The daily critic., 1890-11-15
AMERICAN SHELLS
THEIR INFERIORITY TO TIE FOREIGN
PROJECTILES DEMONSTRATED,
The Recent Test nc the naval Proving
Ground Not Tn to the Expectation
OF the Manufacturers.

OF the Manufacturers.
NEW YorK. Nov. ia special to
the Tribune from Washington says:
As a supplement Of the performance Of
the Hotter and Firminy proiectiles at
the armor. plate test at Annapolis, comes
the trial Of American projectiles at the
naval proving ground. For long time
claims Of the superiority Of the domes-
tic shell have been urged, but 10 this
unlike the instances of American ord
nance, the results do not sustain the
the representations of manufacturers.
Tie testthis week at Annapolis Of these
shells Is valuable only for its develop.
ment of the weakness Of American pro-
irctilcs and their manifest inferiority
10 the foreign shells. At least this is
the conclusion justified by the report
Of the officers who conducted the test at
Annapolis.
The earmor. plate test where the Hotter
and Firminy shells were used developed
indispulably the superiority Of the
former Some allowance was made for
the condition Of the plates on the second
#
jtctiles were fred, and the deductions
advanced we're possible for contra
diction The opinion Of the experts,
however, seemed 10 be in favor Of the
Holtzer. This weeks tests, according
20 the official reports do not alter this
condition Of merit
AT the last test there were presented
for trial four shells the Sterling the
Redemann- Tilford. the Carpenter Firth
and the Hotter. The target used was
a compound plate III inches In thick
ness, and corresponded to the armor Of
the Miantonomah. Previous firing had
rendered II somewhat untrustworthy as
an effective target. but that fac; made
the performances Of the proiectiles the
more easy. The gun used was a six
inch breech loading rifle, and the muz.
zle Of the gun was POS feet from the
target.
The powder charge was forty nine
pounds, and the proiectiles weighed
each 100 pounds The velocity at the
nuzzle was 2029, and at the striking
point . 600 The same relative cOndi-
lions Of firing were supposed TO govern
the test, and the points Of impact were
selected as nearly as possible with
view to equality OF circumstance. This
equality, the board say, was obtained In
all cases, save possibly In that Of the
Redemann.Tilford shell, where the re.
sistauCe was considerably less at the
point Of impact than in the other three
cases.
The first round was with the Sterling
prof, ctile, which penetrated the plate.
The 81 ell broke up, and portion of
the head was greatly distorted. Six
surface cracks were started and one
short Circumfercntial crack, while the
old cracks, results Of former assault,
were opeued. The second round was
with the Redtmann- TilfOrd shell. Like
the Sterling, Il was broken up aud
portion of the head distorted. IL re-
mained In the plate. The indent Ia the
target was 5l inches. The disturbances
were minor, but the board met the
problem Of the differences in resistance,
and concluded that there was little
choice between the Redemann- TilfUrd
and the Sterling shells.
The Carpenter. Firth she'll was used
In the third round the proiectile pene-
tratlng the plate until the point struck
the wood backing, when II rebOunded
entire, and was picked up thirty feet
from the target. The shell on measure
ment was found to be shortened 42-1O0
Of an inch. A thin scale had been
peeled of the plate in two places and
numerous cracks were observed. Pieces
of the hard steel face Of the plate
in the shape Of a trapezium dropped
from the top Of the plate TO the ground
and a triangular piece, sixteen inches
across the top, was started.
The Hollzer shell was fired In the
fourth round, and was found 10 have
penetrated the plate. IL remained In
the backing, the base of the she'll being
III inches from the face of the plate.
The base showed no signs Of injury.
There were nineteen short Tadial cracks,
and a new radial crack 10 former ten
inch impact was opened. The hard
steel was started and bulged to the
front in a number Of places, but only a
small portion fell 10 the ground.
The experts who represented the
Naval Ordnance Bureau at this test
head the projectiles in the order of
merit with the HoltzeT, according TO the
Firth the second place. and declaring
equality of performance for the Rsde-
mann Tilford and Sterling