54 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



what, had it been the Warrier, would have been her main deck, and 

 therefore right in the midst of her crew. 



Than this experiment nothing could possibly have been more con- 

 clusive. Not only was the armor-plate pierced, but the piece opposed 

 to the actual stroke of the flat-headed shell was driven through teak 

 and inner lining, and, in truth, became another shot of some SOlbs. 

 weight. In fact, this last shell might have destroyed the whole of 

 one side of the target had the shell been only capable of containing 

 an adequate bursting charge, say 10 or 12lbs. of powder. 



With these trials the record of English experimentation terminates, 

 to be, no doubt, renewed again with some much thicker and stouter 

 kind of target, which in its turn may perhaps gain a short-lived vic- 

 tory over the guns. Thus, from week to week, public opinion, and 

 even the opinion of our scientific authorities, is kept vacillating be- 

 tween the comparative merits of the resistance of plate and the pen- 

 etration of shot. 



In commenting on the results attained to in England, the London 

 Times says : " They prove with certainty that, no matter what may 

 be the thickness of the plates which iron-clad frigates can carry con- 

 sistently with their safety as seagoing vessels, artillery can always be 

 made to pierce them. Heavy shot and high velocity, in other words, 

 heavy shot and heavy charges of powder, will smash through even 

 6-inch plates like glass, while we have yet to learn whether even 

 5-inch plates can be used on ships with safety to their sea-worthiness. 

 As regards the ordnance to be used against iron-plating, all trials 

 point to one conclusion, which is that the old smooth-bore gun has a 

 more destructive effect on armor-plates than any rifled cannon, and 

 that of all conspicuous rifled cannon Sir William Armstrong's is one 

 of the least effective against these targets. The difference in the 

 destructive effect of smooth-bore over rifled projectiles is exactly the 

 difference between their initial velocity, or, in plain terms, the speed 

 at which they travel after leaving the gun. With smooth-bores it is 

 at the rate of some 1,700 feet per second, with rifled shot about 1,150 

 feet; and, as each of these projectiles has to be stopped dead in the 

 fraction of a second by the iron target, it naturally follows that the 

 one which is travelling fastest does the most mischief. If the trial, 

 however, were made at ranges of 2,000 or 2,500 yards, the result, 

 would be precisely reversed, as the target at that distance would still 

 find the rifled shot travelling its 1,150 feet per second, while that 

 from the smooth-bore would have fallen off to 400 feet per second, or 

 even less." 



At the meeting of the British Association, 1862, Mr. W. Fairbairn 

 (who was one of the government committee appointed to supervise 

 the experiments above recorded) gave it as his opinion " that the vic- 

 tory thus far was with the guns, rather than the ships, and, indeed, 

 that it would be difficult to construct ships with sufficient power to 

 prevent their destruction by shells." To which the London Times 

 replies as follows : " Mr. Fairbairn's opinion is undoubtedly the 

 general opinion, but practically it is incorrect. It is quite true that 

 tjie recent experiments with large guns and heavy charges of powder 

 have given a general or speculative kind of superiority to the attack 

 over the defence, and it should also be acknowledged that by Mr. 



