The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-11-15
TESTING ARMOR.
Satisfactory Results Achieved With the
B Nickel Steel Plates.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14.-The second of
the armor-plate tests was made at Indian
Head to-day in the presence Of Secretary
Tracy, the members of the Ordnance Board.
army and navy experts and military and
naval attaches of The foreign legations. The
tests were most satisfactory and demon
strated. in the opinion of naval officers, that
this country can produce as good. If not bet
ter, armor for naval ships than Is produced
abroad The plates tested were theShigh-
carbon nicke,-steel plate Of Carnegie q Co.,
the high-carbon nickeLsteel harveyized
p late of the same firm, and the high-carbon
nickel-steel plate. harveyiZed, from the
Bethlehem Iron Works. A 6-inch rife
was used in firing twelve out of fifteen shots
fired, and was placed with the end of the
muZzle ffty-seven feet to the rear of the
plates. Five shots in all were discharged
at each plate, four by the G-inch gun in the
four corners and one shot in the center of
each plate by an S-inch gun at the corners,
and one shot in the center Of each plate by
an 8-inch rifle gun. Each plate was 10R
inches in thickness.
A member of the Ordnance Board, speak
ing of the experiments, said: Any one Of
the shots would have gone through the steel
armor of any ship in the world and ,explod-
ing, would have destroyed the vessel. Com
mOdore Folger, Chief of the Ordnance Bu-
reau, in summing up the result of the tests.
said: The high-carbon nickel plate from
Bethlehem has shown less penetration and
less cracking than the others. and is decid-
markedly less aud tho cracking one-tbird
less than the plates of the other test. In no
case did the point of the proiectile go into
the oak backing, and the plate cracked
toward the weaker side. Ii this side mad
been similarly treated it is fair to suppose
that no crack would nave occurred. The
high-carbon nickel-steel plate from Carnegie
was 45 per cent carbon. which we knew be-
fore we fired at it. was too high, and it would
probably crack. The tempering methods
used in the l0w-caIbOn plate. harveyiZed,
we're defective, and we did not expect from
it any better result than from the unharyey-
lied nickel plate which Carnegie furnished
before we received the high carbon nickel
plate from Bethlehem, which has been our
favorite and Is nuQueStlonably superior to
any armOr that has been tried in this coun-
try or abb Oad."
DETAILS OF THE TESTS.
The details Of the tests are interesting.
The Bethlehem plate contained 50 per cent
carbon and 3 per cent nickel. the Carnegie
high carbon plate a per cent carbon and
the low-carbon plate "a per cent, the per-
centage Of nickel being the same in all
three The prcjectile of the 6-iDch gun
weighed 400 pounds, with powder charge
of forty pounds and velocity Of 2070 feet
one. were Of the HoltZer make, seventeen
inches in length. The first shot from the
6-inch gun was fired at the upper left-hand
corner Of the high-carbon plate OF Carnegie
and penetrated the armor 1914 inches, the
shell rehounding thirty-six feet and iIubed-
tecffon. TIE point Of the she'll
penetrated the oaken backing two inches,
leaving the base of the shell well splintered
in the rear. The second shot, in the upper
right-band corner, penetrated about l0A
inches from the face Of the plate. The
fringe was 8 inches in diameter and the
bulge 1874 inches, the plate showing small
rad ial crack. The third shot imbedded itself
II inches, badly smashing the shell and caus-
ing small pieces to fly in the air. This shot
caused Slightly irregular crack, extending
to the bottom of the plate, and on the next
shot the crack extended from the lower
right corner through the aperture of the
previous shot to the outer edge of the plate.
The penetration of the fourth shot was III
inches, the pTojectle reboundiDg, leaving
the point in good condition and unbroken.
The first shot at the low-carb bon " Har-
yeyized' plate penetrate d 14R inches, the
point of the projectie piercing the wood
backing inches. The next shot penetrated
144 inches and no cracks were made. The
third shot struck the lower left corner, en-
tering the plate 9A inches, leaving broken
fringe, the shell rebounding fifty feet, badly
set up at the end. The fourth shot struck
the lower right corner with penetration
of 20A inches, with the base of the shell tx
inches from the face Of the plate.
AT THE BETHLEHEM PLATE.
The high-carbon plate fr0m the Beth
lehem Iron Works received four shots un-
der the same conditions as the two plates
from Carnegie. the first hitting the left
upper corner and penetrating the plate to
n depth of u inches, the shell bounding to
the rear forty-siX feet and large
portion flying ten feet to one side.
In the next shot the point of the
proiectile entered well. with little
or no fringe or bulge and penetrating 8 l-5
inches, the base of the shell beng badly
fractured, small pieces falling quite dis
tance from the gun. The lower left corner
received the next shot, the shell falling
back near the muzzle of the rifle little set
up. The penetration was 12A inches and
the fringe of the projectile was much
pointed. The last shot penetrated OK
Inches. with bulge of 13A inches, causing
few line cracks in the plate. This SHOT
had practically the same effect on the plate
as the one fired Immediately above IL, and
1t was apparent that the right side of the
plate offered mnch greater invulnerability
than the left side.
HEAVIER GUN USED.
Upon the conclusion of the firing with the
| 6-inch rifle an S-lnch gun was moved in POSI-
| tion and one shot was fired at the center of
| each plate, two Carpenter projectles with
| charges OF "a pounds Of powder being used
| against the two Carnegie plates, and Fir
mlny smell, ZlV DOunuS III weight, Win ~
pounds of powder, against the Bethlehem
| plate, IL being evident to the board that
this plate had wthstood the tests better SO
| far than tie others, and it was therefore de-
| termined TO give it severer test with a
| larger rifle than given the two Carnegie
| plates The initial velocity was 1850 feet.
| The first plate fired at was the high-carbon
plate. The shell struck the center, re-
bounded and dropped to the ground at the
| foot Of the plate. Combinations of the
cracks caused by the 6-inch shots followed
this sho t, the shots extending transversely,
then to tine upper right corner, varying in
| width from One-Quarter to three-quarters of
| an inch. The penetration was 9B inches,
| and the bulge 20 inches.
With the same conditions the low-carbon
| plate received shot in the center, causing a
deep crack. from that made 10y the first shot
| extending to the upper right and left lower
| corners. These cracks were not ne trly so
marked as those of the hgl-carbon plate,
the penetration being 1874 inches. The next
| shot at the Bethlehem plate caused the shell
| to fly back to the muzZle of the rifle. Two
| cracks developed, extending from the center
to the right and left upper and lower cor
ners, but not so pronounced as the cracks
ON the other plates. Tue projectile pene-
trated 12H inches, bulge IT inches. with
the base of the shell split longitudlnally
and partially splintered.