St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-23
HAMMERED TO PIECES.
Uncle Sans Guns Can Do Won.
ders With ProjectiIes.

ders With ProjectiIes.
New York World.
The great American eight and ten
inch all-steel breech loading rifles now
have projectiles worthy of them. Be-
tween the two they did things at Sandy
Hook yesterday which, if done to any
man-of-war, would have made the I'M
lucky men aboard acknowledge at once
that the army up to date had the better
of the navy. The eight-inch gun fired
three 300-pound conical steel projectiles
at nine-inch open-hearth steel plate,
forged, tempered and annealed, weigh
ing 24,660 pounds. The ten-inch gun
fired two 575-pound projectiles at an
eleven-and-one half inch steel plate
weighing 1870 pounds.
The five shots were fired to test 100
steel projectiles furnished by the Mid
vale Steel Company of Philadelphia
under their contract. made two years
ago, to furnish $50. The first lot of
seventy-five was tested Sept. 6. Yes
terday morning Capt. Frank Heath,
commanding the United States army
ordnance proving grounds at Sandy
Hook, and his aide, Lieut.. Wheeler,
picked five projectileS out of the 100
cigar-shaped masses of steel in the
presence of Capt. G. S. Smith, rep
resenting the chief of ordnance;
Capt. David A. Lyle, inspector of
the ordnance department.; Maj. Clifton
Comfy, Capt. Crozler, Lieuts. Melgs and
Stewart, Lieut.. Peck and G. H. Harrah,
E. S. W. Farnham and AXel Petre, of
the Midvale steel works. The steel
plates were vertical, backed by two feet
of heavy oak timber, and by hills of
sand at least thirty feet deep. The dis
lance from the ritied guns was about
100 feet, the powder charge being re-
duced to 9S pounds for the eight-inch
and 169 pounds for the ten-lnch gun to
make up for the shortnesS of range.
The first shot fired was from the eight
inch rifle at the nine-inch plate. AS the
gun went off sand and timberS flew from
the butt behind the target. A perfect,
round hole in the center of the steel
plate showed where it had passed
through. Around the edges of this hole
and pointing outward was a fringe of
steel petals. The interior of the hole
was beautifully polished and just inside
Of the edge was rim OF copper,
the remains of the copper band
which is on the breech end of
each prOjectile to make it follow to the
ritiing or the cannon. The passage of
the great shot heated the white steel to
| a uCSlCOs IOl VI dll
hour after the passage of each shot the
big plate clinked and sang, stretching as
it slowly cooled. The projectile, after
| thus piercing the great steel plate, shot
| through the wood and sand and flew to
| the beach, one-Quarter of mile away.
| A few minutes afterwards, the 10
| inch gun roared and sent 575-pound
shot at the 1114-inch plate. 1t was still
more successful, not only piercing the
mighty plate neatly but flying on down
| the beach to the very waters edge.
Both projectiles we're brought back in
carts and examined. There was abso-
lutely no mark on them to show what
IRENE ndouS work they had done. The
points were still as sharp as they were
when they were put into the cannon.
The next shot from the eight-inch
rifle pierced the nine-inch plate cleanly
and buried itself in the sand behind the
butt, whence 1t was recovered as good
as ever.
And then came the shot from the ten
inch rifle, which was the most beauti-
full of any to the spectators. 1t was
aimed at the upper right hand corner OF
the plate. 1t struck there with roar
and crash. Before the noise of the
explosion had died away something flew
straight into the sky till it seemed only
speck. 1t was the 575-pound project.
lie. Up it went till it could hardly be
seen. Then it came rushing towards
the earth, hustling and gyrating. Ii
swept in great parabcla to the sea,
plunging into it half mile from land
with final roar. 1t had struck one of
the timbers supporting the plate and
had glanced off. The hole which il
made in the steel was, if possible, more
perfect and more sharply cut than any
of the preceding ones. The timbers
were toothpicKs. The big plate was
cracked almost in two.
The next shot was from the eight
inch rifle at the nine-inch plate. The
projectile, which was dug out from
under about thirty feet of sand behind
the plate. was unscathed.
The knowledge that the army now
possesses that projectiles fired from the
Peerless all-Steel breech-loading rifles
can knock melancholy holes into the
cockiest of war ships cost the United
States government 81, 1S9 for the eleven
and quarter inch plate, 81. 1872 for the
nine-inch plate, about $3.50 for each
projectlle, and about 500 for the pow
der for each shot.