84 LYDD EXPERIMENTS, 1890 . 
the shell (from 100*5 to 104 lbs.) or to some defects in the fitting of 
the gas-checks. 
Only one round hit the casemate; it made a considerable crater, 
but did no damage to the interior. 
Series ( C .)—To ascertain the comparative efficiency of the 8-in. 
R.M.L. and B.L. howitzers in breaching a concealed revetment. 
Fired on the 16th and 17th August. Target: A row of nine feet 
targets placed behind a covering mass of shingle; an angle of descent 
of 25 degrees was necessary for a projectile to clear the covering mass 
and hit the targets. Range : 2000 yards. Charges : M.L. 4£ lbs. 
R.L.G. 3 ; B.L. 6 lbs. R.L.G. 4 Projectiles : Common shell, filled with 
salt, and plugged. 
Thirty rounds were fired from each of the howitzers, with the result 
that only two direct hits were obtained, both from the B.L. howitzer. 
One round, also from the B.L. howitzer, may, however, be perhaps 
fairly counted as a hit, since it struck and tore away one of the sup¬ 
ports from which it glanced through the bottom of the target. 
This practice, though fair, gives no data from which to estimate the 
efficiency of the R.M.L. howitzer against such a target, since no hits 
were obtained, though 11 rounds were fired at approximately the 
correct elevation; of the B.L. howitzer it may be said that from 6 to 
10 per cent, of the rounds may be expected to hit under the given 
conditions. 
The B.L. howitzer undoubtedly showed itself to be the more accurate 
of the two when fired at a high angle with a low charge; its shell was 
much more steady in flight than that of the R.M.L. howitzer. 
It is evident, however, that, under the most favourable conditions, 
the amount of time and ammunition required to breach a revetment so 
covered would be excessive, even if it be accepted that every hit will 
produce its full effect. On the other hand in this experiment the 
effect of bursting shell in lowering the covering mass was not allowed 
for. 
Remarks on Material. 
The carriage of the B.L. howitzer is very easy to traverse and elevate, 
but difficult to load. No ordinary detachment could work a B.L. 
howitzer on its present carriage for a siege relief unless some special 
loading gear was available. 
In order to obtain full cover from the parapet, the piece must 
remain elevated, in which case to constantly put in and ram home a 
shell is the work of three or four men. Should cover be sacrificed and 
the piece be brought horizontal before loading the height of the breech 
is considerable, and the arrangement of the transoms and of the bottom 
plate of the carriage makes it difficult for men to stand close enough 
to the breech to enter the shell into the bore. 
Series (E .)—This was a trial of the comparative efficiency of the 
experimental siege mountings supplied by Sir W. Armstrong, Mitchell 
& Co., and by Messrs. Easton and Anderson respectively, for the 3*5 
ton “ wire” and 5 ton “blow-out” 6-in. B.L. guns. 
These mountings were designed to fire over a parapet of about nine 
