The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-05-23
SHELLS OF VINTAGE OF
1900 CAUSED TROUBLE
Were Unit For Uses to which They
Have Been Put, Ordnance Chief
Reports.

Washington. May 22.-Rumors that
defective ammunition had been sup
piled to the navy resulting the death
of two Red Cross nurses aboard the
armed liner Mongolia on Sunday and
causing serious gun accidents on the
liner st. Louis and St. Paul were ex-
planned away today in an official re-
port by Rear Admiral Earle, chief of
ordnance.
The report based on findings in the
st. Paul and st. Louis submitted TO
Secretary of the Navy Daniels blames
those accidents on the facts that the
shells were discovered to be of a type
unsuita BILE for the use to which they
were put. They were old shells-man-
ufactured in the Spanish war days of
'sS and did work effectively in the
new> guns which were mounted upon
the vessels. The conclusion reached
among ordance experts was that shells
manufactured in 1900 or since should
not be used.
THE first American liner to be
armed" says Admiral Earle's report
was the S. S. Manchuria, on March
10, 1917. The arminS of other large
liners followed Immediately. The guns
used were of the best type known at
the present date and were nearly all
absolutely new. having fired but the
rounds necessary to test them for
strength before permitting them to be
used with service charges.
The ammunition for these guns were
assembled according to standard meth
DDS in December. 1916, The usual
thorough test of all this ammunition
we're made at the naval proving
-
feet performances
Fired ON First Trip.
The armed liner st. Louis on the
first trip to Liverpool. where she ar
rived about March 26. 1917. fired forty
FIVE service shells at an iceberg for
a target. This firing was held in &C
cordance with the instructions of the
bureau in order to test the mounts.
guns, ammunition and to train the
gun crews. Several shells burst pre-
maturely. some inside the bore of the
guns. others before striking the tarket
The damage TO the bore of the guns
caused thereby was sufficient to neces-
state their being refined.
Later on one other shell exploded
prematurely as we'll as one OF the same
calibre on both the Mongolia and the
ST. Paul. In none Of these cases was
the gun damaged beyond remedy by
refining which refining has been done
The development of modern ord
nance has been extremely RAPID ana
the comparative freedom of our navy
from serious accidents in connection
herewith has been source of salts
faction to the service, but mishaps
with ordnance material cannot be abb
/ solutely prevented
1T is necessary on ali work in ex-
plosives to draw deductions from the
actual tests made at the proving
grounds. However. 1t must he borne
in mind that material used az an ex-
plosive Is designed TO spend all Of it's
force in an instant space Of time and
cannot be relied upon with absolute
certainty to give the same result IN
/ all cases. An example Of this is we'll
shown by the subsequent action of the
| supposedly defective ammunition on
the ST Louis and Mongolia. Eighty
nine rounds of this ammunition were
fred at the proving ground immediate
! " following the pemature bursts In an
effort to develop reason for such in
cidents. These were fred all at higher
chamber pressure than service rounds
fred aboard these vessels. In eighty
seven rounds both the shell and the
! fuses functioned perfectly
4 One shell broken up. showing that
+! It had been made prior to 1909, hut
had been accepted as a suitable SIX
I inch shell and the second one was
shell that had been examined prior 10
/ firing and found to have been littls
/ thinner allied than the latest design
use
( The conclusion reached Is that all
six-inch shells aad fuses manufactured
j since are satisfactory and premature
/ bursts SO unfortunately occurring on
our armed liners. may he attributed
/ to shells made prior TO 1900 and made
probably with slightly thinner walls
/ than. the latest type OF shells.
! con the return of the st. Louis from
her first trip about April ?. 1917 all
such shells were removed and no such
shells are now afoat on armed liners
i This procedure was also adopted AT
! once in the case OF all siN-inch am-
munition for vessels OF the navy,
Prior TO this happening the bureau
of ordnance had every reason to eX-
I meet that every shell in its magazine
I Of six-inch calitre vas satisfactory
she'll"