The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-04

unprecedented results. Alter INNS -
at the great piece OF steel WIN w.,
,rch rife without making any practicai
,,nnresston upon II, the great peace
makerp as the thirteen-inch gun is cali-
cd DISCHARGED its half-ton prefecture
noin. blank at the armor. and, though
driven bodily back into the sand Danh
sn,pporsing Il. the plate survived
Great interest was manifested IN yes
terdav's test as II was pracucahy
competition of the hitherto suspe-.eu
Carnegie product and the uniformly 81 ~.
cessful bethlehem manufacturers. ne
Bethlehem company furnished the eisn
teen-inch plate that passed the ordeai
two weeks ago and yesterday the Carne-
Gle armor was tested with eHactiy tne
same grade Of shells. made IN France
for testing purposes. and all the cohoi-
lions were made uniform. iesleiuas
Mate was finished TO size ana cost aoou'
$4,000 II weighed Is'5D pouhuS' "a' %
,een feet. nine and one-half inches iohs'
seven feet and FIVE thirteen-sixteenth
,rches wide. and was Of tapering thich-
ness. being eighteen inches thick at the
ION extending four feet down Wheie
the taper TO eight inches thickhess a.
INC bottom beean. 1t represented ,he So
ond Of BOG tons Of ten plates Tor Inc sine
amor Of the battleship oregon nearly
completed at San Francisco
NOT CRACK VISIBLE
During yesterdays test 1t was attacnsl
70 a backing OF thirty-six inches Oh son
oak by twcnfy-six three-inch Doi'S'
entire structure being firmly Snchorcd IL
hillside about 100 yards from the muz-
zles Of the gun battery. The nrst "ds
an ssO-oound Pinch Hotter smell driven
~ c4g8 hounds OF brown hexagonal, re-
shifting in a velocity OF l.465 ieet per Se1-
ond. which struck the plate with an en-
erev Of 1862 foot tons. the point Of III
pact being rs inches from the leit eusS
end IS inches from the top rms was
designated the cracking shot AM ~
locitv was 50 calculated as TO Spit lhe
rrrnor n rcssible. The Carnegie plate
however showed no crack whatever wheh
the smoke blew away and the particles
Of shell ceased falling. The nose OF lhe
proiectile pushed into the hardened nlc,ai
about six inches causing an angular pulee
in the surface half an inCh high ana eN-
tending for 2 inches around the noIe'
characterized by small patches OF the sur
face scaling off. OF the so POUNDS Oh
eboIl no niece heavier than a few pounds
could be found With the Bethlehem
nate the shell had gone in over u inches
and the naval ordnance experts agreed
mat the new plate would have TO De
| classed alone. ,...,,,t
The gun was mopped out and benind
arother proiectile similar 10 the nrst one
| 424 hounds Of powder were PLACED. CIV
ing a muzzle velocity OF l,sZo ieet per
second and the enormous striking average
Of u *, foot tons. The shot struck Il
riches TO the right Of the first shot. Inc
rlate had passed the cracking ordeal ann
tlds shot was intended solely 10 try It's
resistance 10 being penetrated. The pehe-
tration was ten inches as well as couln
ba estimated. The head of the proJecule
as far as the explosive chamber was COM
utotsfv smashed on the plate looking az
~ q lot of black mud had been splashed
upon tho armor. The two metals nan
leen melted and welded together by INC
terrific temperature due 10 the snuu, il
ard complete stoppage Of the shot. the
e,,orov NJ nearly 1900 foot tons being
suddenly converted into heat Inc Hetdi
Of tho plate for a depth Of three inches
around the point where the proJeciuc
etruck had been fused and dubbed up
like volcanic crater. A crack three,
70, rths Of an inch wide was developer
i'm the surface of the plate extending lloHi
the top to the bottom.
1,lOO POUNDS OF STEEL PULvERIztD.
The nlata was accepted by the Govern
mont. and then, with the view 10 dc
might be under the most extreme con .
ditions. II was decided by the cher OF
! ordnance TO attack il with the greatest
| 81 naval wClpons the big thirteen-nvh
| GIN from the turrsts Of the battle sl.
| 4 tbirteen-irch carpenter she'll Weighing
| 1 100 hounds. driven by $50 pounds OF pow
der specially adapted 10 this gun was us
charged with "A velocity of l6lV ieet per
second in this test. IT had he UNI re'e-
dented striking energy of 1000 loot tons
ara its impact was only thlrty-'"" ii'0i'9
10 the left Of the first shot.
| Tho result was remarkable. II was *
necied that this test would demolisn 'he
nlate A crack three inches wide ex-
| tended some distance from the top ana
| the she'll after penetrating ten inches'
| was as one Of the officers declared, al
most pulverized." The solid oak backing
rcwevrr. demonstrated the te-fihc en-
| crgv of the proiectie for il was shut up
like an ACCORDION and split into kndlinS
woo5 The effect of such gun fire on a
| hattie shin I'm action, in the opinion or lhe
/ e,-perts present would be inc1lculfple.
Irnon careful examination the abiilty OF
| the plate 10 keep out the heaviest pro
i,ctiles was fully proven by the fact that
hut one Of the fastening bolts was dam
ed. and the other twenty -hve would
have held the plate in position on snip
rms Mate Is said to indi ,ate that the
endless fight between gun and armor'
which has recently been one-sided. IN the
GUNS favor. is now about a tie and that
with the refor ging process the arinor may
soon be invulneTable TO any existing
weapon.