THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
157 
siege guns. Of course, no thickness of parapet would preserve the defenders 
and their guns from the destructive effect of such a travelling mine as a 
howitzer shell containing 14 or 16 lbs. of powder, dropped into a gun- 
portion by plunging or curved fire; but the difficulty is to place it there. 
The tables show how uncertain was the fire, even at the comparatively low 
angles at which the 8-in. E. howitzer was fired at Eastbourne, when the 
piece was laid with the greatest care and skill, and the ranges accurately 
measured by chain. It is a question whether it may not be possible to trace 
and to eliminate some of the causes of this uncertainty, which is the more 
surprising as the howitzer appears to have made very good practice at 
Shoeburyness. 
The sketches of sections through craters show pretty clearly the power of 
the shells. The deepest craters were made, as would be expected, by the 8-in. 
howitzer—the maximum depth being 4 ft.—and the effects of the 150-lb. 
shells, with 16-lb. bursters, would seem slightly greater than those of the 
180-lb. shell, containing 14 lbs. of powder; but it is possible that the effect 
of the extra bursting charge is, to a certain extent, neutralised by the shell 
having, from its diminished weight, less penetrative power. In estimating 
the total effect upon the target battery, it must be remembered, not only 
that the battery was repaired during the experiments, but that only 275 live 
shell in all were fired against it—including the 40-pr. shells, and the 32 
rounds of shrapnel fired on 4th November. It is to be doubted whether this 
number of rounds was sufficient to give very decisive results. Neither of 
the magazines constructed in the battery were reached, and the splinter- 
proof—placed some little distance in rear—was not directly fired at after the 
first day, when section g was broken through by round 25; but 3 ft. of 
additional earth having been added, the subsequent rounds which struck the 
bomb-proof failed to do any damage inside. It would probably have been 
more severely tested had it been closer to the battery. The cut into the 
interior crest was neatly executed in 23 rounds, but the gun and carriage 
were quite uninjured, and it does not appear that any harm was done to the 
detachment; a few more rounds, however, at the same spot would probably 
have told a different tale. 
These trials certainly give additional testimony to the value of the screen, 
even when the distances are accurately known. The embrasures do not seem 
to have suffered very seriously; as, although both were closed once or twice, 
they could easily have been re-opened. 
As regards the difficult question of fuzes, it must be remarked that out of 
50 rounds of 64-pr. common shell fired on 26th November 8 were blind; 
showing on that day 16 per cent, of failures for the E.L. percussion fuze, 
besides one shell which burst in the bore. The trial of the time fuzes as 
percussion was satisfactory, so far as it went; only one out of the 13 rounds 
so fired was blind, and those which fairly hit-the battery proved very 
destructive. It appears probable that time fuzes, bored rather long, would 
enable the shell to penetrate further into earth before bursting than fuzes 
which act instantaneously, and would therefore produce larger craters; but a 
more extended trial would be needed to settle the point. 
The recoil of the 8-in. E. howitzer is certainly very considerable, and 
requires some effective control. This can doubtless be supplied by the use of 
the German wood wedges tried at Eastbourne. It is evident that a perfectly 
