The New York herald., 1862-04-24
TYE AGE r.r IRON,

ttetves. ,~s ora ~ on Plares-L lac Duel
Hsp'o< 90 the Nyv ,rior-rrog,sss Of the
DS<I HstMeen bStllery and Naval Iron
fsetsd at ShossrnssSThs Sss ArssssosH sTn Recon- on
H"csl1n n,a ". the F'rcnch Navy, &c.
fIo>a ths Ionoon Times, April lo.1
"he Az Trope is just ringing with surprise, ana
almost co~sS nGon at the practical results Of the great
naval DUE between the Asrrmac and the Monitor, we
wsS~ are the very opposite OF those elicted by tho
cosSst in Hampton Rosss In brief experiments
we're tried at shoebnr;ness On Tuesday afternoon with
anew gun OF large sze and great cab.o, which showed
at every discharge that best and hitherto consi
dered invulnssSble forms OF ronsdss were, so TO
sreak almost easily penetrated by its shot as il
the targets had be OF timber We may well pause and
reflect upon the astounding nau ~ this dscovery--
that afier all labor anl all our expense after harin9
pde be,s,a oos1pdrisoa he finest and strongest iron gais
VA ~ p0rld find that, opposed to large muz2le
loadhg gun td bes, Of iroes can be as easily rid
died aad sunk as wooden sailing vessels This discovery
was only neee on Tuesday aftern on last and In order
that our readers may perfectly understand the expert
frSaes stand with regard 70 those OF other Powers
short explanation is necessary That It may be an ex
psnao to all we shall avoid as far as possible the use
| Of secanical terms.
For the last two or three years there has been keen
and~holesome rivalry between the War ofloo and tho
Adraltythe former striving 10 devise irres esstibe
thery, the latter to build invulnerable ships In the
course Of this emulation an immense variety Of expert
snts has besn tried at Shoeburyness upon every con
csvabe form or target, and upon every possible comb
nation Of ron iron and wood iron and in bier iron
and wire and iron and hemp Not only the invon
n Of every eminent engineer been tried Shoebuy
but sections OF tho ships which foreign Powers
building have also been tested 1t may surprise our
readers 10 learn that even the the Nonor
has not escaped tho vigilance Of our government.
section OF II has been erected and fred at at Shoe
ouryness and proved 20 be as vulnerable almost tim
ber even to commonest muZzle loading guns Even
now, that chance may be neglected target beirg
made Of railway bars, dovstaed and riveed together in
the same ingenious the coating OF the Merr
mac, and this also will be tried fow days ard beyond
doubt with much tho same results as attended the
trials at the Monitor target The practical result OF all
these experiments has boen that the War Office has
otonsnt 70 psrlseton me Armssroag guns which as
world, while, on the other hand, the Admiralty has
ceeded in turning out not only the fastest bat the eas.
II will doubtless be in the recollection OF readers
how short time since target twenty feet long by ten
feet wiac and made exactly OF the same materials and
strength the Warriors broadside erected to be
tested at Shoeburynese. During the whole Of day
and part Of second il subjected 10 the most tire
mendous proof Solid 6S's, 100. Founders, and 200
Founders fred at II sngy and in savoes of three
and six guns At time, but all in vain The concentrated
rang, grew almost redhvt in parts, but missile ssed
beyond its iron armor. The Warrior, Therefore and
the War once had for the time to admit that the Ad
miraty had constructed vessel which practically they
NAMED with them for long. During the ccn:se
OF all the experiments at Shoeburyness ii has bsc,
noticed that the injury inflicted upon tho iron plates By
the old smooth bore greater thai
that elected by the shot from the rAed Armstrong no.
FOUNDER Tho cause OF this apparent superiority Of the
old gun due 70 the heavier charge Of powder and
therefore to the initial velocity or, IN plain terms the
speed with which the old spherical missile left the mouth
With the Armstrong guns the velocity Of the shot is
from 160 feet to 200 feet per second. With the old
smooth bore muzze leaders the velocity s nearly
possible At the rate OF 600 feet per second
than fourth greater. But the important difference
between the two kinds Of ordnance the old smooth
bore after 500 yards loses its velocity owing TO the
resistance Of the air, with alarming rapdity, TIL
| at 5000 yards touches the ground, while, on
tho other hand the concal form Of tho Arm
strong shot, and the rotatory motion communi.
