THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION, 
95 
per second, failed, under the most favourable conditions, to penetrate the 
target completely, it is quite clear that at 1000 yds. range when the velocity 
is reduced to about 1160 ft., and when the shot would, in the majority of 
cases, strike the side of the ship obliquely, the 150 lbs. shot would fail to 
penetrate or to do any material damage. 
.S 
<x> 
© © 
Range. 
O 
5 +5 
bflO 
V 
Charge. 
Approximat 
velocity. 
Approximal 
loss of 
velocity. 
Approximat 
momentum. 
Approximat 
“ stored-up 
work,” or on 
halfwis viva 
lbs. 
lbs. 
At muzzle. 
150 
( 50 
(40 
1,766-4* 
1,726-4* 
265,000 
259,000 
7,313,000 
6,993,000 
200 yds. 
f 50 
1,621 
145 
243,000 
6,159.000 
loU 
|40 
1,585 
141 
238,000 
5,889,000 
1000 yds ... 
150 
f 50 
1,166 
600 
175,000 
3,186,000 
(40 
1,141 
585 
171,000 
3,053,000 
2000 yds ... 
150 
C 50 
140 
800 
786 
966 
940 
120,000 
118,000 
1,502,000 
1,446,000 
There are some persons, I am aware, who take it for granted that guns 
sufficiently powerful to destroy ships of war at 2000 yds. can be readily 
made and advantageously employed in land batteries. 
This, however, is a mere assumption, and considering all the circumstances 
of the case, it would appear to be a most unusual and unwise mode of pro¬ 
ceeding to incur an enormous expense in providing batteries for these 
imaginary guns. When these sanguine expectations have been fully realised, 
it will surely then be time to consider in what positions these extraordinary 
guns can be most advantageously placed. 
It will be interesting perhaps to notice, while upon this part of the subject, 
what probable effect the experimental gun lately tried with the 150 lbs. shot 
will have at ranges of 2000 and 1000 yds., when the contemplated change 
has been effected of making it into a 300-pr. rifle gun.f If we assume 
that the 300 lbs. shot can be safely fired with a sufficient charge to produce 
an initial*velocity of 1300 ft. per second at a range of 1000 yds., the remain¬ 
ing velocity will be about 1050 ft. per second, taking the most favourable 
view of the case with respect to the resistance of the air. Now with this 
velocity the “ stored-up work,” or half “ vis viva ” in the shot will be repre¬ 
sented by the number 5,201,000, and as the “ stored-up work ” in the 150 lbs. 
shot which failed to penetrate was about equal to 5,889,000 it is clear that 
the 300 lbs. rifle shot, even if fired under conditions such as to cause an 
enormous strain upon the gun, will fail to penetrate at the shortest range 
* Initial velocities, as obtained by O. S. Committee, with Navez’s apparatus, 
t Tbe momentum of the 300 lbs. shot, having an initial velocity of 1300 ft. per second, will be 
390,000; the momentum of the 150 lbs. shot when fired with a charge of 50 lbs. was about 265,000; 
and, as momentum may be taken as a standard of comparison, in relation to recoil and strain, when 
firing different weights of shot, it is clear that the strain on the gun, when fired under conditions 
to give a momentum of 390,000 with a 300 lbs. shot, would be enormous. 
