REPORT 
OP 
ORDNANCE SELECT COMMITTEE. 
No. 1484, March 7, 1861. 
MANTLETS FOE THE PEOTECTION OE AETILLEEYMEN FEOM 
AN ENEMY’S EIFLEMEN. 
Colonel St Georg-e, C.B., E.A. 
Captain Sie W. Wiseman, Bart., R.N. 
Colonel Robinson, R.E. 
Colonel Greathed, C.B., H.P. Unatt. 
Lieut.-Col. F. Campbell, R.A. 
Colonel Leproy, R.A., Secretary. 
■^Communicated by direction of the Secretary of State for War]. 
1. In reference to the subject of tlie best form of mantlet to be applied 
to embrasures for the protection of gunners from the enemy's riflemen, 
which was referred for the consideration and report of the Ordnance Select 
Committee by Lord Herbert in August 1859, and reported upon 12th May 
1860. The Committee have now the honour to report, that although their 
attention has been very frequently directed to the question since May 1860, 
and various forms of mantlets have been submitted to them for trial or 
consideration, they are not yet in a position to recommend any one 
construction for general adoption. 
2. The Committee referred in their former Eeport, No. 800, to the 
records of previous inquiries into this subject, shewing that many varieties of 
mantlet have been under consideration, none of which were found at the time 
to meet the requirements of the service; and numerous experiments have 
been made at Woolwich and Chatham, but more particularly at the latter place, 
to test the resistance of different constructions. The early inquiries, 
however, are now of little value; for the whole question has assumed a 
different aspect since the universal introduction of rifled small arms, whose 
penetration, as compared with that of the smooth-bored weapon in use 
previous to 1851, is as 10‘6 to 7‘5 at 30 yards; and at greater distances is 
in a much higher proportion. And this great penetrative power is not the 
only difficulty: it is perfectly possible to make a mantlet not inconvenient 
for use, which can keep out rifle musket bullets at 25 yards; unfortunately: 
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