New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-02
MARVELLOUS ARMOR TESTS.
ONE SHELL WELDED INTO THE PLATE
BY THE HEAT OF IMPACT
ANOTHER ATTACK WITH THIRTEEN-INCTH
SHE'LL. RESULTS IN DESTROYING THE BACK
ING WITHOUT SERIOUSLY INJURING
THE PLATE ENORMOUS sTRIK-


THE PLATE - ENORMOUS sTRIK-
ING POWER DEVELOPED.
Washington May 1.-There was battle roya!
at the Indian Head Proving Grounds to-day be-
tween the big guns Of the navy and an eighteen
inch Harveyized steel plate made by the Car
nege works. with wholly unprecedented results.
Two shots were fired at the great piece OF steel
with tweve-inch rife without making any
practical suppression on IT, Then the great
"peace-maker" as the thirteen-inch gun Is called.
discharged It's half-ton projectile po!nt-blank az
the armor. and though driven bodily back into
the sandbank supporting 1t. the plate survived.
Great interest taken In to-day's test. as IL
was practically a competition between the
hitherto suspected Carnegie product and the uni
formly successful Bethlehem manufacture. The
Bethlehem company furnished the eighteen-inch
plate that passed the ordeal two weeks ago. ana
to-day the Carnegie armor was tested with ex-
act.v the same grade Of shells and all the con-
ditions Uniform To-day's plate represented the
second 10. OF ten plates for the side armor OF the
battleship Oregon. During to-day's test 1t was
attached to a backing Of thirty-six inches OF
solid oak by twenty-slx three-inch bolts. the en-
tire structure being firmly anchored in hillside
about 100 Yards from the muzzles OF the gun
battery
The first missile was s50-pound twelve-inch
Hotter she'll driven by 2i9s pounds OF Drown
hexagonal powder with velocity OF l.4oo ieet
second. |; struck the plate with an energy OF
1862 foot tons. the point Of impact being sew
enty-elght inches from the left edge and thirty
eight inches from the top. This was designated
IN. cracking shot and IT'S velocity was so calcu-
lated as 10 split the armor II possible. The Car
n.eio Mate however showed no crack whatever
The nose 81 the proicctle pushed into the hard-
ened metal about six inches. causing an annuiar
bulge IN the surface half an inch high ana ex-
tending for three inches around the hole. char
acterlzcd by small patches Of the surface sealing
IN OF tho so pounds of shell no piece heavier
than a few pounds could be found. with the
Bethlehem plate the shell had gone In over
twelve inches.
The gun was mopped out and behind another
rroicctilc similar to IN, first one fi34 POUNDS OF
powdor were placed. giving a muzzlc velocity Of
l. 996 feet a second and the enormous striking
energy of 2iss5 foo, tons. Tho shot struck
fortv-tyy, inches TO the right OF the first shot
The pla,e had passed the cracking ordeal. ana
this sho, w,s intended solely To try its re-
slstancc 10 penetration. The penetration was
ten inches as well could be estimated. me
head of the projcctIl, as far as tne tNpiTs.s 's,
chamber was completely smashed on the pia'''
I,oklng as II a lot II black mud had been
splashrd upon the armor. The two metals had
been melted and welded together by me , tetinc
temperature due - IN" suuhcn anu ',il'p'r,.
stonp,go ~ the shot the frlzhtfu energy of nearly
@ 900 foot tons being suddenly converted h'l1
h.ai Tho metal Of the plate Tor depth OF
thr.e inches and for six inches ar"und the pom,
v,h.re tho uroicctir struck Dad been fusch anu
bubblcd NJ ke volcanic erater. ~ oI"tn a.
;hree-fourths ~ an Inch wide was ue'elope' III
the surface = IN" plate 'N''h"'"e ''' ~
,o the bottom. .
Tho plaie waa accepted BY tho Government,
| and then with tho view u determining "ha' i'S
,i,,mnt. condition might be under the most ex-
,',,o conditions 4, was decided by the CHER ~
| ordnance TO attack n with the greatest OF haNa'
wcanona tho big thirtecn-irch gun from IN"
| ,urrats ~ one ~ the batu"ships thir,ech-
inch Carpenter shell. weighing i'lv P,,"',,
hr,,., hv 4se hounds - powder specially adapted
D., thls gun was discharged with velocity "i
/ I sio fe., per second I'm this test II hai the un-
| prccedrnted striking energy or Z'o"o 100, 'o"S,
and It's impact only thirty-two in'"es u
the left Of the first sh"i ,,
Tho result was rernnrkable. twas expected
/ ,bat this ,e-t would demolish the plate" inSteai
~ that "A crack three inches wild" was iilhdc S"'"e
distance from the top and the shell at''r p'nc
trafing ten inches was hs on" ui 'h' ",''.''S ~,
declared. almost puiVcrH'n. u" SON, ,o-r,a
| hockin, however demonstrated the terrin'
| cn.ryy Of IN. rrojectile .or I; was smut up Ike
| an accordion and split into kindling "oof ne
effect ~ such gun fire on battrshp III nc, hvup''
lu the opinion of the exports present w'''"
I trcalculoblc l-uon careful examination 'h"
ohiI,V ~ the plate to keep out the heaviest
nroicct!lr was fully proved by the fact that nn'N
,ue ~ The fastening bolts was damaged, re
| n,hor twentv-nyc would easily have held IN.
Mate In rosli.on on shiphonrd This pihte Is S'ii
10 Indicate that tn" endless i'gn' '''" .,,,o n,n'
and armor which has recently be"n :''h'I "'
| .Idnd I'm the guns favor ~ now about u"' ana
| ,hot with the roforglng process IN" arm'r may
| soon be- lnvulnorabe u any existing weapon