ARTILLERY V. IRON-CLADS.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 47, 24 February 1864, Page 3

ARTILLERY V. IRON-CLADS.

A bAY'S, PBAOTIOE A* POBTBKOOTH. •?* ' (Frordithe ATimes;-Novembet : 9th.. j A day's firing at armour-plates took place yesterday at.Portsmouthjyunder/the; superintendence of Captain? Astl|y Key, | C; 8.,? com- . mahdihg Her Majesty's gunnery ship Excellent, and residted in a most: decided triumph for the plates' oveVthe gun.*'" The plates were bolted on the sides of the Monarch target ship in the ordinary manner, with 2-inch bolts, and were fired at with the 95cwt. 68-poimderYgun» . at a distance of 200; yards. S There r werr four •plates, comprising one .4£-inc*h plate- fronilthe Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, for the Mihptaur j , one . 4|-inch plated from. : Messrs V John ;i Browh : - Md' n Cb.,*-'6^'Vlie Atlas <Worksj*;Sheffield,-'^ oneyE>£-rinch Yplatei.'from ?the; -^same*; ftcm. as , , ai-r .. experimental] ;being. f made irom Arcadian, charcbal; oron^ one. s£rjnch; plate, and one 4£-inch placei' 'from 1 "' Messrs'.' Camihell and Co., of the. Cyclops Works, SheffieldY Messrs. YBrbwn's Arcadian iron plate received nine <3 'shots, . 0ne ... 0f .which . stmck^thglright lower 'comer, and broke a..piece. off il6 inches ; ih length/hy'is'ihche's ihYmdthV : 'There were tln'ee-ofher-eshght'ibracksj'but -the-'plate 'was ■ not,y materiaUyvinjuredd' except ..'in** itsrfbroken corner, and., this .damage^ was solely jiuQ to jthe "shot striking*" "at. 'the extreme "_corner,.. and where the backing also was afterwards 'found to be deficient. Thefmetaliwith which^Messrs. Brown manufacture r their- own plates* is undoubtedly superior) to-the ■-. ArcaJdian tried yesterday, the latterUbcmgYapparently too hard ; for the manufacture of armour-plates of the, first class. -The/ Ocean's, plate, from Messrs. Brown's,: -for aY4J-inch Opiate could not weU, with our .present knowledge of armor-plate manufacture"; be. surpassed. Ifc is almost unnecessary to ; state -that -both these were "rohed" plates, as"nbhe others are manufactured at the Atlas Works. The Thames Company's plate for the Minotaur, hammered, was the smaUesfc ofthe four, but was undoubt- , edly one of superior ; manufacture and metal. Like Messrs. Bro;wn's* Arcadiahuplate,it- was severely, damaged ■ on, one. of - its ugorners >by shot, ' and, . ' necessarily gave way. ,The -two plates sehtihas testplates by 'Messrs. CainmeU of Sheffield were 'YroUed," andgainedfor their* .manufacturei'S aposition never.beforoMrpassed by any other plates on their first trial-,as ; .test plates. The si-inch plate, indeed, in its, left centre, received six shots in aspacemeaisuring 18 inches horizontaUy and 2 r . feet ,10 inches verticaUy. ■ 'Over -this -space and through the - indents of the shot marks .there was nothing beyond three "sUght surface cracks. The plate received , eleven [shots ' *.* in ; aU. The 4£-inch received eight shots, and was possibly one shade" inferior in quahty to the sa-inch. The -ihetal of ! these two plates, as weU as tliat -of Messrs, -Brown's 4i-inch, was beautifully, fibrous. :At the conclusion of the trials of the four plates, several shots were fired at , a . French manufactured 4§-inch plate that was bolted on to the target ship's side with Arcadian hon bolts. . One of these shots struck the French plate in a comparatively uninjured part, and penetrated clear flirough' into the ship's side, presenting, a' strong 'contrast to the stubborn resistance offered to 'tlie shot by the two Enghsh 4i-inch '"plates " tliat haa but just been through their trial. The last twelve months' experiments at Portsmouth have satisfactorily slibwTl the gradual progress being made in the excellence of their manufacture by English armour-plate makers. These latter, howeyer, .complain that as they improve the , quality of the plates they send in to the Admiralty, the latter raise their testing standard. This is, however, as it should be, if by so doing the Admiralty can insure the best possible " armour for our ships of war, arid : the manufacturer is satisfied with the price he obtains for liis work. The Monarch may serve for one moro day's fii-iug, aud then she will, in her turn, have finished her duties as a target ship, her sides being now nearly aU knocked to pieces. Five frigates and four line-of-battle sliips have done duty as target ships at Portsmouth, .- aud probably one moreywiU close the list, it being intended ; , to erect butts on WliaUey Island, a short distance from the ExceUent, and test aU plates' in future on shore, after the manner of Shoeburyness.