WEAPONS OF WAR

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 176, 27 June 1932, Page 8

WEAPONS OF WAR

NEW BRITISH INVENTIONS. POWERFUL NAVAL SHELL. In spite of recent Continental inventions of new weapons of war, those directing the defences of Great Britain are confident that their own services are not in danger of falling back, says an overseas paper. The power and efficiency of modern British weapons of war have been increased by the production of a new type of shell for the British Navy and superior armour plate for tanks. The latest type of shell produced for the British Navy is believed by experts who have knowledge of its performance to be the most effective in existence. It is made in two varieties, armour-piercing and high-explosive, in calibres of 6in., Bin., 15in. and 16in. Constructed from steel of superquality—the formula of which is confidential —it combines toughness and hardness in a phenomenal degree. An. other secret feature is the shape of the shell, which reduces air resistance to the minimum and ensures exceptional accuracy of flight even at very long ranges, at which the ordinary projectile tends to wobble and become erratic in its course.

With the new armour piercing shell it has been found practicable to perforate hard-faced armour of the best quality and over Ift. in thickness, inclined 30deg. at a velocity equivalent to a range of no less than 15,000 yards (about ten miles). The time occupied in perforating the armour-plate is about l-200tli of a second. DETONATED BY TIME-FUSE.

No armour-plate, however hard and tough, can resist the attack ot the shell at normal fighting ranges. And having passed through the armour it is detonated well inside the target-ship by a time-fuse, which functions witn uncanny precision. Owing to the large internal capacity of the shell, which enables it to be loaded with a very heavy charge of high-explosive, it detonates with extreme violence, breaking up into a myriad splinters with cone-like dispersion, which destroy everything in their path. Even a battleship heavily armoured and otherwise protected on the latest principles would be unable to withstand more than a few well-aimed salvos of these deadly shells. The high-explosive pattern, intended for the attack of cruisers and other unarmoured or lightly protected ships, is fitted both with percussion and delayaction fuses. It is so sensitive that it will burst on touching funnel guys or wire rigging, and the hail of splinters is devastating. The introduction of these shells has greatly increased the destructive power of the British Navy’s ordnance, and re-established the supremacy of the gun among weapons of sea warfare. On the other hand, the new supervelocity bullet, the Germaminvented “Halger-Cltra,” has been hailed as a deadly menace to the tank. British tank experts, however, are the least concerned at this prospect. And their sangfroid seems to have a firm founda--tion. Reports of recent tests suggest that an answer to the danger is already at hand. GREATER RESISTANCE.

The inventor, Herr Gerlicli, in his Berlin tests, pierced armour-plate of 12mm. (half an inch) thickness. He used a rifle of .280 calibre. Since then, with a .303 rifle, the present British calibre, armour-plate of 15mm. thickness lias been penetrated. But British armament research has produced a new armour-plate which provides something like 40 per cent, greater resistance for the same thickness. A 12mm. plate of such armour would suffice to stop the Halger-Ultra bullet—even at pointblank range. It so happens that the new British, light tanks now being delivered are covered with the. new armour-plate. And tlieir 1S of a thickness that not only fulfils the need stated above, but provides a comfortable margin of security. Ihus the danger is forestalled before it has really developed. No wonder tank experts are curiously cheerful 1 It is true that Herr Gerlich s invention might be used in firearms of larger calibre, and that the projectile from these might penetrate tank armour. But once the calibre is larger than the .303 rifle standard, the danger shrinks. For the real danger to tanks of Gerlich’s invention was that it might place in the hands of the ordinary infantryman a weapon capable ot piercing the tank’s armour.