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MINUTES OE PROCEEDINGS OP 
operations are being carried on—the number of shot striking the ships would 
be very small indeed, as compared with the number fired; for, however per¬ 
fect a gun may be in respect to accuracy of shooting, it would rarely be fired 
under the necessary conditions of “ elevation ; ' to strike a moving object, 
such as a mortar vessel or gun boat, at a range of 2000 yds.,—and even if we 
assume, for the sake of argument, that the shot which strike will penetrate, 
the enemy would, I believe, be able as a rule to effect their object before 
being obliged to discontinue their fire. For, unless some vital part sustains 
serious injury, there is every reason to believe, as we know would be the case 
with a wooden ship, that the iron-clad vessel might continue its offensive 
operations after it had been repeatedly struck by our shot. 
Secondly, as to the effect likely to be produced on the iron-clad vessel by 
the artillery from the forts. 
This is a matter about which little doubt need be entertained, in fact, it is 
one which will almost admit of exact demonstration. In considering this 
part of the subject we may, of course, leave out of account the present guns 
of the service; for as they have failed to penetrate a target similar in con¬ 
struction to the sides of Her Majesty's Ship Warrior even when fired at 
200 yds. range, and when placed under the most favourable conditions as 
regards the inclination of the face of the target to the trajectory of the shot, 
they would certainly do no material damage at 2000 yds., or even at the 
shortest range of 1000 yds.* 
An experimental gun has, however, been constructed sufficiently powerful 
to penetrate this target at a range of 200 yds., namely, a wrought-iron gun 
made on the new principle of construction and fired with a spherical cast- 
iron shot, weighing 150 lbs. 
This being an accomplished fact, and as there is little reason to doubt that 
safe guns of this description can be supplied to our fortresses and ships, and 
that they can be conveniently worked, if suitable arrangements are provided, 
■we may fairly assume that the forts in question will be armed with ordnance 
equally powerful. It only remains, therefore, to be determined whether the 
projectile from this gun would penetrate the sides of the enemy's ship at a 
range of from 1000 to 2000 yds. 
Although the present state of the science of gunnery will not admit of an 
absolute solution of the problem as to the loss of velocity sustained by a 
projectile in passing through a given distance, still we have a sufficient know¬ 
ledge of the subject to enable us to determine the point in question, namely, 
whether the shot will have sufficient power to penetrate. 
The following table will shew, near enough for practical purposes, the loss 
of velocity due to the resistance of the air upon the 150 lbs. spherical shot 
fired with 40 lbs. and 50 lbs. of powder while passing through spaces cor¬ 
responding to ranges of 200 yds. 1000 yds. and 2000 yds.—from which it 
appears that the striking velocity at the shortest range namely 1000 yds. 
would be about 1160 ft. per second. Now as the 150 lbs. shot, when fired 
with a charge of 40 lbs. of powder and striking with a velocity of about 1580 ft. 
* When this was written it was believed that the target had been penetrated by the 150-pr.; 
it has since been found that the shot from the 150-pr. did not completely penetrate the target, 
there is no doubt however that this gun is sufficiently powerful to accomplish this at a range not 
exceeding 200 yds. 
