The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-05-20

WASHINGTON, May 1s-With a roar and
shock that made the earth trembie the
navy pet. the l2-inch rife. hurled It's $50
pound projectile against an lS-in nickel
steel Harveyized plate. the mos. powerful
ever tried. ct the proving ground to-day,
and tore the thirty three tons Of steel into
great fragments. The result Was u COM
plete surprise for all OF the experts aud .
sad blow to the Bethlehem Steel company,
for unless they can do better with the
next plate they will lose 500, 900 repre-
sented by the group of armor plates which
the sample tried today was the test piece.
The plates submitted to test were No.
D. lU1 Is, representing 6lS tons of side
arInor Intended for the battlesbip Indiaus,
and made by the Bethlehem Steel COM
psDy. Ii weighed 33A tons and cost about
$4,000 in shape 1T was an irregular OBJ
long, l6 feet long by IL feet high, IS
inches t1ick above. with the lower edge AZ
inches bevelled off tn a minimum thick
ness of inches. IL was nickel steel.
forced by hydraulic press and Harveyized
THIRTEEN INCH RIFLE
The largest in naval use, was to be fired
against this. bus the plate was found to be
too narrow to warrant this severe test, so
the twelve iuch gun, which will hereafter
be the maximum in ordnance construction
was levelled at the plate, distant about
400 feet. The projectile, Carpenter ar
NOR piercsr, weighing $50 pounds, aud
driven by 269 quarter pounds of Dupont's
bonum prismatic powder. few across the
space with a velocity of l, 465 feet per sec
ond and struck the plate about a foot To
the right of the center. When the smoke
Cleared away there was an exclamation OF
surprise from the spectators.
About thirty feet in front OF the target
lay the shot. apparently little changed,
while in the plate was gaping hole, and
worse than that, three great cracks, yawn-
ing open eight inches, running clear across
from top TO bottom aud from the suot hole
TO the left edge
An examination showed that the shot
bad forced its point
THROUGH THE PLATE
to the backing aud had then rebounded
alter cracking the plat. Had the plate
been fastened on the Indisua's side Instead
OF against thiri y-six isches of oak backed
against "A hillside, the chances are that the
battieship would have had u frightful
wound.
Further experiment seemed to be need
less. but the contract conditions requiring
IL another shot was tired at the fragment
or plate In the right. abou. seven feet
broad, that remained uninjured. This
time the gunner put 4l9 lis pounds of
powder in the gun and the projectile, an-
other twelve inch Carpenter, was given
additional force and sent at the max mum
velocity-l,92 6 feet per second. A gain the
plate was
RENT IN TWAIN,
Splitting widely across. but the shot did
not escape. for while it forced its point
through the plate aud about eight inches
irto the oak backing it was twisted in
several pieces, the point remaining in the
hole aud the remainder lying in fragments
out side the plate.
The eLhiehrm company will have an
other opportunity 10 submit another
eighteen inch plate to test before the
entire group of twenty plates for the In.
diana as finally judged aud ms they will
doubles take this chanc. to save the
500, 900 which the plates cost, the next
triai may finally set at rest tue doubt that
now exists as To the Cause of the failure
tOIa,.