436 REPORT— 1866. 



versely as the diameter, and that it requires 2642 tons of '' work " on impact to 

 send a steel shot of 9"-14 through the side of the ' Lord Warden ;' the penetra- 

 tion of a steel shot from the 15-inch gun will require a force represented by 

 the following proportion : — 



9-14 : 2642 : : 14-85 : x ; 



and .V = 4292 tons. It would therefore require a force of 4292 tons to send 

 a steel shot of 14-85 inches diameter through the ' Lord Warden.' 



A glance at the last Table shows that the 15-inch gun, if fired with a 50-lb. 

 charge, is unable to accompKsh this even at a range of 200 yards ; and it is 

 further very doubtful whether this gun, fired with 50 lbs. of powder, and a solid 

 steel shot of 484 lbs., would penetrate the side of the u'on-clad ship ' Lord 

 Warden,' even ivere the muzzle of the yim touching the armour plates of the 

 vessel. 



' It is needless to remark that the 11-inch gun would be much less 

 effective. 



These conclusions go to prove — 



1st. That the 7-inch M L gun of 134 cwt. rifled, fired with a solid elon- 

 gated steel shot of 100 lbs. and charge of 25 lbs., is not capable of piercing the 

 ' Lord Warden ' at any range. 



2nd. The same remark applies to the 100-pounder smooth-bore gun with a 

 spherical steel shot of 104 lbs. and 25 lbs. charge. 



3rd. The 9-22-uich rifled gun of 12 tons, fired with an elongated steel shot 

 of 221 lbs. and 44 lbs. charge, is capable of piercing the ' Lord Warden ' up to 

 a range of about 1000 yards. 



4th. That the same remark applies to the 10-5-inch gun of 12 tons, fired 

 with a solid elongated shot of 301 lbs. and charge of 45 lbs. 



5th. That the American smooth-bore guns of 15, 13, 11, and 9-inch calibre, 

 fired with solid spherical steel shot and their service charges, arc not capable 

 of piercing the ' Lord Warden' at any range whatever. 



6th. This vessel could steam 2)ast batteries armed with the above smooth- 

 bore guns without suffering except from " racking " efl'ect. 



The Bellerophon.- — ^Thc trial of this target was of such an undecided cha- 

 racter, and of such a comparatively mild form, that it is difficult to obtain 

 sufficient data upon which to base any comparison between this vessel and 

 other iron-clads. The most severe blow it encountered was from the 10-5-inc.h 

 rifled gun, with a spherical steel shot of 165 lbs. and charge of 35 lbs., the 

 strildug "work " being 2472 tons. This shot failed to penetrate the target; 

 but we have no evidence to prove that the 10-5-inch gun would not have 

 penetrated with a charge of 50 lbs., and striking "work" of 2898 tons. 

 The ' Bellerophon ' is undoubtedly of a stronger construction than the 

 ' Warrior ' or ' Minotaur ' class ; but there is no direct evidence to prove that 

 it is as strong or stronger than the ' Lord Warden.' 



We have seen that 75-4 foot-tons per inch of shot's circumference has 

 failed to penetrate the ' Bellerophon ;' but it appears that this force is quite 

 sufficient to penetrate this target when the plates are 5-5 inches thick instead 

 of 6 inches (rounds 949 to 952). We have no evidence, however, whether 

 75 foot-tons per inch may not be too much for a ' Bellerophon ' with 5-5- 

 inch plates. If we assume that this force is only sufficient for the pene- 

 tration of 5-5-inch plates on a backing and skin similar to the ' Bellerophon,' 

 the latter with 6-inch plates would require a force of 89-6 foot-tons per 

 inch, which is about what is required by the ' Lord Warden.' 



