326 
MINUTES OE PROCEEDINGS OF 
the Committee remarked, “ It will be seen that some of the modes of rifling 
selected by the Secretary of State for this competitive trial have not been 
tried to this day, nor is there one instance in which the advocate or inventor 
of a system has presented himself to the Committee with his gun and 
projectiles in a state of readiness for a direct and final trial. Each gentleman 
lias as yet required a number of preliminary experiments, to furnish himself 
with data on which to base his final arrangements. The Committee are far 
from imputing blame to them for this. It is next to impossible to determine 
many of the minor details on which the success of each method depends, 
without such experiments; but it will be seen, that as every step necessitates 
some delay, and some correspondence, the progress of the Committee must be 
retarded thereby.” The original intention was, that out of the 50 shells 
supplied by each competitor, 10 should be at his disposal for preliminary 
trials, to fix the service charge, and the remaining 40 be fired at 5° and 10° 
of elevation, for comparative results. The instructions given to the 
Superintendent of Experiments at Shoeburyness, with reference to Mr 
Britten's gun (Appendix I. p. 342), the first which was ready, may be quoted 
for the whole of them. 
7. The first 32-pr., rifled for Commander Scott, No. 9029, burst on 
17th July, 1860, before that officer had settled the form or weight of his 
projectile, or his charge, and another gun was allowed to be rifled for him. 
This gun. No. 9127, reached Shoeburyness on 18th October, 1860, and is 
the one referred to in the following Table, which contains a comparative 
statement of the results obtained by firing the original 50 rounds, disre¬ 
garding the 10 placed at each inventor's disposal, and also such other rounds 
as from change of projectile, alteration of charge, or some other cause, are 
not strictly comparable. 
It will be seen by the dates that Mr B. Britten and Mr Jeffery were ready 
long before the others. The order of merit, judged by this first practice, is 
Iladdan, Britten, Jeffery, Scott, Lancaster, Lynall Thomas. 
Table I. 
ABSTRACT OF PRACTICE OF COMPETITIVE RIFLED CAST-IRON 32-pk. GUNS, 
UNDER THE ORIGINAL PROGRAMME. 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
Name of 
competitor 
and gun. 
Date. 
Direction and 
force of wind. 
No. of rounds. 
Charge. 
Mean weight 
of projectile. 
Elevation. 
Mean reduced 
time of flight. 
Ranges. 
Mean diff. 
of range. 
Mean observed 
deflection. 
Mean reduced 
deflection. 
Area of rect¬ 
angle. 
Min. 
Max. 
Mean. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
o 
" 
yds. 
yds. 
yds. 
yds. 
yds. 
yds. 
yds. 
Mr B. Britten 
Nov. 16, 1859 
3 
23 
5-0 
51-200 
5 
not 
1735 
1918 
1850 
, 40-7 
2-7 
2-2 
724 
No. 8658. 
19 
10 
obs. 
2864 
3196 
3117 
j 51-7 
5-9 
4-6 
1860 
Mr A. Jeffery May 18, 1861 
\ 4 
18 
5-5 
47-362 
5 
6-23 
1706 
1969 
1886 
57-6 
10-2 
3-0 
1358 
No. 8460 
15 
10 
11-30 2985 
3237 
3129 
, 55-4 
31'6 
6-1 
2640 
Mr Haddan 
July 24, 1860 
A 3 
20 
7-0 
53-991 
5 
6-48 1970 
2123 
2034 
32-7 
7-8 
3-9 
991 
No. 8640 
„ 25, „ 
/ 
14 
10 
11-57 3117 
1 
3301 
3228| 36-6 
22-6 
5-1 
1428 
