184 
SHRAPNEL EIRE. 
front line—none were burst within 20yds. short; none over. Their 
heights above plane were those due to the elevation for the first line— 
viz., 1000 yds. The result was 71 dummies disabled in the first line, 
24 in the second. In other words, notwithstanding the shells having 
been burst low for the second line, the number disabled in it show 
that a distance of 268 yds.* had been covered with an effective fire; 
and as many of them had been hit high up, a still longer range was 
evidently attained by some of the bullets. 
The peculiar form of the plans in Figs. VI. and VII. will show—• 
(1) That where the object has depth, the fire cannot be too direct. 
(2) That where the object has width and little depth, the more 
oblique the angle of fire is to the front, the greater is the area affected. 
(3) That time shrapnel is peculiarly adapted to objects moving 
towards or from the battery. If in the first case the fuzes are bored 
rather short, in the second rather long, the amount of ground covered 
will compensate for very considerable errors due to incorrect esti¬ 
mation of range or movement of object. 
4. It has already been advanced that the fall of the centre of the 
cone of dispersion below what would have been the trajectory of the 
shell had it not burst, is comparatively small. From the plans of the 
ground covered by fire in the previous paragraph, it will be seen that 
at the point where the centre line of the cone cuts the ground line is 
the greatest spread of direct hits by those bullets which have not 
ricochetted. It would appear, therefore, that to obtain the greatest 
effect on a vertical target, the gun should be laid with an elevation 
giving a striking point just above the centre. Is this the fact in 
practice ? 
In the Shoeburyness Report, Table I., already referred to, taking the 
series at 800 yds. range, burst 50 yds. short, the best shell is one burst 
9 ft. above plane; if we take the whole number of hits, the next best 
is 6J ft. above, and the worst 5 J ft. In Fig. I. the height of the 
trajectory shown at 50 yds. from the target is 9'56ft., and it is to this 
height that the best shell has most nearly approached. Where the 
differences of height above plane are so small as they were in general 
throughout this practice, the amounts by which the effect of these 
differences will be shown must be small; indeed a certain amount of 
luck in a shell will even at times have the effect of making the wrong 
height appear the best, especially when the conditions are so favour¬ 
able to shells bursting low as they were in the. instance under 
consideration, when, the ground being exceedingly hard and smooth, 
the ricochet was consequently very effective. The record of the 50 yds. 
short at 1500 yds. will, however, show very clearly the loss occasioned 
by bursting the shell too low. 
Since this practice seems to confirm the conclusions drawn above, the 
58 yds. in front (see table), and 210 yds, distance between targets. 
