The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-12
HIGH EXPLOSIVES FIRED.
THE BIGGEST CHARGE OF GHLATINE
EYER FIRED WITH POWDER.

p,,nds of Ordinary Brown Powder
,-,m n Ia.Inch Gun Safely Carries 113
p,unds of the High Explosive to Sea-
r,orite Sent Through Armor Plate.
p.marsaAle tests OF high explosive shells
-ar. made yesterday down at the army prov
w.. Grounds at Sandy Hook. For the first time
T., ~, history Of ordnance trials great mass OF
,Jo.iy, rrattnc. one OF the most destructive
,nouuls chemistry has produced. far more
n,u,rnl than the most powerful dynamite,
os successfully fired from a service seacoast
nor,der ordinary service conditions.
nrIrour- Npcrts had seen small charges OF
.,,h exr!r-.yps fred from big guns without
avn,odjng. bat never before had shell carry
tg1 l3 pounds OF explosive gelatine, as did
,'o I.hau, shell, at Sandy Hook yesterday. been
orol from n gun with gunpowder as the pro-
nouine EXPLOSIVE. one hundred and thirteen
nou,Js Of explosive geatine decorating in the
t,no, the most formidable battleship afloat
u,,,nJ send I,rr tn the bottom OF the sea. and
mn one would he left to tell the story.
ror wears american ordnance experts have
been sceniuE Il system Of firing great masses
n, hrh explosives from service heavy guns
with s,ryice powder charges and with service
voloc,tIes Time and time again inventors
have submitted devices. some of which have
what ". 5 lsham. the inventor OF the
d,srhraCm hgh-explosive shell. did yes
tarIay when he put hundredweight
NJ explosive gelutine in n steel shell
ord fred 1t from an ordinary seacoast gun.
American ordnance officers are very con-
s.ryatiye and they will not accept the single
firing OF yesterday as conclusive proof Of the
merit o, lsham : invention. More severe tests
mus, be made. After Isham shells have
rierccd arruor plate without exploding. the
srtIlerymcn will be more ready to accept
them. Justin the Syracuse inventor. had al
ready fired smaller charges Of explosive gea-
tine with some success. but the success Of
Yesterdays experiment marks a distinct ad-
vance.
Three systems Of firing high explosives were
tried yesterday. First in Importance was
Ishum's device OF SO constructing the shell
that any explosive can be fred In it with
safety Then there was the test OF thorite. an
explosive invented by DR. futile OF Tacoma, so
stabls that It can be fired in an or
binary shell. Last came the test Of
an improved model Of the well-known
Sims Dudley powder pneumatic gun. from
which small charges Of high explosives are
fred with decreased velocities by the use OF an
mir cushion. SO far as the firing OF heavy
charges Of high explosives at high veocities
was concerned, the interest OF the tests centred
about the lsham shell and the Tuttle explosive
Ordnance experts are divided on the Ques-
ton whether the best results will be
reached by striving to devise shell which will
protect unstable explosives from the shock Of
firing or By seeking an explosive which will
be SO stable that the firing shock will not de-
tomato it. For u long while the drift OF inves-
tigatton has been in explosives and not in
shells. Gun cotton has been successfully fred
in shells IN large quantities. but its action ia
not cp!tain.
Because Of the Importance of the Sandy Hook
tests. nearly all oil the members OF the Board OF
Major-Cien Nelson A. Miles. the President Of
the board. VINO is staying at the Union League
Royal 7. Frank. Capt. Charles B Wheeler.
member MAJOR Frank Heath. in charge Of the
proving grounds. conducted the tests. Among
Inventor o: the Isham shell; the inventor Of
thorte the inventor OF the Merriam fuse and
w., " scott ct Sims ri q the Sims, Dudley De De-
nance. The number OF visitors at the Hook
Go3Ha r U6s CT
test m experimental tower mounting posi-
ton Under. The ,memhcrs OF this board are
Cant Henry J., Harris. Can't. James c. Ayres
al ttrt William '; Judson ~
/ II" lNlaln smell Ia ulNllrd IN It's cnam Der
into several smaller chambers by diaphraRms
4 right angles to the long axis. These dia-
rhraGms so break the shock OF firing that
even ,, sven H9ngerous high explosive
a. Il bursting charge. The. shell fired
Yesterday was l2-inch proJectile. somewhat
longer than the ordinary twelye-inch shell.
and it weighed !, 03s pounds. Lieut.. Jameson
AIDED it with ll3 pounds Of explosive gela.
We shore he put 400 pounds of brown powder.
lien sd4a Ths se Sa o Trss
t2pQt the gun ift-to watch the flight OF the
sMriI. should It not tear the gun to pieces. The
Gun vas fred at low angle. so as to bring the
IA As the quar,er-ton Of powder was fred the
sIs T9n sn2t back on its cradle Any feet The
ss,lnMsnt, stone thrown across a mil pond and
i bounded into the air. and then il
s s1apI,e into the sea. It did not
cess and everybody congratnlated the inven.
sshell would do, and It did it, He vas confident
snat when it came to firing his shell through
af z. r plate the result would be the same,
SSltE eght,inch service sheA was charged
p TE about tn thirteen pounds OF the futile e1:
i INF 'hs Sss ssTves cha ss5s'Si
,:tsa' ana wlthstood as had the lsham shell
,,hs., an srmor, piercer, was loaded with
bbnoFite and fred point blank at four-and-a,
through the plate but the hursting charge wal
nov disturbed, Tho stability OF thorite was
spiarent, The composition Of thorite Is Q
erCtrt known only to q few officers OF the
amy Pierre acid Is said to be its base Pre-
tnns tests OF 1t at the proving grounds have
besn equally successful
Two other tests were made. The double
!Hoe Sims Dudley gun was fred several time!
with entire success
,,h I3-mimetre tthree-inchl mountain how
VT rom Nickers, Sons d Maxim, England
n nnCn me ordnance experts say Is ono OF thu
E.rIeSt pieces OF gunmaking ever seen a
TTS1Hu{ hook. was fired a number OF timeG
66t.s mas been fired 200 times. 1t can delive
AttHen shots a minute
Will" these tests were going on Col. Has
ta,uu'A board was firing the l2-lnch gun bat
bmg 70 lost an experimental stool tower
HHenurrl yards on At the top OF this towe
S% mounted one OF the delicate Lewis position
t tbu.grs The blast OF the guns did not dstur
VI