The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-11
ARNOR RESlSTS SHAA SHELL
AERIAL TORPEDO ONLY DINTS
KRCPP PLATE.


,rocr. Mt sandy Hook Proving Ground
Thlpk Arnlor Piercing Shell IL Not
,ct Obsolete -Tickiisil Job Handling
hinge C,iindrr Of High Explosives.
,.rcle Sans recently constructed SO, 900
target. representing broadside section
II one OF the strongest battleships or the
navy. IA practically intact few blocks
distant from the foamy edge Of the At
,antic bounding large part Of the proving
grounds at Sandy Hook. The artillerymen
=, the most took shot at the target yester-
d,y with one Of willard s. Isham's shells,
dsscribed sometimes az aerial torpedoes
,rbe shell hit almost In the middle OF the
target. but its effect was not what the
enthusiastic inventor expected. The target
was yet back several inches, and the shell
at the point Of impact caused an indenta-
,ion about a foot in diameter and one inch
and a half deep in the center, suggestive
~ large saucer to appear In the l1H
inch armor plate. But the target. which
Ia unusually strong, was otherwise merely
scratched
Mr.. Ishan does not believe in the arnor
riercing she'll. He has the impression
i that A proiectile filed with powerful
s,nlosive shot from service coast de-
tense IL inch gun and exploded against
or within ten or fifteen feet Of a battleship
will kill all hands by mere conclusion,
oven if it does not blow the ship to pieces.
Naturally, after the men behind the guns
are destroyed nobody will care about
|, the power of the ship. Most Of the army
officers who saw the shell tested yesterday
were unwilling to believe that the armor
piercing shell would be Immediately super
seded by the other kind.
The test was under the supervision Of
Col. Charles s. Smith. Capt. Edwin D.
Bricker attended to the loading. and firing
Of the she'll and the gathering Of data there
after. The test was OF immense interest
TO officers Of the artillery, and many were
on hand, including Col. John E. Greer, Col.
George G. Greenough, Major Beverly w.
Dunn, Major Erasmus M. Weaver, Capt.
T. l.. Ames, Capt. c. B. Wheeler and Capt.
Edward P. O'Hern.
The face Of the target, q Krupp plate
made by the Beth lehem steel works. is 10
feet long and IN feet high. Back Of It. in
an undisturbed condition. were five inches
OF tough oak bulkhead. and beyond this
part OF battleship next to the srmor plate.
Reinforcing this were piles and timbers
mbedded in tons Of sand stretching bacH
twenty-five feet
The crew Of the big gun rolled the Isham
shell Up an incline to the breech. It was q
heavy she'll, and as there was some un-
handled with care. 1t contained i7sH
pounds OF explosives made up Of 90 per cent:
nitroglycerin, 8 per cent. glncotton and
2 per cent camphor, the last named acting
as deterrent. 1t was 50 inches long and
was divided into ten compartments sep
Bricker had the shell rammed nine fest into
the gun from the breeoh and put behind II
q charge Of 50 pounds and 10 ounces Of
smokeless powder and seven pounds Of
gniting charge.
The target on the edge Of the surf was
esG the sSs Of
known power might affect feet Of coast
wise vessels about three miles of shore,
barely moving in the light breeze. The
shooting was postponed an hour 20 let the
ships get out q the danger gone; Then tho
nected and all the officers and newspaper
men went back on car mile or 20, mounted
the bridge observatory and waited for the
heavens to tremble. The gun crew. sought
shelter in bombproof q quarter Of mile
from the target.
Then the great mushroom flash Of the
gun and roll OF smoke were seen, followed
by the thunder Of the report. Apparently
less than a second later came the roar OF the
bursting shell. All eyes were fixed on the
target, dark oblong In the misty air; For
soud smoke s ssdVaa Whsn ,hs cloud
cleared away the target stood bravely forth.
Whatever had happened to 1t was invisible
to the naked eye and only dinly appreciable
through the strongest glasses.
The proving ground locomotive took the
G ss e Sams to the s as and ns 0S Nd
lsham said he believed that much OF the
force Of the powerful gases released by
the explosion had drifted over the low top
Of the target. He also said he would like to
have another test OF his shell with target
resembling the side Of battleship. He de-
effects of his shell had been a ship the bottom
would have been driven In by the force
exerted in the sand in front Of and below
the, strongly reinforced Krupp plate.
MIR. lsham was asked II he wanted an.
other shell fired at the target and he said
not demonstrate anything additional, a.
no vessel was ever hit twice on the same
piece Of armor plate. Col. Smith offered
several times to fire another shell to satisfy
NJ lsham if he felt unsatisf3ed, but Mr.,
lsham declared he did not see that any
thing would be proved by it. He will 60
to Washington and see II he cannot per-
suade the War Department to give him
another chance to try the shell on target
more closely resembling wsvship.
Cages stuck in the sand in front Of the
target and dug UP after the shell exploded
recorded pressures varying from 800 to
1920 pounds. Sand was blown from under
the base Of the target; 1t Is sunk about
eight inches