Evening star., 1915-01-24
CONSTRUCTING GREAT PROJECTGasES FOR
HEAVY GUNS OF ARMY AND NAVY

torpedo shell. carrying an enormous
charge of guncotton, was fired at Sandy
Hook in competition with armor-pierc-
ing projectiles. loaded with explosives
and with a delay-action fuse, the tar
gets in both cases representing the ar
mored portions of battleship. The
result of the torpedo shell against armor
was practically nothing, while the
destruction. first penetrating the armor
and then decorating In the interior.
If 1t were possible to devise a projec-
tile which would not ricochet on strik-
ing the water, but which would run
under water in the nature of torpedo
and explode after submergence, such
projectile might possibly have some use
in the naval warfare against the under
as such an explosion would act very
much in the same way as that of
mine.
At the close of the Russo-Japanese
told the story of his experiences at the
battle of Tsushima straits. He de-
scribes the Japanese projectiles that
came tumbling toward them like great
everything they struck. His tale ap-
pealed to the fancy, and the more i'm
preSsionable officials of some naval pow
ers caused the manufacture of torpedo
shells to be taken up as they imagined
that it was these shells which caused
the Russians to be defeated at this bat
tie and not the morale. personnel and
training of the Japanese. as was the
case.
The French tried extensive expert
ments against the lena. an obsolete bat
tleship. firing torpedo Shells semi-armor-
piercing shells and armor piercing shells,
and. as the result of their experiments
it is generally thought that the 'sP''
shell Portmanteau) was abandoned by
the French navy and the armor-piercins
she'll adopted
Only last year the English tried ex-
periments with armor-piercing and tor
pedo shells against an old ship. the En-
press of India The ship was sunk. and
it is thought that the experience gained
from this firing has caused the British
to use, to the exclusion of all other
types. the armor-piercing and semi
armor-piercing projectiles.
The French, the British and the Japa-
neSe use practically the same shell filler.
which the EnglishS call "lyddite.' the
French "melnite" and the japanese
"shmose,'' which is nothing but melted
picric acid No nation in the world. as
far as is known. employs sensitive
filler for its projectiles. Even with the
insensitive shell filler 'lyddite" or
"shmose.' it is known TO certainty
that several guns have burst in the
British and the Japanese service while
firing this explosive. 1t is thought that
1T was one of these shells which, when
dropped while being hoisted on the Bull
wark. caused the tremendous explosion
which destroyed the vessel.
the types of torpedo shell at Sandy
Hook, the shell burst prematurely in
twelve-inch gun. completely Destroy
ing 1t.
IL,
somewhat like the torpedo shell used in
the destruction of the forts at Liege and
Antwerp. were fired from mortars. which
throw the projectiles to an enormous
height, SO that they drop almost vertically
upon the objective. This requires the
incest accuracy of aim in firing, which is
wholly impracticable from the unstable
gun platform of a naval vessel.
Nearly all the shells used for naval
guns of under six-inch caliber are what
are known as common shells, which are
constructed with thin walls and contain
a larger percentage Of weight of explosive
than armor-piercing projectiles. These
common projectiles are not intended TO
perforate armor. but are intended for the
attack of torpedo boat destroyers. tor
pedo boats, submarines and other un-
armored structures. They are also con-
s'dered valuable for the attack OF fort1-
fed places on shore.
The shrapnel. of which so much IS
heard in connection with the great war
in Europe, is a thin-wall shell, constructed
in such a manner that it carries in its
body a large number of heavy, round,
leaden bullets, which are contained in
melted rosin. In rear of these bullets
is carried an explosive charge of black
powder The fuse of shrapnel operates
quite differently from that of other pro-
jectiles, as it is a time fuse. which may
be set by the gunner many seconds
from the time of discharge, and when it
operates it causes the bursting charge to
scatter the leaden bullets in many di-
rections over large area, the idea being
that this explosion will take place in the
air as near as possible to the objective,
usually men, horses. trenches, or aero
planes, thus doing great destruction.