The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-25
LYDDITE SHELLS
Despite Their Terrible Explosive
Power They Are Safe to Handle

Says the London Globe;
So much attention has been recently
directed to the lyddite shells now being
used in the Boer war; which, in the
hands of the naval brigade, did such
splendid execution at Ladysmith, that
few notes upon them will, we are
sure, be read with interest by the pub
lie Lyddite, which takes its name from
Lydd, small place in Kent, near the
Romney Marshes, where the first eX-
perments were made, is, we under
stand, the invention of the officials of
the Royal Woolwich arsenal, and, al
though in some respects similar to me-
Unite, used by the French, it is in
many ways far superior. 1t is much
safer, and of greater explosive force
The magnitude of this force will be
reallzed when we state that at the
battle of Omdurman, where it was used
Tor the first time in actual warfare
one of these shells, fired by a howitzer
battery of the Royal artillery lodged
IN the ground at a distance of 5000 yards
from the firing point The shell ex-
ploded and drove a portion of the metal
over the heads of the firing battery
OF course, this was very exceptional
case, as here the shell was, so to speak,
converted into a miniature mortar,
backed by the ground in such a way
that the whole explosive energy was
eXerted in "a direct line toward the fir
ing point. In normal circumstances,
however, the explosive force Is terri
Tying, the mere shock of the explosion
killing or disabling any one within a
radius of forty or fifty yards.
The terrible destructive power Of
these shells being known to many peo-
pie, has created a feeling of dfstrust
as to their carriagefrom place to place;
and we have heard many people crit
icising their being sent out in trans
ports carrying troops. These fears
may at once be dismissed as lyddite
is an extremely difficult compound to
explode, requiring very special and
beautifully made fuses for the pur-
pose. Nervous people may be easy
upon this point, as exhaustive expert
ments have proved that there is no
danger in this connection, and it is
certain that no amount of rolling or
displacement of cargo could possibly
cause an explosion, nor could this be
caused even We're it possible to COM
municate spark of fire to the lyddite
charge itself. 1t will thus be seen that
notwithstanding the terrific explosive
properties of these shells, they are
quite safe for all purposes of handling
and transit. The press have been
much exercised Of late to account for
the Beers shells failing to explode, and
the general explanation has been that
they are filled with some worthless ex-
plosive. We do not agree that this is
the cause at all; the fault lies really
with the fuses supplied to the Beers.
These are the most important factors
in all modern Shells whether lyddite
or others, and it is comforting to find
by practical experience that shells sup
piled by foreign countries-and presu-
mably of the latest and best make
should be so deficient in this respect.
The fuses used in our services are of
numerous types, and all proved to be
thoroughly trustworthy and perfect,
and the credit for this is entirely due
to the energy andngenuity of the chief
and his staff at the Royal Woolwich
arsenal
When the history of this war comes
to be written, it will be found that
whatever success is scored has been
largely contributed to by these men,
who are now working day and night
Sundays included-to supply the re-
quirements of the army in Africa
What these are will be appreciated
when it is known that, quite apart
from the supply of small arm ammuni-
ton, the arsenal has now to Ranufac-
ture, fill and dispatch every week an
enormous quantity of field gun ammu-
milton.