234 
MINUTES OE PROCEEDINGS OE 
ON THE OBJECTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN URGED AGAINST THE DIA¬ 
PHRAGM SHRAPNEL SHELLS; AND ON THE GENERAL MERITS OE 
THIS CONSTRUCTION 
BY CAPTAIN VIVIAN DERING MAJENDIE, R.A. 
CAPTAIN INSTBTJCTOB, BOYAL LABOEATOBY. 
In my last paper on the Shrapnel class of shell,* I brought the subject 
down to the point at which there only remained to be considered the validity 
of the objections which have been urged against shells of the Diaphragm 
construction. 
Upon careful consideration it appears to me that there are only two of 
these objections which are sufficiently grave, or sufficiently precise, to 
necessitate a careful examination. These two objections may be stated as 
follows 
(1) That, from the relative positions of the bullets and powder, the shell 
is necessarily eccentric, and that great irregularity of flight does, and must, 
result from this eccentricity. 
(2) That, the bullets are acted upon by the bursting charge in a way, 
and to an extent, highly injurious to the efficiency of the shell. 
1. With respect to the eccentricity of the shell and the consequent 
inaccuracy of flight which it is stated must and does result therefrom . This 
objection appears first to have been raised by the Inspector General of 
Ordnance in Calcutta, in 1857 f but it can be shown, to quote Col. Boxer's 
words, to have “no foundation in Eact or in Theory/' 1 2 3 and that far from this 
1 Vide p. 152. 
2 “ The centre of gravity of the shell is not in the centre of figure, and experiments made with 
eccentric shot and shells in 1850, proved that such projectiles cannot he depended upon for accurate 
practice.”—Report of Inspector General of Ordnance, in Calcutta, 21st December, 1857. See 
Supplement to Synopsis of Ordnance Select Committee Reports, p. 16. 
See also Committee’s Memo, on Diaphragm Shrapnel Shell, p. 3. Col. Boxer’s Remarks on 
Committee’s Memo, on Diaphragm Shrapnel Shell, p. 3. 
The Inspector-General of Ordnance, at Calcutta, however, was not the only officer who held this 
opinion, nor, indeed, the only one who urged it, for in Col. Boxer’s Remarks upon Diaphragm 
Shrapnel Shell , p. 17, the following passage occurs: “ It has been often stated, and it is I believe, 
the opinion of many even at the present time that as the centre of gravity in the Diaphragm Shell 
does not coincide with the centre of figure.great irregularity in flight must result.” See 
also Supplement to Ordnance Select Committee Report on Shrapnel Shell, p. 18. Synopsis of 
Ordnance Select Committee Report on Shrapnel Shell, p. 295. Also, The Shrapnel Shell in 
England and Belgium, pp. 48, 49 ; and Revue de Technologie Militaire, Vol. II., p. 390. 
3 Remarks on Diaphragm Shrapnel Shell , p. 17. 
