The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-06-30
MODERN PR0JECTILES.
Their Terrible Effectiveness, as Illus
trated by Shell Which Struck Texas.

Their TerriDlc EIcc'iNthe>S' ~
tratcd by Shell Which Struck Texas
ON BOARD THE UNITED STATES
BATTLESHIP TEXAS, GUANTANAMO
BAY. June %. lsgS.-when l wrote my
description OF the landing OF the army al
Baiauiri yesterday / mentioned ihcldeh-
tally that the Texas took part In the
strategic movement intended 10 cover the
landing. The duty assigned to the snip
was tha- OF Smelling the western pat
teries at the entrance TO Santiago haroOl'
This duty was undertaken single hanueu,
and I'm half an hour the batteries nao
ceased 10 reply In the hurry OF Catching
the mail steamer 1 had not time 10 as
certain whether any of the enemy p,o-
fectiles had hit the Texas, ana pesluss
/ was ten miles away TO the eas'"alu'
To-day tho Texas came into Guahtanaiilo
Bay to transfer eight wounded men 20
the hospital ship SOlace and then learhi
ed that for once the Spanish gunners had
made a hit. They had succeeded III
planting a she'll on board the Texas. Inc
proiectile killed one man ara Nounueu
eight others, and did considerable Jam
age 10 the vessel herself. BY the cour-
tesy OF Captain Philip l was permitted 10
go on board the Texas and see the enect
OF tho Spanish she'll Tie Texas II may
be mentioned. is n second-claSs oatlle-
ship. built, with some notifications 10
designs prepared by Mr. Laird Cloves
I'm competition with other naval experts
The vessel IL one OF the best fighting
ships I'm the United States Navy. and IL
quite generally admitted TO be the best
sea boat under the flag.
OFFERS PROOF OF IT
A nroof of this. Lieutenant IIaslar,
al fn0W
never vet used "hddles those abomi-
nations 10 tie landsman-on board the
vessel. Lieutenant Haslar himself con-
Quoted me over the ship and pointed out
the havoc wrought by the Spanish smell
The proiectlle was a steel six-inch shell
fired II Is believed, from one OF the high
mower ships guns that have been mount
ed on the Santiago fortihcauons since
Admiral Cervera's fleet was blockaded
I'm Santiago harbor. II struck the Texas
on the port bow between the gun deck
and the spar deck. bursting In the Tor
ward compartment. where there are SIX
6-pounder guns-three on either side Inc
crews Of all these guns were at quarters
and there were besides number OF
other men I'm the compartment at the
time
II IS miraculous that only one man
was killed and eight wounded. Inc part
~ the shin hit is outside the central
citadel ana above the protected deck
| The sides OF the ship at the point or I'M
pact consisted of a steel plate one ana
quarter inches thick. The shell pierced
this lie so much paper hit me'ai
stanc1ion amidships and exploded apoul
seven feet from the plating on the star
board side. A noteworthy feature or the
steel plating was that It Afforded no
splinters or debris 10 carry in0oard' IL
was torn into ribbons and folded BACK
| I'm a way that gave The impression that
the tough metal had been hair melted
by the impact and passage OF the pro-
| ectile The shock, however was NOT
| sufficient TO explode the shell, and had II
missed the stanchlon it would have pass
| ed through the starboard side and pos
sibly exploded outside the ship. Unfor-
| tunately. the stanchlon was directly
I'm the path Of the shell, and the heavy
| metal column offered enough resistance
| to explode It. The effect was terrihc.
DESTRUCTIVE FORCE.
| Although the shell was only small
| one. six inches in diameter, and there
| fore not Weighing more than about sew
| enty pounds, IL practically wrecked tne
| big compartment in which 1t burst, whlle
| the smoke from IL forced itself down the
| ammunition hoists and into the forward
! copartments OF the ship, 50 that Tor
| few minutes the crew were almost suffo-
! Gated. The stanchon was shivered INTO
| atoms for two feet of It's length, and the
| fragments OF the burst shell. flying for
! ward against the starbOard side, bulged
| the stout steel plates outward 10 depln
| of three inches. Just at this point one OF
| the big double headed angle irons or the
| ships frame was situated. rms great
| rib or steel nearly twice as thicK ana
heavy as a railroad rail. was cut through
| I'm two pieces as II II had been made OF
cheese and nearly two feet OF It was
carried away bodily in minute pieces.
| ,-he base of the shell ploughed furrow
| down the steel deck just as a plough
| would cut through the soft soil OF raj
| law field.
II hit and broke another rig OF the ship,
| and breaking itself in two, both pieces
| lodged In a cable reel standing close 10
| tho starDoard side. The core ar TINS reel
was n prism OF oak over two feet I'm cir
| cumference and there was wound on ~
| at the time a coil Of hemp hawser that
made a cylinder about four feet In dia-
| meter. The hemp rope was cut through
| 10 the wood and the stout caken prism
| was sblvered 10 splntcrs. This one fact
| alone would be sufficient to give an idea
OF the appalling energy OF smodern pro-
jectiles. ,....,.,,,,
SHOWERS OF STEEL SPLINTERS.
Showers OF steel splnters, resulting
from the exploded she'll itself and the
torn stanchion and angle irons, swept
along the starb0ard side for about thirty
feet. cutting off heads Of bolts, breaking
gun fittings and stripping off the paint
| as II score OF men had worker loi
| hours with steel chisels
Every man I'm its path was wouhaeu'
one gunner was hit with no fewer than
fifteen pieces of steel. each about the siI'
~ a hazel nut At the moment the shei
exploded one man was standing right IN
its path lie was literally blown 10 trag'
ments lie was talking 10 comrade
and strange as Il may seem, the latter
| although less than arms length away
was unhurt. save for being knocked
down bv the shock OF the explosion
Others OF the men, thirty feet from the
fatal shot. had a dozen pieces or the
shell plunged into their bodies
| A remarkable feature OF the explosion
was the smallness OF tho pieces into which
the shell burst 10 shiyered into fraS'
ments Weighing about an ounce. The
only piece OF any size picked up was
rather less than half the base ust enough
20 enable II 10 be ascertained that II had
been a six-inch shell. fired from n high
power. breech-loadlng gun and exploded
by a percussion fuse fixed In the nose.
THINK OF A THIRTEEN INCH
When "A small six-inch shell Is sufiicien
to cause all the havoc which have en-