SHRAPNEL EIRE. 
181 
average of *64 bullets; all cannot have been bit. The practice Report 
gives an average of 19 casualties out of tbe 36 men in the area. 
At 200 yds. burst 
Area = 504 sq. ft. 
Men = 48. 
Direct hits = 12. 
Throughs = 4i. 
Lodges = 9. 
Balance of lodges and throughs due to ricochet = ly. 
Lower portion of cone ricochetting —- - — = 62. 
J‘f, or Ar part of the cone, is effective. 
The hits per man are 4 28, and only a small number are disabled ; 
the average is 10. 
It may be remarked of the practice from which these results are 
taken, that the height of burst above plane is often considerably below 
what the path of the shell should have been had the centre of the 
target been aimed at, and this more in the longer than in the shorter 
bursts. The results are therefore not altogether trustworthy, 
especially in regard to the amount of ricochet. 
The effects produced by different lengths of burst may be tabulated 
as follows. (Range, 800 yds.) :— 
Burst short. 
Direct hits. 
Ricochet. 
Proportion of bullets Men disabled. 
effective on ricochet. 
50 yds. 
. 54 . 
.... 24 . 
1 
22 
100 „ .... 
. 25 .. .. 
.... 15 . 
JL 
. 25 
150 i, .... 
. 14 . 
9 . 
. -L . 
. 17*4 
200 i, .... 
. 12 ..... 
2 . 
. 10 
At 1500 yds. range only two lengths of burst were tried—viz., 
50 yds. and 150 yds. 
At the 50 yds. burst the result cannot be satisfactory; for notwith¬ 
standing the larger angle of descent due to the increased range, the 
heights above plane are even smaller than at 800 yds. range. The 
only rounds at all near the truth are the two last. Taking the 
averages from these two— 
As before, Area = 126 sq. ft. 
Men =12. 
Direct hits = 54. 
Throughs = 63. 
„ clue to ricochet 
Lodges H n 
As before, Lower half of cone = 41. 
•jy, or f, are effective on ricochet. 
Average of bullets per man = 6 nearly. Men disabled, 20. 
23 
