Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-10-01
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WONDERFUL EXPLOSIVE
Quick Destruction OF Liege and
Namur Forts Caused By
Powerful Substance.

lyddfte or melinite. This belief is
strengthened by the ease with which
the Namur forts were. reduced. 1t will
be recalled that after howitzers were
brought up several OF the Liege forts
were reported to have been fairly blown
to pieces. Gen. Leman is said to have
peen rescued in an unconscious condi-
Llon amid a mass Of debris. The fort
had been rent asunder.
n iron cupolas of the Liege forts
were proof again the fire of ordinary
held guns. No impression was made on
GERS were brought into play.
Lord Roberts has declared that the
striking lesson of the Boer war
was the necessity for heavier guns for
held operations. The British, it will be
recalled, found 1t necessary to bring
4.7-inch and 6-inch naval guns into
service with the army. These heavy
naval guns were mounted on impro-
J V1sed carriages and were dragged over
many miles of country roads by heavy
teams OF oxen. The naval guns pos
sessed long ranges and fired shells filled
With lyddite. The 4.7-inch shell weighed
ABOUT 30 pounds, n the six-inch shell
loo ounds While these guns were cap
able OF long range they did not yield
the mine power afforded by the how
itzer proJectiles. Later in the war the
British sent out howitzer guns, using
lyddite projectiles.
The howitzers are designed to throw
q large projectile at comparatively low
velocity. Penetration is not sought for
so much as mine effect. So long as the
proJect1le can be dropped on or close to
the object aimed at the destructive
ERECT Is obtained through the result
ing explosion. In other words. the
hoWitzer shells have comparatively thin
walls. The head is mad OF steel Of
sufflcient strength to admit of piercing
ilgnt armored structures and there Is
the shell travelling a few feet beyond
me point of impact before decorating
the explosive mass within.
Use Of High Explosives.
The question regarding how much
will ensue ~consequent upon
the explosion depends entirely on the
character of the explosive used. Lyd-
1lte, which has been adopted in the
brltisn service, and melinite, which Is
compromises as between a very high
explosive and one that Is safe to han
Ole. Both of these explosives are used.
respectively, in the British and French
navies, and 1t will be readily UNDER
stood that no high explosive is admis-
slple for use on board ship that is not
sare TO n and which cannot at the
81 . time be depended upon to remain
So under varying conditions Of CHI
mate and temperature.
In all selections Of powders and high
explosives for use aboard a. ship the
safety Of the ship itself must not be
by the CARRYING Of highly SEN
sltive compounds. For torpedo work
g~uncotton has long been recognized as
the sarest explosive to use. This ma
ter1al loses none Of It's by reason
or being wet. n when wet guncotton
Is as safe to handle as black powder.
II Is only necessary to use q small
amount OF dry g%uncotton to explode the
wet charge. and on shipboard the dry
g~uncotton primers are carried above
the main decks and in widely separated
These dry guncotton charges
are fitted in the noses of the torpedoes
Just before firing. Guncotton is the
form OF explosive which Is largely used
for mine defences.
same necessity for exercising the ex-
IRENE caution az on board ship. The
nigh explosive used may be more SEN
slllVe, that Is to say, up to the point
where 1t can, be safely fired from a gun
md even IN this respect, where the fir
lng IS against stationary objects sue
- forts, the unner can be withdrawn
rom the piece and the gun fired from
y distance by electrical connection,
krupp Guards Secrets.
The Krupp factory at Essen probably
possesses more knowledge on the sub
ect OF high explosives than any one
'lant IN the world. Krupp secrets are
,arefully guarded. n artillerists have T
ong recognized that the last word in +
INVENTORS the world over generally Of
er 70 Krupp first OF all any new ideas +
n gun or projectile Development. That /
1actory has always paid well for any (
dea possessing merit SO long as 1t alb 4
'o!utely controlled the principle In
b wonder was expressed in tho
Iarly days Of the fighting at Liege
nat heavy Krupp guns had not been \
'rolght up. Either the Germans had
lot expected the resistance offered or |
eere slow at h outset in dispatching !
9 h front their heavy siege guns,
ut the results seem to bear out what
hat no line Of redoubts could with |
ttand very long high explosive mortar
hells.
This opinion was largely based on
experience OF the Japanese fire at
''ort Arthur from howitzers against
Russian ships in Port Arthur har-
'or. The howitzer p%rojectiles de-
cribed a high curve. and IN descend
ne upon the decks Of the Russian ves-
els encountered no more resistance |
was offered by the light armored
eek plates. These plates could be
asily pierced. and once inside the ter
life mine effect OF the shells literally
ore open the sides OF the vesselsgS
In the siege of Paris OF 1870 the Ger
siege guns were Of relatively light
aliber. They were rife. guns for the |
part, and possessed far greater
than field guns. but 1t is a fact
hat several French guns mounted IN