FLAWS IN SHELLS. EXPERT'S CRITICISM.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 78, 28 September 1907, Page 13

FLAWS IN SHELLS. EXPERT'S CRITICISM.

As a result of ths recent discovery of flaws in many lyddils shells the War Office, St. James's Budgst- understands, hes imposed much moro ' stringent conditions with .regard to tho steel from which the shells are manufactured. Each bar and billet must now be marked in such a way as to leave no doubt that ,ths proper end shall be ussd by the shell maker for th* shell base, nnd tho percentage of the original ingot to be discarded ac a precaution against flaws haa been considerably raised. A mor? rigid oxarainat'ibh than h?.s hitherto been made by the. War Office inspectors at th? various steel -works 'is also to be carrisd out. In nearly all the shells recently con-dsmn-ed tho flavrs wore found in the bass, which oi^ht to bs tho strongest point, 1 because it has not onlj- to sustain the full shock of ths discharge in ths gun, but to act .15 a -screen between the gases of discharge and th:> high oxplosivo within the shell chanibsv. It is impossible, cvgxi with tha tltmosu care, to eliminate altogether the danger of defective steel beiiig passed, is many flaws do not develop Hifuc:?ntly to ba detected for yeari. Nevertheless, any precautions thai can b3 taken to minimise the risks, having regard to tho terriblo consequences that mcy • result from defects in shell?, ought- not to bo neglected,' and tho action of the War Oirica is admittedly in the right direc--tion. A prominent expert, however, has pointed out to us that, commendable as the now conditions may bo in intention, they may prove valueless in practice, unless Mr. Haldane's ad roars look beyond tho ingot moulds and tha rolling mill, and critically examine the treat- 1 ment of the steel by, the shell-maker. - Tho object of ths careful marking of the stsel is to ensure that ihe base of tho bullet shall be the base of tho shell. But according to ths .expert thepresent method of m.-.kin? <hell bodies has a precisely opposite effect. The process is briefly as follows : A bluntnosed punch is inserted at the top of tho billet, which has already been mndo semi-plastic, and enclosed in a cylindrical mould. The metal in the centre, which is forced downwards to begin with, gathers round tho punch, and rises as the pressure increases, the shell chamber, the base, and tho walls being formed in one and the same operation. The result of this operation is that the presumably inferior metal which u-as originally at the top goes to tho bottom, and that which was at the bottom is carried for the mwt part into the walls, leaving tho base the weakest part of the shell. The point seems to toe worthy of the car-oful consideration of the War Office experts. The- Budget is informed that by a little more expensive process the base of the billet could bo returned as the base of the shell.