The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-14

sired to use it as shell, dt is still neces-
sary to leave hollow on the inside, for
shot so constructed is tougher and less
subject to strain in it's penetrative powers.
Shell is of three kinds-armor piercing,
common, for use mainly against land fort
ifcations, and case, or, as it is called now
adays, shrapnel.
AS to the first essential of armor- pierre
ing shell, its power to penetrate the best
armor made, this is secured by two means
the process of construction by which
the projectlle is sufficiently hardened
which process il is not necessary to give
in detail here, and the soft cap on the
head. The first requires merely the special
hardening process on the part Of the steel
manufacturer
But when in all other respects the pro-
jectile was made which would enter and
break up the best quality of armor plate,
it was found that it would not deliver an
effective glancing blow. Such an impact
caused the projectile to slide off. This was
serious objection, and for time no way
Of overcoming it could be devised But
after a while American ingenuity found
the way. We all know how a needle may
be driven through a cent merely by press
ing it first through a cork until the point
of the needle is Hush with the end of the
cork. This holds the needle upright and
insures the force of the blow being deiiv-
cred directly upon the point. So a wise
man discovered that by placing a soft
metal cap upon the end of the hardest
pointed projectile the entire force of that
projectile would be exerted at the point
and this Independent of whether the blow
was direct or glancing. Besides this, the
generated
melted the lead cap, which creased the
way of the projectile, and made the work
OF penetra ton easier.
As has been said, nearly all armor-perc-
ing projectiles are shells, and therefore,
explosive This latter result is caused in
two ways-by the heat of impact, and, as
is far more often the case, by what is
called a delayed action fuse. This fuse is
so contracted that it begins its work at
the moment Of impact, but does not com
plete 1t for an appreciable length of time
after the shell has passed through the ar
NOR. Without entering upon a detail de-
scription of the fuse, it is enough to say
that al the instant of impact the hammer
caused the ignition of the primer, and the
fame is communicated to a fiat washer OF
prepared powder, which burns from the
edge toward the center, so that a second
or two Is required 10 communicate the
flame to the bursting charge, the ex-
I
just such shells as this which were used
by our feet in the destruction of Cervera's.
This shell win penetrate the best armor
of a thickness of rs times it's own dame
ter
Common shell is made of cast iron, and
contains a large bursting charge This
shell is not intended for armor piercing,
| but rather for use upon land Notifications,
where il is necessary to destroy objects
of only ordinary resistance power, and in
cidentally the men around those objects.
! The shell has a blunt point. 1t is exploded
either by time fuse or by a percussion
fuse, or both. in which case the fuse is
| called combination fuse. The time fuse
is cut to burn a certain number of Sec
onds, varying with the time required for
the shell TO pass over the distance from
the gun 10 the object aimed at. The per-
cussion fuse eXplodes upon impact, and
the principle is the same as the percussion
cap used on the old muskets of the civil
war days.
The 6eadliest shell known is the shrap>
mel, named from its inventor, Col. Shrap-
mel of the British army, who devised it in
1903. In brief, II Is hollow projectie filled
with lead balls, which are scattered by an
explosion caused either by a time fuse or
by a percussion fuse, or by both, in
combination fuse. The head and base Of
the shell are of cast iron. The fuse is
Nplaced in either end, and in the larger