194 
SHRAPNEL FIRE. 
has already been shown) these former alone are no criterion of good or 
bad shooting. 
Nor are the long ranges from p. 72 to 80 of the Okehampton Report 
taken into consideration, because (1), the time fuzes were entirely 
experimental; (2), because the form of the targets (large, 9 ft. x 9 ft., 
placed close together) was unpractical, and gave an immense advantage 
to percussion fuzes, which in many cases burst through one of them, and 
thus imitated the action of time fuzes on those immediately in rear; 
(8), because strikes are taken into consideration in estimating troopers 
disabled. For instance (p. 75), 1st Squadron, rear rank, through 1, 
struck 12, disabled 6. It is hardly possible that a bullet which would 
only make a graze on soft deal could disable anyone. 
(2) The amount of ground covered in the direction of the range by 
time shrapnel has already been shown (p. 183). It may be as well to draw 
attention a little more closely to Figs. I. to V., where the trajectories 
of time shrapnel at 1000, 2000, and 2500 yds. are given in detail. 
The following table will show with what angle the lowest and highest 
bullets of the cone start, and their remaining velocity on reaching the 
ground; the height above plane is also shown. From it may be 
gathered whether the ground is actually covered by effective fire. 
Range. 
Burst. 
Lowest bullet. 
Highest bullet. 
Ground 
covered. 
Distance. 
Height. 
Angle of 
ascent. 
R. V. 
Angle of 
ascent or 
descent. 
R. V. 
yds. 
yds. 
ft. 
O / 
f.s. 
o / 
f.s, 
yds. 
1000 . 
100 
10 
5 50 
930 
2 10 asc. 
410 
349 
2000 . 
180 
32 
14 32 
770 
1 0 desc. 
550 
171 
// ...... 
80 
25 
n 
786 
n 
580 
155 
2500 . 
100 
43 
17 20 
730 
3 5 
556 
136 
. 
60 
25 
n 
760 
n 
650 
95 
It will be seen that the only bullet which started with elevation 
(the highest of the cone at 1000 yds.), although its initial velocity was 
the highest, lost a larger portion than any of the others, and at 
the end of its trajectory had the lowest velocity of all—only 440 f.s. 
remaining, one hardly sufficient for effect. From this it might fairly be 
urged that any bullet of a percussion shell starting with the impaired 
velocity of a shell after graze, and with an elevation of 2° 50', would 
have so little momentum before it reached the ground as to be to all 
intents and purposes harmless. Taking, however, into consideration 
the fact that with objects 6 ft. in height the bullets would have become 
effective before they actually reached the ground, it may be asserted that 
5° is the highest angle of elevation at which a bullet, even at short 
ranges, would retain sufficient striking velocity. With percussion shell, 
consequently, unless they are burst sufficiently near for the bullets to 
j 
r 
