626 



EUSSIAN OKDNANCE. 



The principal damage done to the shield 

 during this gunnery trial was as follows : The 

 first shot fired with a battering charge of 91.5 

 Ib. of prismatic powder struck the lower 9- 

 inch plate in about the middle of it, near the 

 upper edge, went through the whole target, 

 and continued its flight into the plain. The hole 

 produced in the plate was of an oval form, 

 having a horizontal diameter of 11 inches, and 

 a vertical diameter of 13 inches. By this shot 

 a bolt was broken, carrying away a stay from 

 the backing. The projectile, which was picked 

 up after the firing, proved to be quite whole ; 

 the lead jacket was stripped off; the length of 

 the shot was lessened by $ inch ; but, in other 

 respects, its dimensions had apparently re- 

 mained unaltered. At the second round, which 

 was fired with a charge of 85.5 Ib. prismatic 

 powder, the projectile did not strike the shield 

 direct, but grazed 16.3 feet before it, hitting a 

 plate lying on the ground, and then struck 

 with its side against the lower 9-inch plate of 

 the shield. The indentation produced was 

 about 2 feet long, up to 1 foot broad, and up 

 to 4| inches deep. The plate was buckled in- 

 ward 2 inches, and showed cracks on the 

 bottom edge of the hole made by the first 

 shot. The projectile broke in pieces. 



At the third round, which was fired with 85.5 

 Ib. prismatic powder, the projectile struck the 

 joint between the two lower plates, pierced the 

 whole shield, grazing 58 feet 3 inches behind, 

 and then continued its flight. The dimensions 

 of the hole made by this shot were almost the 

 same as in the case of the first. By this shot, 

 a bolt was also broken and a stay carried 

 away; the shot, which was picked up after 

 the trial, proved to be broken into two equal 

 parts, about perpendicular to its' axis. 



At the fourth round, which was fired with 

 a charge of 72 Ib. prismatic powder, the shot 

 struck the upper 6-inch plate near the lower 

 edge, grazing the top edge of the middle plate, 

 and went right through the shield. The oval 

 hole made by this shot was of somewhat 

 larger dimensions than the previous ones, the 

 horizontal diameter being about 13.5 in., and 

 the vertical 11.9 inches. 



Of broken bolts there were three two in 

 the top plate and one in the middle plate ; in 

 addition, a stay was separated from the back- 

 ing. The shot, which was picked up after the 

 firing, proved to be quite whole; the lead 

 jacket was stripped off; its length was dimin- 

 ished by almost -$ inch, otherwise its dimen- 

 sions had apparently remained unchanged. 



At the fifth round, which was fired with a 

 charge of 72 Ib. prismatic powder, the shot 

 struck the middle 9-inch plate near the lower 

 edge, penetrated so far into the target that the 

 surface of the end of the shot was level with 

 the front surface of the plate, and there re- 

 mained. In doing this the head of the shot 

 went through the plates the whole thickness of 

 the teak backing, the two 1-inch plates, behind 

 the teak timbers, and about 4 inches into the 



upright oak balks. The other damage visible 

 afte^r this shot consisted in injury to the stay, 

 which was in the neighborhood of the point 

 of impact, and in carrying away some rivets. 

 The shot remained apparently whole. After 

 the termination of the trial, the whole shield 

 had been driven back 6 inches, almost parallel 

 to its original position. 



This gunnery-trial, in which the plates of 

 the shield had proved to be very good, showed 

 that our 11-inch gun, of the new construction, 

 when fired with good steel projectiles with a 

 thin lead jacket, is capable of doing the fol- 

 lowing damage to armor-plated walls of the 

 strength of the broadside of the British ship 

 Hercules. 



1. At a distance of abouj 842 yards this 

 shield, both with 6-inch and' 9-inch plates of 

 good quality, is pierced with a considerable 

 surplus of power. 



2. At a distance of about 1,166 yards this 

 shield is also pierced, although with but a 

 small surplus of power. 



3. At a distance of about 1,983 yards a 

 shield of the strength described, with 6-inch 

 plates, is pierced. 



4. At the same distance, when fired against 

 the shield protected by 9-inch plates, the shot 

 pierces the plate, and sticks fast in the back- 

 ing, after it has penetrated its whole length. 

 From the results of this experiment, it may be 

 concluded that the 11-inch rifled cast-steel 

 breech-loading gun of the new make, provided 

 with good steel projectiles, is considerably 

 superior in execution to the English 12 and 13 

 inch (600-pounder) wrought-iron rifled 25-ton 

 muzzle-loading guns; and that it is a very 

 efficient gun against fleets with armor plating 

 of considerable thickness, not only at short 

 and medium, but even at greater distances. 



If we consider that, as shown by the ex- 

 periment made, when fired against the Her- 

 cules's shield, at a distance of about 1,983 yards, 

 the projectiles of the 11-inch gun penetrated 

 their whole length, and, at a shorter distance 

 of about 1,166 yards, go through the whole 

 shield, and avail ourselves of the formulas 

 derived from the results of the gunnery ex- 

 periments of the English, Prussian, and other 

 artilleries, against armor-plates with backing, 

 we gather that the distance of 1,399 yards may 

 be regarded as the limit at which our 11 -inch 

 guns, of new make, may produce very de- 

 structive effects when fired against ships whose 

 broadsides are of the strength of the Hercules, 

 and are covered with 9-inch plates. 



Although at this distance we cannot reckon 

 upon every .shot fired piercing the broadside 

 described, still it is beyond a doubt that they 

 would stick fast in the wood backing, after 

 having gone through the 9-inch plate, and there 

 produce the full effect of their bursting charge. 

 At a distance of about 1,282 yards all good 11- 

 inch steel projectiles must pierce a shield of the 

 strength of the Hercules broadside, protected 

 by wrought-iron plates of the best quality-. 



J 



