The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-14 00:00:00

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first shell was fired, with a charge in the gun of
271 b. of powder. This projectile weighed 1511 b.
and contained a bursting charge of 51b. of powder.
The initial velocity or rate of speed at which it left
the muzzle of the gun was nearly 1,500 ft. per se
eond, and it struek with an awful crash full upon
the centre of a five inch plate, at the rate df 1.2201 t.
per second. After the usual prudent delay to allow
spliniera end fragments to fal!, there Was ti general
rush to the target, which at first seemed to be on
fire, from the volumes of smoke pouring forth, ant
which shoeted at a glance that the shell had pene-
trated ;the plating and burst inside, and that to that
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WILFUL -DAIIIA_GE 10 TELEGRAPH
CABLES.

-e-

It will he rememb2red that sbare time ago a suh.
marine telegraph cable had been wilfully damaged,
by driving a nail through the outer iron wires, and
so destroying the insulating material, rendering one
of the conductors entirely useless. This was not an
isolated instance of a submarine telegraph cable
having been most maliciously injured, the following
will show :
The Hanoverian (Emnen) cable, belonging to
the Submarine Telegraph company, was laid by
the contractors in 1858, and during the submerg-
ence, when more than halfway towards the island
of Berkman, a considerable loss of insulation was
observed, and the cable was buoyed in order to be
able to return to the spot if necessary, when the
whole length was laid down and the end landed.
When the paying out was completed and the tele-
graph instrument attached on shore, it was found
that both wires were workable, and an arrangement
was concluded between the contracting parties for
it to be repaired at the manufacturer's expense,
should it be requisite to do so, within twelve
mouths. The year expired, and both conductors
were still at work. In the fall of 1861, however,
one of the wires showed great leakage and was
seldom used on account of the difficulty experienced
in regulating the relays. In consequence of this the
directors of the Submarine Telegraph Company de-
termined that the repairs should be undertaken at
the first appearance of fine weather. On the 16th
of June last the company's engineer left with a
steamer for the purpose, and reached the Dutch coast
on the 19th of that month. The weather, instead of
proving fair, as might be expected at that time of
the year, was on the contrary most boisterous, and
up to the 10th of August, when the fault was cut
out, there were but seven days, and those not the
very fittest, in which it was capable to handle the
cable. Great difficulties had to be encountered on
account of its having become deeply imbedded in
the sand off the,Dutch Islands, at
,the place where
the fault was founded: 'Sometime43 the cafire had to
be grappled for some hundreds of yards away ; at
others it was only possible to get it out of the sand
at the rate of 15 or 20 feet an hour. The position
of the fault was at last reduced to within a space of
6 feet, which piece 'was cut out, kept intact, and
handed over to the secretary in London, so that it
might be ultimately carefully examined, and a fresa
length of new cable spliced in its place. Sir James
Carmichael, chairman of the company, some of the
directors, and Mr. France, the company's engineer,
together with Messrs. Glass, Elliott, and Canning,
were present at the examination of these two yards
of cable, which had caused so much anxiety and loss
to the company. Exteriorly, no fault could be found,
but on minute inspection a slight indication of rust
was observed between two of the outer wires, caused
as might be imagined by the removal of the tar, by
the abrasion of the implements used in making the
puncture. The iron wires were then carefully re-
moved, and at the particular spot it was found a
sharp instrument, such as a sailor's knife, had been
forced through the iron wires, severing the hemp
serving, penetrating and cutting through the gutta
percha to the copper of one wire; the incision on the
other side was not quite so deep, proving beyond
question the malicious origin of the injury, which
must have been done either during the manufacture
or at the laying down of the cable. The reason of
this fault resting so long dormant was owing to the
serving of tarred jute closing under the pressure of
the protecting iron wire of the sheathing on to the
gutta percha, it requiring some time, during which
the cable was worked, before the current forced its
way through the artificial insulation. The damaged
core is sealed up again and placed in the hands of
the secretary.

was still in the armour plate, as the base or heel of
the shell was fired out backwards and fell in front

of the target, while the fragments that penetrated
through appeared to have been deprived of their,
force, and fell almost harmless in what may be
called the between decks. The surrounding tim-
bers inside certainly bore no signs of damage worth
speaking of. Of course, the splinters must have
flown about with violence, and the concussion of

the explosion must have been tremendous ; but as
evidence of the shattering effect of the shell between
iPel=cl thore was little or nothing to be seen. No-
thing, in short, to show that the plates had not been
penetrated with a solid projectile. The hole also
in' plate and timber was remarkably neat and clean
cut, taking the form of the octagonal rifling, and
having only an extreme width of 8 inches diameter
—a kind of hole that could be plugged from the

outside in a few minutes with very little trouble.
The second shot was also of 1511 b. weight, loaded
with the same bursting charge, and fired with the

same charge of powder from the gun. This struck

the middle plate of five inches thick on its upper
edge, and like the former passed through all opposed
to it and again burst inside. This time it exploded
apparently when quite through the plate, shattering
the teak backing to a slight extent, but doing a

little more mischief with the fragments which had
in one or two cases evidently struck the timber com-
posing the box roof and sides of the target with
more force. Still, however, there was the same

comparative absence of shattering effect, and still
there was the same clean hole as easily plugged as
the first. The third trial was with a cast iron hol-
low flat headed shot weighing 1301 b., and without
any bursting charge. This was fired to show the
immense superiority of Mr. IXhitworth's steel pro-
jectiles over the cast shots and bolts hitherto used
in trials with Armstrong and other guns against

