Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-07-24
AnEneIish monitor Tes,cd.

monitor Olatton. Inc arlnOr OF the Glatton IS
thus described:
'The thickness of this around the low sides,
above the water line, is twelve inches, running
off TO eight feet at the eXtremities, and to ten
inches at depth of four feet below the water
line. The whole depth of the armor plate is
seven feet. The single turret is protected by
twelve inches of iron placed, we understand,
upon 4 teak backing, sixteen inches thick, and
by an inner skin, two and fYe-eighths inches in
thickness. The deck itself consists of three
inches of iron, under five inches of solid oak,
the whole weight OF this powerful ships armor
being in excess of thousand tons. The twen-
ty-five ton guns she carries are each rihed with
nine grooves, and throw proiectiles with studs
as bearings to run in the grooves, which gives
the rotation that makes the long bolts, weighing
some four to six hundred pounds, attain great
range and accuracy"
And of this trial the correspondent says
" The design of the government was to have the
Citations turret pounded at with nothing in her
favor but everything against her; in fact, to take
care that the ships strength was put to the sever
est possible test. For this purpose the Hotspur
was mOOred two hundred yards from her oppo-
nent, and the orders given were TO fire, first OF
all, certain trial shots at leather and canvas
target which had been put up forward oil the
Citations turret afterwards at mark on the
extreme upper edge of the tUrret itself, about
80 inches out of a vertical line with the centre
gun port. A distinguished admiral had sug-
gested that some one should be in the turret to
test the effects of the conclusion upon the
human frame but as matters turned out it was
most fortunate that the suggestion was not ac-
cepted for the second shot sent bushel or two
of riyet heads flying about the inside of the iron
plated tower which the learned in such matters
SaywOuld most certainly have put hors du combat
great number of the men working the guns.
So no fhumaa frame was inside the turret, but
in its place were kid, rabbit and fowl, who
very fortunately lived to come out of the fight
unhurt.
The Hotspur's gun which was to practice on
the Glatton, was, as we have mentioned, a 25
ton - inch muZzle-loading Fraser gun, turned
out from the royal arsenal at WoOwich, and Il
finer weapon, | am given to underS tand, could
not be wished for. The projectiles selected to
be fired were the Palliser 600 lb. shot, solid and
chill headed, and the powder charge was So lbs,
large pebble. 1t now remains to give a few
facts concerning the turret's strength which the
Times newspaper will supply. 1.-The armor
plating covering the outer surface of the turret
is IS inches in front and - inches in the rear,
but as the front only was fired at we need only
deal with that. Firstly, then, there comes one
rolled thickness of iron Is inches in thickness,
disposed over the circumference of the outer
face of the turret in two tiers, and secured to
the backing and inner skin by the ordinary Adj
miraty pattern 4!-inch india rubber washer
headed bolts. Behind this armor plating there
is IA inches of teak, then an inner skin formed
of two 6-S inch iron plates, and a quarter-inch
iron plating over the nuts on the tails of the
bolts holding the armor plates. The turret wall
is further strengthened, structurally, by two
horizontal girderS or frames, forming two
shelves TO the teak backing from the inner skin,
each formed of 4-inch boiler plate and ten inches
in depth"
All being ready the Hotspur's guns were "run
OUT and the first shot fired passed out TO sea
just over the top of the turret, cutting off the
iron standard supporting the hand-rail round
the roof Of the turret at four inches above the
upper edge of the mark on the turret itself A
second shot soon followed, and this time it APP
peared to have struck the turret in its weakest
part-in the centre of the turTet wall upon bolt
head and upon the lower edge of the upper a.
inch armor plate at It's longitudinal junction
with the lower plate, but in perfect line with the
mark, although lower than intended. Borrow
ing again from the Times: "The shot striking
thus in the weakest place it could have done,
lifted the upper plate, or rather forced it up
wards and over the face of the backing until IFS
lower edge was separated from the upper edge
of the lower plate to distance Of . inches, the
upper edge of the lower plate where the shot
penetrated being depressed nearly one inch by
the sheer downward force of the shot. The shot
penetrated beyond the plating to some distance
into the timber backing, and then broke up at
the base, leaving its head embedded in the teak
behind the fourteen inch plate The only me as
urement of the depth of penetration that could
be taken was from the upper part of the "cOre"
in the head of the broken shot to the outer sur
face of the turret plating, and this gave dis
lance of Is inches. The fracture extended up
wards from the plates lower edge in three
quarter circle form, measuring II inches verti-
cally and nearly 20 inches along the plates
edge. Other effects Of the shots work outside
the turret was seen in the broken-off
head Of the bolt struck, starting apart of the
plates in three longitudinal and vertical joints
in the immediate vicinity of the blow, and also
starting of the two plates between the gun
ports in their vertical joining. Inside the tur-
ret, the inner end of the bolt struck by the shot
was found to have driven in and fractured the
inner skin or iron lining, the inner end of the
bolt with its nut breaking off and lodging upon
one of the trunnions of the starboard gun. A
score or two of riyet heads were also shaken off
from the skin plating, and there can be no
doubt that, had the men belonging to the guns
been in the turret at the time, several lives
might have been lost, and many of the men
wounded. One of the inner and one of the
outer frames of the turret walls were broken,
the timber backing Immediately behind the
shots blow was bulged inwards good seven
inches, and the inner skin was burst open by
the end of the bolt driven in by the shot, to
depth of four feet six inches, and helped to
make matters at first sight look very ugly in
deed, inside the turret. Still, with all the i'm
mense striking force of the shot, estimated at a
little over 6100 tons, there was no through pene-
tratlon. The piece Of fractured lining was cut
vi W lllS tuSiietIs Vi Iue snip Ill u very SHORT
space of time, and then, steam and hand power
being successfully applied, all the machinery at
its base for turning it, as well as fits central
bearings, was found to be not in the least dam
aged, and the turret revolved with the same
facility as it did before the shot was fired"
The Palliser shot had left fearful mark, but
still naval men said that the turrets, guns, and
all were perfectly fit to go into action and stand
a good deal more pounding. No damage what
ever appears to have been done to the interior of
the turret beyond the knocking out of the rivet
heads we have alluded to. The gun fittings and
slides were all perfect. There was simply, says
the Times, "the hole the shot had made in the
armor plate to depth of fifteen inches, and that
was all. The inner skin OF the turret was not
even bulged. This was thought quite sufficient
as establishing in the most indisputabe manner
fire, without much danger of being jammed or
whole affair must be taken to be a success. The
gun England has afoat, and the working of the
The next experiment that should be tried is, as
the practical British admiral put it, to "try the
effects of the conclusion upon the human
frame" Until this is done IL seems that the
capabilities of turret ships to withstand heavy
fire when men are inside the turrets have been
put TO no test at all. If the men working the
gins 44ere nut hnrs du combat, the utility of
such ships would be questionable Indeed. Il IS
TO be hoped that no opportunity will be afforded
Great Britain Of testing this question"
NOVEL TREATMENT OF DYsPEPsIA.-Some