New-York tribune., 1907-10-03
SHE'LL VERSUS SHOT.
TESTS 1T SANDY HOOK.
Ionouese SecretiUe about HeaUy
Gunfre Effects IN Recent War.
fFrom The Tribune Bureau.l

rFron, The Tribune Bureau
vK-aebinEton. Oct. 2.-The effect Of protectiles
--,or is in the opinion of General Crozier,
-A,a4 If ordnance. and other staff officers OF the
- or,e Of the most important problems which
.-on- both armed services to-day. and. un
- ,be supervision Of the board Of ordnance
@o-+i6csrions extensive experiments are
-. - oorried on at Sandy Hook proving grounds
- . view 70 determining the most effective
" = rroiectile for use under the various con
st,ors nresented in modern warfare
?. mas confidently expected by the ordnance
r-s of the world that valuable information
,5 he derived from the Russo-Japanese War,
..icb was practically the first time that mod
= rroiectnes discharged at the extraordinarily
s,cb velociries attainable with smokeless powder
ho5 been used against the hardened armo-
,rbicb protects at least the vitals of the modern
ho+tlesbip But the japanese have never dis
rIoee5 the smallest fact concerning the results
=, their heavy gunfre the Russian vessels
v+icb would be Of the slightest 70 the mill
+zrv authorities Of the world
Advance information from the front, at the
time Of the great battle of the Sea Of Japan the
naval engagements in the harbor of Port Arthur
and other points where japanese met Russians.
indicated that when the final reports of the mill
.erv and naval experts were received informa-
tion Of the utmost value would be contained
therein but such has not proved to be the case
Instead. there have been received reports which
are not only conflicting but which. in some re-
spects. strain the credulity of the ordnance
officers
For instance one report. emanating from
Russian sources. is to the effect that when the
heavier projectiles from the Japanese guns
struck the armored sides Of the Russian ships
the concussion was so great that IT broke the
rvets and that the armor plates fell off and
sank Another has II that the vessels of Ad-
rniral Rojestvenskys feet heavily
loaded. with the purpose of keeping the Vitals
Of the ships below the surface Of the water
that their armored belts were completely sub
merged. with the result that the enemys pro-
tectiles pierced the unprotected sides at the
water lines and the vessels foundered from the
seas which broke unhindered into the breaches
thus made Still another was that all the dam
age done due TO explosive shells dropped
or 70 and through the decks of the armored
vessels. All this information. however, comes
from Russian sources, and II is. perhaps. char
scteristic of the japanese that they have never
uttered a word in denial or affirmation Of the
reports received from the other side
But, although there is disappointment over the
failure 70 obtain trustworthy information Of the
effects Of heavy gunfre in actual warfare, the
board Of ordnance and Notifications is we'll
st Sandy Hook While the character and re-
suits Of these experiments are guarded from
publicity. If may be said that the chief prob
lem involved IN the current experiments is the
comparative merits of the arrnor piercing shot
and the arTnOr piercing shell. The former a
modification Of the almost solid shot used by
the Monitor and the Merrimac. is intended as
its name would indicate, TO pierce the armor Of
the enemy's ship and explode its comparatively
small charge behind the arnored belt. in close
proximity 10 the vitals Of the ship
To accomplish this there is a greater weight
If metal. which involves sacrifice Of space in
the cavity Of the shot. The armor piercing shell
while possessing slightly less power of penetra-
ton, is also calculated TO pierce the arrnor
against which it is discharged. 1t carries q far
larger quantity of high explosive can be timed
10 explode AZ a given period after striking. and
when il does so il practically reneWs the energy
of the missile at the point and time where II
IS most needed. Frequently this type Of pro-
tectie goes completely through the arnor and
explodes in the interior with terrific effect
Where it fails through the force Of impact or
accuracy Of direction, TO pierce the arnor the
explosion Of its contents causes the utmost de-
structiou 10 the side of the vessel struck This
would. according TO the observations of the ord
nance experts be notably the case with she'll
hitting a modern turret in an oblique direction,
while the arInor piercing shot would glance off
with little damage the shell would explode with
almost inevitable destruction of life and prob
ably serious injury to the deck, the machinery
Of the turret etc
In the Gathmann tests conducted some years
ago at Sandy Hook the havoc wrought by the
srmy's armor piercing shells was almost in
credible, and with the improved types now used
oy the army, especially if charged with "ex-
plosive D." II is believed even greater destruc-
ton would be wrought, even at ranges of 1000
TO 5000 yards, a distance at which the naval
vessel attacked could not return a fire sufff-
ciently accurate 10 menace modern fortifications
seriously