The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-22 00:00:00

Experiments at Shoeburyness.

Yesterday some interesting experiments were
made at this great school of artillery practice, to
ascertain the resisting powers of the new kinds of
ironclads which are about to be constructed from
the designs of Mr. E. J. Reed. The target experi-
mented on represented an exact section of what is to
be the new principle of construction in the Hercules
and other vessels of her class, which are meant to be
an improvement on the Bellerophon. The latter
vessel, as our readers may remember, is coated with
6-inch iron armour on a most massive backing, and
is pierced for 10 guns. The Hercules, of the same
length as the Bellerophon (300 ft.), has two feet
more beam, and is meant for only eight guns, six of
which, however, are to be 300-pounders and two
600-pounders, whenever the Admiralty can get them.
The thickness of the broadside of this intended ves-
sel is for a structure meant to float and be buoyant
in a seaway something stupendous. The total mass
which her sides oppose to shot is a combination of
iron and wood no less than 4ft. 21in. thick, of which
111 in. are iron and 3ft. 3in. solid teak, all cross laid,
and combined together in the most massive manner.
It is curious to notice how as after each succeeding
trial the guns gain the ♦ictory the thickness of plat-
ing and backing of ships are continually increased.
Thus, with the first vessels of the Warrior class,
41in. of iron and 18in. of teak were thought to be as
much as they could safely carry. In the vessels of
the Minotaur class these weights were added to by
making the plates 51in. instead of 41in. ; and with
the Bellerophon class this has been increased again
by having the iron 6in. and the backing 24in.
Nothing, however, has been attempted either here
or abroad which at all comes up to the ponderous
strength with which it is intended that the Hercules
class shall be constructed. These new vessels are to
be built on the plan of the Bellerophon as regards
the general surface of their broadsides, but with their
vital parts—that is to say, just above and below the
water-fine—strengthened with a thickness of metal
which may be said to make them almost invulner-
able along their entire length. Thus the ordinary
surface of the broadside is to be coated with slabs of
iron 6in. thick, but for 21ft. above the water-line
and 2ft. below it the armour is increased to a thick-
ness of no less than 9in., while for 4ft. more below
this belt under the water the plates are Gin. thick,
making her total depth of coating under the water
line 6ft. 6in., instead of sft., as heretofore. These
slabs of iron are throughout all their varying thick-
nesses backed up with teak beams 12in. thick,
inside which come the iron ribs of the ship 10in.
thick, the interstices between which are all
blocked in solid with beams of teak 10in. thick by
12in. wide. Inside this mass again comes the
wrought-iron skin 11in. thick, and inside this are 17
inches of teak, with another iron skin gin. thick,
which rests on a wrought-iron inner frame of ribs
Tin. deep. The total mass is thus, as we have said,
4ft. 21in., of which 3ft. 3in. are of teak beams and
111 in. of iron. In short, the backing to the armour is
double the strength of all other iron-clads—a double
skin and double framing, with double beams be-
tween ; and it must not be forgotten that, though
the thickness of the plates varies from Bin. to 9in. at
the water-line to Gin. on the broadside, the solidity
of the backing is uniform throughout. The weight
of this mass per foot is about 5201 b., the weight per
foot of the Bellerophon being 3891 b., and of the
Warrior 3471 b.

Their Highnesses the Prince de Joinville, the
Count de Paris, and the Duke de Chartres were pre-
sent yesterday to see the target tried, with Admiral
the Hon. F. Grey, Admiral Robinson, Lord Lau-
derdale, Chairman of the Turret-Ship Committee ;
Lord Selkirk, Admiral Yelverton, Admiral Hal-
stead, Gen. Lefroy, Sir W. Armstrong, Mr. E. J.
Reed, Major Pallisser, &c. The target, which was
18ft. long by Bft. high, was composed of two rows
of plates, one half of which were fastened with the
ordinary through bolts, 3in. in diameter ; an ad-
mittedly bad and inefficient method. The other half
of the plates were secured by 2iin. bolts on Major
Pallisser's system, having the threads of their
screws in relief instead of cut into the substance of
the bolt.

The massive target, as might have been expected,
came off perfectly victorious from its contest with
all the guns which were brought against it. It is
needless to recapitulate the order of the firing when
the result in every case was almost identical—namely,
that the outer armour-plate was more or less deeply
penetrated, sometimes gone through, and always
deeply bent in, but the backing throughout re-
mained absolutely, unhurt. At the close of the
day's firing not a single rivet in the backing had
been displaced, or even the point cracked, except in
one place, where, under the terrific blow of a 300-
pounder, fired with a steel shot, propelled by the
enormous charge of 601 b. of powder, the inner fram-
ing ribs were slightly bulged. Beyond this, there
was nothing at the back of the target to show the
ordeal it had gone through, and, as the result proved,
all the visitors present might have safely stood be-
hind it throughout the whole course of the experi-
ments. That these trials were unusually severe may
be guessed from the fact that the firing was begun
with a 2201 b. steel shot, with 401 b. of powder, and
continued with gradually increasing charges till, as
we have said, the tests culminated with a 3001 b. steel
shot fired with 601 b. of powder. Most of these shots
still remain half embedded in the iron of the target,
though some were thrown out by the violence of the
shock with which others struck. One most interest-
ing part of the experiment, and one of the utmost
importance, also, was to ascertain how far Major
Pallisser's bolts are superior to those now used in
securing ships' armour. Of their comparative supe-
riority there is no question, and it is only the per-
centage by which they excel that is a matter of
doubt, and this cannot be known till the target tried
yesterday is taken down, and the bolts of both kinds
withdrawn examined.

So far, then, as the trials of yesterday are con-
cerned the victory remained conspicuously with the
target, yet it is beyond a doubt that the very reverse
of this result would have happened if the 600-pounder
had been tried against it in place of the 300-pounder.
As far as the 600-pounder has yet been used it has
simply swept away every target opposed to it, and
for the present, at least, it is admitted that it would
be almost impossible to expect flotation from any
vessel built strong enough to resist its force. Yet
it is not too much to say that it is almost only in
this country that the 600-pounder is an exceptional
gun. Mr. Krupp, at Essen, is now making 300
and 600 pounders for foreign Governments, not in
small numbers, but literally in scores. Captain
Blakely, whose system of rifled ordnance has always
been held in high esteem abroad, and has, in the last
few years, slowly but surely risen in the estimation
of our own most experienced artilleryists, has made
between 30 and 40 of these 600-pounders for the

Russians, and is not only engaged on more, but is
actually beginning 900-pounders for the same Go-
vernment. Up to the present, however, the English
people only possess one 600-pounder at Shoebury-
ness, and this an experimental gun, which, in spite
of great performances, is admitted to be capable of
great improvement. In the face of these facts it
would seem to be only a prudent measure to give
one of Capt. Blakely's 600-pounders a trial at Shoe-
buryness, in order to ascertain what are the merits
of a gun which is so much prized abroad, but which,
strange to say, has never even been allowed a trial
at Shoeburyness.