![]() ![]() Of these latter two stuck into the side, between the joints of the plates, projecting externally 6 inches and 2 inches respectively, and indentations with some cracks were likewise produced on the plates by the other shots but the gun was evidently powerless to injure seriously the complete protection of the side. Fourteen shot in all were fired, with charges of 61b., and at distances varying from 450 yards to about 20 yards, the material of the shot being cast iron, wrought iron, and steel. Armstrong's rifled 32-pounder, which had given the surprising range of 9,200 yards. It was not, however, until January, 1859, that the first attempt was made to penetrate the Trusty's side, the gun used being Sir W. This vessel was prepared for being fired at in the beginning of 1857, and, had the experiments been then carried out, our present state of "indecision" would most probably have been avoided for at that time no rifled cannon of any power had been produced, and we now know that at the distance then intended of 450 yards the spherical shot of the heaviest smooth-bored gun must have been found quite powerless to enter the ship. There are now before me all the data and observations, taken on the spot for my own professional information, of the several trials made off Shoeburyness since January, 1859, to penetrate the sides of the floating battery Trusty, built in 1855 for the purposes of the Russian war, with a scantling of 25 inches of oak timber, covered with 4-inch iron plates. Sir,- As a statement of the following facts may assist to bring the public mind to a safe decision on the question of that great change in the material and character of future war-ships so ably mooted in your article of the 10th inst., recently received here, I beg to offer them for insertion in The Times, if considered of sufficient importance. These developments were extensively reported and commented on in the columns of The Times newspaper, often revealing a surprising level of technical details. ![]() ![]() In the 1860s rapid developments in technology resulted in the rapid replacement of traditional wooden-hulled warships by, firstly, iron-cased wooden-hulled ships and then by armoured ships with an iron hull. ![]()
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