armour plates. The result of this experiment was
conclusive. The shot, instead of penetrating the
plate, broke in fragments against it, only inflicting a
dint of some two inches deep ; no more mischief, in
fact, than is done with the Armstrong 100-pounder,
and for very much the same reason, that the cast
iron shot once broken up instantly loses in its pieces
the force it possessed when striking as a whole mass.
The fourth trial was made with a 130-pounder steel
shell loaded with only Vb. of powder, and fired
from the- same gun at the usual range and 271 b.
charge. This did no less than the former shells, had
done, going through all and bursting inside, but it
also did no more, either in its explosive force or in
the nature of the hole it pierced. The fifth and last
experiment made with the 120-pounder was with a
solid steel shot of 1601 b. weight, which also went
through the target and fell inside the box, if we
may so term it.
The trial was then continued with the 70-poun-
der at 600 yards. This experiment was looked to
with much interest, as the 70-pounder, weighing
less than 4 tons, is eminently adapted for use on
shipboard if its penetrative power can be made
equal to piercing iron frigates without effect.
The first trial proved that in this respect, even at
600 yards, it could do almost as much as the 120-
pounder as far as penetration is concerned. The gun
was fired with a 131 b. charge, the shell weighing
811 b., having a bursting charge of 31b.120z. of pow-
der. This struck the uppermost or Warrior plate
of 41in., but having of course the same backing as
the other parts of the target, through all of which
but the inner skin it passed, bursting in the wood,

which it splintered upward in a part near the edge
of the target. This latter circumstance prevented
the full explosion of the powder being shown. An-

other was therefore fired with better results, pass-
ing through the plate and doing very much more
damage to the teak, but making uo worse hole than
those which had preceded it throughout the day,
and the same with the third and last shot. To esti-
mate the importance of this part of the experiment
it must be remembered that other guns, smooth-bore
and rifled, have fired in salvoes nearly as much as
9001b.weight of shot in single discharges at 200 yds
against similar plates without doing more than
bending, or at most cracking them, but never pene-
trating them. Yet here was a 70-pounder, at 600
yards, sending its shell clean through. When we
state this, however, we must also in justice state
that when Sir W. Armstrong fired his 160-pound
spherical shot against the Warrior target some
months ago, though he did not penetrate the plates,
Le inflicted a much more damaging effect by shat-
tering than Mr. Whitworth did with his 150-pound
shells of yesterday. Sir William, however, used
501 b. of powder at 300 yards range, Mr. Whitworth
only 271 b. of powder at 800.
On the whole, the result of the day's experiments
was a great triumph both for the form and material
of Mr. Whitworth's projectiles. He has now made
it a positive certainty that he can send shells through
iron plates of 5 or even 51in., and not n
aeocillrnthrough
inner skin
the plates but through the backing
too. This is really a marvellous result, and an all
must not
not be the last by
portant step gained, but it WWI
very many. To fully utilise the
tee force,normous penetra-
tingrexplosive
powers of his gun a still greater
, must be
whether by gunpowder or other
mea
I nst
is not a
given to the contents of the
shells.
is wanted in the side
clean easily-plugged hole, that
of a iron frigate, but a crushing smash which makes
a hundred rivulets of leaks that nothing can plug or
not much the worse, as
repair. A pane of glass; against wind and
regards its meansit is the fractures
protectionidsh oe
water, for a neatlyadrille
of a dull blow that the
mischief irreparable.
Mr. Whitworth hasm makes the
the first and most
culties in making the hole.
formidable of all t
hed
wiffi o t give his shell bursting
It only remains
power sufficient to convert the round hole into a
f ragged tears, and he has persevered too
labyrinth o
iv
Other experm
in course now to stop short at this obstacle.
long to be
lik. e ;no with more formidable shells will,
no
of time be made, for nothing can
doubt,
be more erroneous than to suppose that these trials
at Shoeburyness will ever yield results that cannot
be improved upon. One day the victory remains
with the guns, and the next the targets carry off
all the honours of successful resistance. The
modern science of adding to the powers of artillery
is developing itself every day with astonishing
rapidity, and no better proof of this fact can be
given than the experiments of yesterday, when re-
sults were easily accomplished which a month ago
were thought to be physically impossible. Sir
William Armstrong, in the meantime, is not idle,
and is bringing forward a weapon which his friends
say will throw all that Whitworth has accom-
plished into the shade. If such a gun come out, it
is quite possible that before it has been six months
in existence a target may be brought forward which,
in its turn, will have a shortlived period of invinci-
bility like that of the Warrior, whose reputation,
once so high, Mr. Whitworth has now so effectually
destroyed. Sir William and Mr. Whitworth have
each a large party of supporters, and a small knot
of partisans, each of whom cries " Victory" after
every day's experiment, and persists in claiming
temporary advantages as conclusive and irre-

AP\jcEL,
c ~
~. ,‘s\;" i
ffragable proofs of superiority. it is pi1zt,404041,,,:= r,,Y-;
are impartial who can see that theigi,iikehtli-.4f, 4t::44:11
yet only brought us to the threshoXY 3.-
.Xnt4:- '..:
1 c MO
,-..+Y Iv
coveries, and that apparently we are qt copict.....,
mencing to establish certain great principles whfeh 69
will serve as the basis on which to found still further
improvements. Since the last experiment )..r. Whit-
worth has made an improvement in the form of his
projectiles, both for solid shot and shell. Instead of
having them headed with a perfectly flat front of
steel which screws into the body of the wrougNt-
iron shot, there is now a slight circular projection'
in the centre, which does halt' the work of diSpin-
ing the pqrticles cyf the. iron plate it strikes b(4ele
the rest of the shot conics into play. Another im-
provement is in increasing the space allowed or
powder in the bursting charge of .he sheii itselt.
but much more still remains to be done in this latter
1 direction. •