Gated TO il by the rfing enable !! TO maintain almost s
initial velocity over fight Of 1900 yards: or even
more Thus II is that If the Armstrong and the old
smooth bore gun fired at the instant shot
from the latter is instantly ahoad Of the rined proecte
but at 100 yards their veoctes the same 200
yards the red shot is ahead and at 500 or Oo0
the old shot IL made its frs, craze against the earth
whlo the Armstrong still in mid carsor aad can strike
with four times the force Of the sixty eight But when
ar at the iron targets at short distances massive
shot, one travelling 900 feet second and the other
1900 have each to be stopped dead in tho fractional par
Of a second and it therefore followed matter OF
course, that the rojocie going the fastest inflicted
and the charge with which 1t propelled. At close
point blank ranges therefore the old smooth bore sixty
eight poundar was, weight for wegh more destructive
| TO iron plates than the 10 FOUNDER Armstrong.
| II has therefore, been thought that wrought
guns OF large caibrs, and strong enough to stand the
heaviest shot and heaviest charges, would, at close
range easily penerats any thickness OF iron plates that
vessel could safely venture to With, and the
perimens OF Tuesday afternoon proved tho truth Of
the conjecture. Sir William Armstrong has made a
300-pounder his admirable principle OF wrought
coils This gun about fourteen feet in length
weight twelve tons and its diameter at the muzze
ten and half inches II had not been rif2d and there
fore during the experiments of Tuesday it only threw
round solid shot Of l66 pounds weight II ried for the
Armstrong shot, which is about two and half times
he length Of It's diameter, it would be 300 FOUNDER.
This n, unrited and with plain solid sh It, tried
against that cham of heavy weights which has hitherto
como OF victorious in al encountsrs-the redoubtable
Warrior target.
Ills Royal Highness the Duke Of Cambridge the Duke
OF Somerset the Duke Of Sutherland, Lord Clarence Pa
get Admiral Gray Commodore Drummond, Captain Sir
j. d. Hiy, Captain Hewlett, Captain Yclvcrton, Mr.
FarbairE, Senr Hr. Laird, hr. Samlda, Sir William
Armstrong and other nobemsn and gentlemen connected
with the War Office and Admiralty or interested in the
success o, artillery or iron ships, present though
the whole the attendance small aad the expert
ments were conducted wi unusual privacy The great
interest was concentrated on the effect OF the rst shot
With the high speed which our Warriors known TO
possess and the ore the quckness with which they
with perfect truth, that II was next to i'm.
possible In running eight that they could bc hit
twice IN the same place. If the target kept out
shot, there wsE every hopo Of ship keeping out all
The first shot, hundred and fifty six FOUNDER was
fred with charge q forty pounds Of powder, dis
tance OF two hundred yards. This sored all dolts With
indescrbabo crash that mingled fesyfully with the
report or tho gun, the shot struck upon comparatively
uninjured plate shdtieync The ron mass teore L ino s
crumbs Of metal sritaering ne teak into fires literally as
snail as pms, and, though not passing quite through the
stde yetbuging and rendiso the taer skin If ls ship
o1g that io0uld hare rendered almost Impossible stop Tie
leakage. The second shot (still with forty pound
charge struck close by the side OF the first, making tie
previous damage teniod worse, II possible To those
who did not actually the experiments IL would
be difficult TO describe the manner In which the iron
opposite the plsSno was broken into minute
'rsgmens like glass; how the teak was 50 ut.
t,rly disuiegratsd that 1t more resembled tsngles
ol me twine than the remains Of woodwork aad
how, above all The inner iron skin ripped into GAGS
like torn paper. These two shots quite conclusive
as 10 the power OF the gun Had they struck iron
frgate at the water line no means could have
her from sinking In halg an hour. STILL however, tho
shot had not gone completely through the side hch il
was tho great objsct OF the experiments TO accomplish
The charge OF powder was therefore, incr, ascd from
forty u fifty pounds and the gun levoed the upper
most plato OF the target which had been left untouched
In previous tests. On this plate white epot painted
10 guide the artierymen aud SO true their
exactly the centre Of the mark struckbat every
vestge OF the paint was obliteratod. With this Ia
creased charge the shot passed not only through
plate teak, and inner akin, but buried itself the
sive tmbes that support tho target, and oosen0d
the blocks Of granite by which the whole 10 backed up
Had IL been the side OF tho Warrior against which this
missile directed 10 would not only haze gone through
me nde, cut nearly through ns opposite side csiI
Another white mark was then made on the lowest plate