The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-10-09
HIGH EXPLOSIVE SHELLS
WILL EASILY DESTROY AN
ENTIRE BATTLESllIP.
BY Means of the Aerial Torpedoes a
Vessel or Fort is Practically Equipp-
ed with Submarine Mines.

ed with Submarine Mines.
Hudson Maxim has made it posi-
BILE for every vessel to carry around
with it an equipment of submarine
mines. lie has put il in the power OF
every fort to be able to shoot these
submarine mines at any vessel. Ills
newest shell, if exploded upon the
deck or within the interior of the
Blake, the big English warship that
went to America in 1898, would de-
stoy that craft in five seconds.
These fearful weapons of war con-
sist of shells which penetrate the
sides of vessels before bursting, in
stead of bursting at the moment of
contact, as has generally been the
case.
Mr.. Maxim in recent interview re-
marked: There can be no doubt as
to the frightful slaughter that would
be effected by Melinite, for one shell
bursting inside cruiser would de
stroy the ship. But until chemists
can invent high explosive that will
! penetrate armor we fear the navy
| will have to continue to use powder
as an explosive; for. owing to its slow
burning qualities, the shell gets In
side the ship before it bursts. At the
same time, if chemists can discover
high explosive, non-sensitive and a
safe Nplosive-which is a contradic-
ton of terms-then we shall all be
made happy. | shall be glad to eX-
plain high explosive shell. as well as
high explosives, which will penetrate
armor, and which will not explode
until after the shell has passed into
the armor.
Now, in the first place. wet COM
pressed gun-cotton is a very powerful
high explosive. as powerful as No. l
dynamite. This explosive can be shot
through armor of any thickness which
the projectle is capable of penetrat-
ing. and without exploding. There is
also another high explosive known as
MaNimite. invented by me-United
States patent No. 544.024-which is
considerably more powerful than wet
gun-cotton. WeIa-., for weight. as
well as having Il specific gravity of
about three-tenths higher than wet
gun-cotton, which gives it a much
higher force than gun-cotton per
unite volume.
applied by me to this explosive. and
which is prepared as follows: \ nj
tro-gelatine is prepared consisting of
SO to 50 per cent nitro-glycerine, and
10 to 20 per cent of soluble pyroXylin.
This is frozen to render it stiff. and
then reduced to sawdust by a gang
OF saws. About IS to so parts of this
explosive sawdust is mixed and thor
oughly incorporated with about 20 to
% parts of finely pulped tri-nitro-cel-
lulose, the whole being saturated with
water. The object of the fiberous tri-
nltro-cellulose is to absorb and hold
water. and thus lessen the sensitive
ness of the compound. The compound
may be packed in shells to a density
of about Ia, holding about Is per
cent of water. the excess of water be-
ing poured off. Proiectiles filled with
MaNimite may be thrown from ord
nance at service velocities with per-
feet safety. and fired through armor
without exploding until it has pass
ed entirely through. to be detonated
by the action of the fuse explained on
further.
THE chief difficulty in firing high
explosives through armor has not
been so much to get a sufficiently in
tensitive high explosive for the pur-
pose. but 10 get Il fuse which will car
ny sufficient quantity of decorative
compound to explode the insensitive
nigh explosive without itself becom-
ing exploded by the terrinc shock
OF retardation OF the shell in the act
OF piercing the armor. 1t would do
no good 10 shoot through armor unless
we nave fuse carrying Il detonator
which VIII i've to get through the
armor 10 explode the wet gun-cotton
or other insehsitiye high explosive az
ter the same snail have passed
through. The tremendous shock of
retardalion is sufficient to instantly
detonate any illuminate or other de-
tonative compound whatever.
Now there is only one way possible
by which sufficient quantity of deto-
native compound can be shot through
armor without being exploded instan-
upon striking the plate, and
that is by relieving the decorative
charge from the shock of retardation,
by suspending the same within the
projectile in such wise that it shall
constitute sort of plunger body, so
that, upon the striking of the shell
upon the target the velocity of the
body of decorative compound is not |
retarded, but passes freely forward
in a tube within the shell without on
position, thus giving the projectile
time to pass through the plate. Now. |
such fuse has been invented by Prof. |
Philip Alger of the United States Ma
w, and myself, jointly, and has been
made and tested. 1t has already been
shot through four inch armor plate, |
with satisfactory results.
1T should be borne in mind that
there are two distinct spheres of USE
fulness for the high explosive or aeri- |
Al torpedo; the one for the penetra-
ton of light armor and the other as
submarine mine. A practical sys-
tenn of throwing aerial torpedoes
from ordnance may be justly termed |
system of placing and springing the
submarine mines at the will of the
81 a