146 
MINUTES OE PROCEEDINGS OF 
The sections of roof were as follows :— 
(a) Oak timbers, 9-ins. deep, covered with 3 ft. thickness of earth. 
(b) Fir n n a a n i, 
( c ) n a „ with 8-in. planks, „ „ 
(d) u ii ii ii 24-lb. rails, » n 
(e) 3-in. deals, with 1 thickness of 24-lb. rails, „ „ 
(f) n u 2 thicknesses » „ „ 
(g) 36-lb. rails, one end overlapping, with sleepers, u n 
{h) 72-lb. „ double-headed, u „ H 
Over part of the above, 3 ft. of additional earth was afterwards placed, 
making 6 ft. in all. 
Three attacking batteries—“A,” “B,” and “ C ”—were thrown up at 
distances, inland, from the target battery of 1793, 1713, and 1452 yds. res¬ 
pectively. The armament of each consisted of:— 
1 8-in. wrought-iron E. howitzer. 
1 64-pr. a E.M.L. gun. 
1 40-pr. a ii ii 
Tower No. 68 stands on a hill about a mile inland, being considerably 
larger than the towers along the beach, and having a moat around it. This 
hill served as a natural parapet for battery “ A ” ; while it necessitated laying 
the guns without seeing the object aimed at, and afforded an excellent oppor¬ 
tunity for the employment of curved fire. Battery “ B,” on the side of the hill, 
gave a direct plunging fire. Battery “ C ” was on the same level as thejarget 
battery, and gave direct fire. 
The following platforms were under trial, viz : — 
ft. ins. ins. ft. ins. ins. 
Common ground platforms, sleepers 18x9x9, planks 10 X 9 x 4| 
a n n n 18x9 X 9, n 10x9x3 
ii ,i n n 15 x 9 x 3, „ 9x9x3 
Clerk's platforms, service pattern, were also used. 
On 29th October thirteen preliminary rounds of plugged shell filled with 
shingle were fired from batteries “ B ” and “ C,” in order to obtain the correct 
range. That afternoon was very wet, and the slippery clay in which the plat¬ 
forms of “ B ” battery-were laid increased the natural “ liveliness ” of the 8 -in. 
E. howitzer, so that finally its carriage recoiled off the platform, and at the 
close of the firing was left embedded in the mud. 
The formal opening of the experiments took place on 30th October, in the 
presence of H.E.H. the Commander-in-Chief and a large number of officers. 
The following table may prove useful for reference:— 
Weight of 
gun. 
Charges 
fired. 
Weight of 
common 
shell. 
Bursting 
charge. 
Weight of 
Carriage. 
cwt. 
lbs. 
(mean) lbs. 
lbs. ozs. 
cwt. 
40-pr. R.M.L.......... 
38 
i 2 } 
40 
2 10 
30 
64-pr. n . 
64 
D (l 1 
1 8 1 
64 
6 14 
82 
8-in. R. howitzer ... 
46 
is 
1 5 
l 3iJ 
! 
f 180 
\ 150 
14 01 
16 0) 
42 and 34 
