, to the extent of 200 or 300 feet, lay
masses of iron and steel of different sizes, which
gave one a perfect idea of the damage that
Would have been caused to the "between decks
and opposite aide of any vessel unlucky enough to
receive such a shot. On closely examining the
breach made, it seems clear that the projectile must
have exploded when about halfway through the
target. This was made peculiarly evident by the
way in which the bole gradually enlarged after
passing through the miter iron plate, and by ,the
appearance of the splinters in the teak backing,.
One of the massive bulks of timber was split in,
two, another was blown upwards apparently by the
mere force of the explosion. In the mischief done
everything betokened a great excess of power--
there is consequently every certainty of the effect
being almost equally great at 2,000 yards,
as the
velocity of the shot at that distance is only
dimi-
nished by about I'2o feet per minute.
A large number of gentlemen, includ-
ing
members of the Ordnance Select Committee,several
the Special C
ommittee on and
Iron,
throughout the experiments. Were present
Capt. Noble ascertained the ' •
the projectiles fired fro/ initial yeloeit.
les of
found them to differ wily n ,t.,11e ,t)°.l)ou
already given in The S : very
slightly 11'
der'thosec.nd
During the whole '."" _ from
wind were driv;ra of lbe day
left, but seemmi to have
the rangegnst.s of rain and
curacy of the firine• aye little from right to
nd •.,• influence on the ac-

JUSTICE WIGIITMAN'S DEATH.—In allusion to
this melancholy occurrence, the Law !slims of to-
dayto (just published) remarks :--,, On The eve of going
press we have received a telegram announcinfrjohrk.
This
death of Mr. Justice Wightman this day, at :
ost the pro-
intelligence will cause profound regret .
arratiy esteemed
fessiell, by whom his Lordship was no'
hey universally dis-
for the urbanity and kind feeling which
wing him.
Played to all who had the honour of kgr° Swales—out of
The " pardon"
whose trial at Mhow thofe CFreawYlaley:
—has been followed by that office
Pay from the date at which
of the Inniekillings. 'e being placed upon half
he was struck
soloeurt-martial has arisen
off the strength