The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-07
SIX-INCH SHELL HAVOC
APPALLING FORCE OF PROJECTILE
THAT PIERCED THE TEXAS.
Cut Steel Plates as if They Were Pa
per, Hit a Metal Column and Burst
in Deadly Fragments.
London Telegraph Correspondent in New

London Telegraph Correspondent in New
York Herald
When wrote my description of the land
ing of the army at Baiquiri yesterday l
mentioned incidentally that the Texas took
part in the strategic movement intended to
cover the landing. The duty assigned to the
ship was that of Smelling the western bat
teries at the entrance to Santiago harbor.
This duty was undertaken single-handed,
and in half an hour the batteries had ceased
to reply. In the hurry of catching the mail
steamer had not time to ascertain whether
any of the enemy's projectiles had hit the
Texas, and besides I was ten miles away
TO the eastward. To-day the Texas came
into Guantanamo bay to transfer eight
wounded men to the hospital ship Solace
and / then learned that for once the Spanish
gunners had made a hit They had succeed
ed in planting shell on board the Texas.
The projectile killed one man and wounded
eight others and did considerable damage to
the vessel herself. BY the courtesy of Cap
tain Philip was permitted to go on board
the Texas and the effect of the Spanish
shell. The Texas, it may be mentioned, is a
second-class battle ship, built. with some
notifications, to designs prepared by Mr.
Laird Cloves, in competition with other
naval experts. Inc VeSSel Is one Oh IIlS DeSl
fighting ships in the United States navy,
and is quite generally admitted to be the
best sea boat under the flag.
AS a proof of this Lieutenant Haslar, the
chief officer told me that they have never
vet used 'fiddles'--those denominations to
the landsman-On board the vessel. Lieu
tenant Haslar himself conducted me over
the ship and pointed out the havoc wrought
by the Spanish shell. The projectile was a
steel SiX-nch shell, fired, it is believed,
from one of the high power ships guns that
81 q
cations since Admiral Cervera's fleet was
blockaded in Santiago harbor 1t struck
the Texas on the port bow, between the gun
deck and the spar deck, bursting in the
forward compartment, where there are six
six-pounder guns. three on either side. The
crews of all these guns were at quarters
and there were besides number of other
men in the compartment at the time.
1t is miraculous that only one man was
killed and eight wounded. The part of the
ship hit is outside the central citadel and
above the protected deck. The sides of the
ship at the point of impact consisted of a
steel plate one and quarter inches thick.
The shell pierced this like SO much paper,
hit a metal stanchion amidships and ex-
ploded about seven feet from the plating on
the starboard side. A noteworthy feature of
the steel plating was that it afforded no
spinterS or debris to carry inbOard Ii was
torn into ribbons and folded back in a way
that gave the impression that the tough
metal had been half melted by the impact
ana passage OF the projectile. The shock,
however, was not sufficient to explode the
shell, and had ii missed the stanchion il
would have passed through the starboard
side and possibly exploded outside the ship
I Unfortunately, the stanchion was directly
In the path of the she'll and the heavy
metal column offered enough resistance to
explode IL. The effect was terrific.
Although the shell was only a small one.
six inches in diameter, and, therefore not
weighing more than about seventy pounds
IL practically wrecked the big compartment
IN which ii burst, while the smoke from il
forced itself down the ammunition hoists
end into the forward compartments of the
ship, so that for a few minutes the crew
were almost SuffocateG. The stanchion was
shiVered into atoms for two feet of its
length. and the fragments of the burst shell,
lying forward against the Starboard side
bulged the stout steel plates outward to a
depth of three inches. Just at this point one
of the big doubie-headeG angle irons of the
ships frame was situated, This great rib OF
steel. nearly twice as thick and heavy as a
railroad rail, was cut through in two pieces
rs if il had been made of cheese and nearly
two feet of it was carried away bodily in
minute pieces. The base of the shell
plowed furrow down the steel deck as
as a plow would cut through the soft soil
OF Il fallow field.
1t hit and broke another rib of the ship,
ana breaking itself in two both pieces
LOGGED IN a cable reel standing close to the
st2rooard side. The core of this reel was a
PRISM OF oak over two feet in circumference
ana there was wound on * at the time a coil
OF hemp hawser that made a cylinder about