New-York tribune., 1917-05-23

was able this morning 70 bring into inc
Mongolia story the belated and hitherto
suppressed news of what had happened
on the other liners.N
Mr.. Daniels declared the Ordnance
Bureaus experts were going into inc
case thoroughly. Every shell on the
Mongolia. he said. had been removed
from the ship after her arrival IN port
having turned back from 200 miles at
sea. An examination Of the gun, ne
asserted, showed there was no defect
in IL. and those making the preliminary
examination stated that the breech lock
was not open when the she'll was fired.
The brass cap, Mr.. Daniels explained,
is put on shells TO keep out the moist
ure. and il is possible, he said, to sub
stitute cardboard for the brass. The
she'll. he emphasized. did not burst,
but the brass cap, in some ineXplicable
way, and for the first time during SIX
teen years of its use. had flown back
with fatal effect. The Secretary indicat-
ed that the brass would be discarded
for use in Gaping shells hereafter. and
that the Ordnance Bureau would decide
what substitute should be used.
Admiral Earle's Report.
Following is the report of Admiral
Earle:
"The first American liner to he armed
was the steamship Manchuria, on March
10. 1917. The arming If 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 was
assembled according to standard meth
DDS. in December, 1916. The usual
thorough tests of all this ammunition
were made at the naval proving
grounds, and all tests resulted in per-
feet performances.
"The armed liner St. Louis, on her
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 accord
ance with the instructions of the bu-
reau. in order TO test the mounts, guns
and ammunition and to train the guns
crews. Several shells burst prema-
turely. some inside the bore of the
guns, others before striking the target.
The damage 10 the bore of the guns
caused thereby was sufficient to neces-
state their being refined.
Upon her return 10 New York the
guns and shells were Immediately re-
moved, and new guns, with a new sup
ply of shells, issued to the ship. Later
on one other shell exploded prema-
turely. as well as one of the same cal
ibre on both the Mongolia and the St
Paul. In none of these cases was the
gun damaged beyond remedy by relln-
ing. which refining has been done.
The development of modern ord
nance has been extremely rapid, and
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 absolutely
prevented.
Tests Made at Proving Ground
ut is necessary in all work on eX-
plosives to draw deductions from the
actual tests made at the proving
ground. However. 1t must be borne in
mind that material used as an explosive
is designed to spend all OF its force IN
an instant space of time, and cannot be
relied upon with absolute certainty TO
example of this is well shown by the
subsequent action of the supposedly de-
fective ammunition taken from the
steamships ST. Louis and Mongolia.
Eighty-nine rounds of this ammunition
were fired at the proving ground, i'm
mediately following the premature
bursts. in an effort to develop reason
for such incidents.
These rounds were fired, nearly all,
at higher chamber pressures than were
the service rounds fired on board these
vessels. In eighty-seven rounds both
the shell and the fuses functioned per-
fectly. One shell broke up, investiga-
tion showing that it had been made
prior TO 1900. but had been accepted as
a suitable six-inch shell. and the second
one was a shell that had been examined
prior to firing and found to have been
a little thinner walled than the latest
design in use. =
"The conclusion reached is that all
six-inch shells and fuses manufactured
since the year 1900 are satisfactory and
that the premature bursts so unfortu-
nately occurring on our armed liners
may be attributed TO shells made prior
TO 1900, and made, possibly, with
slightly thinner walls than the latest
type of shells