NEW ARMOR-PLATE.

Northern Advocate, 19 December 1911, Page 2

NEW ARMOR-PLATE.

GERMAN ENGINEER'S USEFUL

INVENTION.

A German engineer named Schaumann has invented an entirely new kind of armor-plate which has just been tested by the German naval authorities and reported upon favorably.

The peculiarity of the armor is its extreme lightness, as compared with Krupp armor, while it has been proved, it is said, to be of equal, if not greater, resisting power. The armor is made up of a special aluminium alloy, faced by a thin, hardened steel plate. Gun shields of it have been definitely ordered for the new cruiser Strasburg, and its extensive employment is expected.

It is at present considered doubtful whether the new system of armor is applicable to the belt armor of battleships, which have to stand ' he shocks of heavy projectiles a& well as face penetration risks, but it is expected to be extremely useful for armor-belting small vessels. In such case something like a revolution in small cruiser construction may be anticipated. More important still, the system is likely to be found applicable to destroyers without appreciably reducing their speed—the thing that has always defeated all attempts tc armor destroyers in the past. It is computed that the vital parts of destroyers could be completely protected by the new armor without the loss of more than one knot speed at the utmost. This would render them virtually immune against 12-pounders such as the Dreadnought carries, and possibly also against our 4in guns as well.