The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-01-10

..oa ~ mann. NJ a tube The targets were placed st
nom twenty twenty-five feet from the muzze OF !ne
sIn one was composed Of piles and oak pankinR, OF
Thickness OF inches; another consisted OF the
huh Of an old vessel, the Griper, iaid on mndoank
third Was made up q sn,ss sc,ns snss and backed with
tmber On all these the effect Of sho and shelrom the
submerged gun was very startling Inc w0oasu Vas
broken into pieces and driven into the backing, az
solid shot passed right through both sides Of 81
making huge hole through which the water g66rs q n
torrents sh- With percussion fuse burst la ~
opening up ehasm Eve feet by three IN the plank no
SCATTERING lte ribs and bursting up the deck eav,s
above.
il IS impossible 70 foresee the fun conse9e nss OF
these important experiments In the nava war and
shipbudng OF the future. But that they Al ne very
material is beyond question only Ismhar ,hat
hitherto have been content TO cover WI armor ony
re @ 81 o p ,ne Oeef s ire water
take effect lower than "bctween wind "a water This
doubt the case both with the "a spherical shot
tho Armstrong conical shot, fcs 10th rcoohetted
they touched the surface Of Zoe water Mr. WHIT.
worhs fiat fronted shells and shot certainly enter the
water and effective after pa ,ng Through .or some
twenty feet; but their form causes them speedily 10
oee velocity ana fired from above the surface they
mnss pass ooliquey threigh considerable distance be-
fore attaining any greet deIsh, they are not likely
prove very dangerous a. than few feet depth
bescw tho water lie. But the submarine firing may
obviously DE equally effective at ten twenty feet as at
feet under water and consequently the whole hull
must be Gmored to resist t. What thickness OF armor
mnea. But any armor, even tho ihnnest, involves
great addition to tho weight Of the vessel and must
very seriously aHect AL Questions respecting tner
size and form And, indeed, II may well be doubted
whether shall be able TO build any vessel, with stow
ago capacity which shall be aole to bear tins additional
weight Certainly al once, may consider all ships
with mere wooden bulls, like the Royal Oak those
vessels which Lord Pamerston insists laying down
in order to use up the dockyard stores OF timber and
which Mr. Reed s accordingly designing, placed
nors Dc combat by this last novelty in the art or gunnery
II will have been seen that do NOS anticipate any
serious difficulty in the way Of its practical application
Our mechanics and those other nations quite ngen
Gus enough speedily to devise for sef.opening and
seliclosng Submarine ports from which gun may send
It's contents into its opponents hull For harbor decnces
| guns placed permanently below water in the channe
pointed upwards In known direction and fred by gal
vanic battery shore when the hostile
obvious method OF applying the principle and pro-
baby would be far more efficacious than any self
acting torpedoee But without any mechanical ap
pance is 1t impossible for sailors to sling heavy gun
ready loaded, overheard and fire it by tube
they run alongside the enemy9 nnumerable questions
Of this character Will rise from these preliminary Ports.
mouth experiments. But while waiting for their develop
men and solution IL cannot least be denied the
discovery OF means by which the old peril OF shot be-
tween wind and water, which has many gallant
vessel to the bottom converted the peril OF
yawnirg cnasm made three athoms below the surface
and the later application Of horizontal shell firing which
has abolished wooden vessels above is directed against
the hulls beneath, opens up epoch In the scence
ard art OF naval warfare.