The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-07-25
NEW ARMOR.
Plates For Cruisers Tried ar !He
Proving Grounds.
Excellent Results Obtained From
Nickel SteaI-Even Better Re-
suits Obtained From ;Iie
ProjectiIes.

WASHINGTON, July II. - The
third of the series of armor-plate
tests of worldwide interest and
Importance took place today at the
naval proving grounds on the Poto-
mac river. The tests were for the
acceptance of the armor and for a
premium, it being stipulated that
if the plates resisted penetration
under a certain prescribed velocity
the makers should receive a pre-
MUM of $50 ton in addition to
the contract price of 1912 ton.
The first test was of nine-inch
plate, a sample of the side armor
of the monitor Monadnock. It was
nickel-steel, weighed ten tons and
was made by the Carnegie-Frick
Company. Three Holtzer's projec-
tiles, weighing $50 pounds each
were fired against it from an S-inch
rifle, the muzzle being fifty-eight
feet from the face of the target.
The first projectile had a velocity
of 400 feet a second at the mo-
ment of impact, and penetrated
the plate and oak backing to a
depth Of II Z inches. The second
projectile, with a striking velocity
of 1858 feet, went through the
plate, three feet Of oak backing
and lost itselfin the earth against
which he~b1tt was built. The third
proieat1le had a velocity Of 1886
feet and penetrated the plate and
backing to a depth of IA ] inches.
The plate well withstood the
strain of the attack, no cracks be-
ing perceptible, and it fully met
every requirement for acceptance.
But the result of the second shot
deprived the makers of any chance
for premium. Depending on the
test were about $50 tons of plate,
involving nearly $4,000.
The second plate was a sample
of the curved plates for the bar
bette of the Indiana, made by the
Bethlehem company, and, like the
first, of nickel-steel. 1t was II
inches thick and weighed 81 tons.
It was subjected to an attack from
a 12-inch rifle which threw q mon
ster Carpenter shell weighing $50
pounds. It's muzzle was 319 feet
from the face of the plate.
The striking velocity of the first
shot was 1922 feet a second and it
penetrated to a depth of 1876
inches. The second shot was fired
with a velocity of 1895 feet a sec
ond and went 3 inches into the
oak backing.
The third and last shot, to deter
mine whether or not a premium
should be paid, had a velocity of
1858 feet a second. When the
smoke and dust following the dis
charge was lifted it was found that
the shell had gone clear through
the plate and thirty-six inches of
the oak backing, and was then de-
Elected into the air, plunging into
the river some hundreds Of yards
away, or was lost in the woods on
the hillside.
The plate secured for the makers
the acceptance of the whole con-
tract, amounting to from 500 to
700 tons, but earned no premium.
Like the Monadnock plate it
showed no cracks under the ter
rife strain to which it had been
subjected.
Even more satisfactory than the
showing made by the plates was
that of the project;les. The S-inch
shells were of the Hotter conical
pattern and the Pinch of the
Carpenter conical pattern. All the
shells recovered appeared wholly
unchanged to the Impractical eye,
and the gauge showed they had
been disturbed to such a small de-
gree that they might again be fired
with the attachment of a new strip
for the rifling.
After the tests were concluded
all the officials and experts ex-