Nature of ordnance. 
174 
MINUTES OP PROCEEDINGS OP 
THE FOLLOWING EXPERIMENT WAS CARRIED ON AT SHOEBURYNESS, ON 
THE 13th NOVEMBER, 1862, WITH WHITWORTH PROJECTILES, FIRED 
PROM THE SAME GUNS AS THOSE USED DURING THE EXPERIMENTS 
OP THE 16th AND 25th SEPTEMBER, 1862. 
[CONTKIBUTED BY CAPTAIN E. J. BBIJCE, E.A.] 
A box target, measuring 12 / x9'6"and having an interior space of 
10' x 6', was constructed for the experiment, and was composed of three 
armour-plates; the upper one, which was 4 , 5 // thick, had been used in the 
original “ Warrior” target, and the centre one and lower one (each 
5" thick), were taken from Mr Samuda's target. The thickness of the 
backing and skin was the same as in the “ Warrior ” target. 
Projectile. 
Effects. 
6 
Is 
6 
Weight in lbs. 
Form. 
Length. 
J Charge in lbs. 
Bursting charge oi 
shells. 
| Elevation. 
J Range in yards. 
J Deflection. 
1 Depth of indent 
| in inches. 
Diameter of 
indent in ins. 
| Length 
j of cartridge. 
J Velocitv at 780 yds 
Remarks. 
shell 
t 
151 
C.F. 
1 
20 , 5 // 
f 
n 
lbs. o i. 
5 0 
1 14 
800 
2'L 
28" 
1170 
Struck the middle plate 4' 4-5" from 
the right side and 5-5" from the 
bottom, punched a hole in the 
plate 7-5" x 6"; started three bolts 
in the lower row 1" each, and nar¬ 
row cracks extended from two of 
these bolt-holes to the bottom of 
the plate; one bolt in the top row 
of the lower plate was also slightly 
started. The plate was driven in 
below the hole f of an inch for a 
length of 12". At the top of the 
target three of the filling-in pieces 
were blown out. The damage on 
the inside was as follows, viz.—a 
large irregular hole, inner diameter 
10"; skin of ship bent out, with 
ragged rent, sticking out 10"; 
general bulge, distributed over a 
surface of 3' 5" x 3' 5". 
The shell evidently burst between 
the front plate and the skin, i.e., in 
the wooden backing ; the base and 
some pieces of the shell blown out 
in front of the target. Injury by 
fragments of the burst shell or 
splinters in the chamber (or inte¬ 
rior of the target) not serious. A 
vertical rib was broken right 
through, and bent back. One of 
the bolt-heads broken off was 4'5" 
from point struck. 
1 
' The shell broke into fourteen large and nine small pieces; the following fragments of iron were 
[ picked up inside the target, viz.—eight large and ten small bolt-heads, eight rivets, three pieces of 
„ angle iron, and eight pieces of plate, including one large piece punched out. 
* Muzzle-loading rifled gun. 
f Homogeneous metal. 
J Cylindrical flat-ended. 
