170 
ARMOUR AND ITS ATTACK BY ORDNANCE. 
might be misleading. If the matter be dealt with in detail, however, 
it will be found that the line is not altogether clear between armoured 
and unarmoured parts. Thinner plates are used to protect gun posi¬ 
tions and conning towers, and steel traverses and protective decks are 
largely employed in the later designs, and similarly the line is not so 
clearly drawn between armour-piercing and common shell as formerly. 
The armour-piercing steel common shells , whose trials have been briefly 
dealt with already, constitute an intermediate projectile whose scope of 
application is generally indicated by the fact that it will carry an 
explosive through ordinary steel or steel-faced armour one calibre 
thick. 
Beit attack. "Primary,” or, as it is now called, "belt attack” may bring about 
the total ruin, or even immediate destruction of a ship by fundamental 
injury to her boilers, engines, magazines, or floating power, but such 
injuries are only possible when projectiles perforate the belt easily with 
spare energy left in them. The cellular system is now so general that 
it may be safely laid down that belt attack can only be attempted with 
advantage when an enemy’s belt may be certainly and repeatedly per¬ 
forated, and this will generally be confined to cases when she draws up 
opposite to a fort or, at all events, moves slowly. 
jpiates with The complete defeat of the best forged steel projectiles by plates 
w }aces. with faces hardened by Tresidder and Harvey’s processes has introduced 
an element of uncertainty, and the great effect of excellence of material 
can scarcely be better illustrated than by the fact that the same Holtzer 
forg’ed steel projectile which perforates 17 inches of wrought-iron 
without suffering deformation may be broken up almost like glass 
against the specially hardened steel face of a 10-inch or even a 6-inch 
plate. 
It is beyond the scope of the purpose in hand to attempt to deal 
further with the question of common shell fire than to offer a few 
remarks for consideration. 
Latterly the proportion of common shell issued to both ships and 
forts has been increased, as might be expected, for the reasons above- 
mentioned ; it is, however, thought by some that heavier guns should 
have a larger proportion of armour-piercing projectiles than lighter 
ones. 1 It is seldom that a common shell can be driven into the vital 
parts of an armour-clad ship, so that unless the belt attack be given 
up armour-piercing shot must generally be used. Shell attack may 
very well be taken as the main work to be done under all circumstances 
by lighter guns, but hardly by really powerful armour-piercers. These 
latter may fire common shells at distant, or rapidly moving, or un¬ 
recognised ships when nothing further than " firing into the brown ” 
can be attempted, but it appears reasonable that such guns should 
have the projectiles for which they may almost be said to be specially 
made in larger proportion than pieces, such as the 6-inch, which can 
seldom fire at armour with advantage. 
The significance of the experiment of firing armour-piercing steel 
common and other common shells through very thin plates (f-inch 
1 Lieutenant Honner has urged this. 
