THE EFFECT OF HEAVY FIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 187, 9 August 1895, Page 4

THE EFFECT OF HEAVY FIRE

The late war between Japan and China still continues to be a fruitful source of information to the Western world; Many useful lessons were learned from the naval battle ofi the Yalu river, and Captain McGrirfin, • who commanded a Chinese armourclad warship in thai engagement, now comes forward with an interesting . Oooount of his experiences on that occasion. 'His remarks are of' the more interest as every modern warship in the world is proteoted with steel armour. Captain McGriffln says that the air of the lower decks was yery close, and the din made by thelnipaot of bs^vy projectiles was ft-ffful beyona deioription- He pnt

m __m__m___-_--»-^mm_nm_m-__*-m_____m^i___^m-___mmm T » cotton in his eats, but was deaf some months after the aotion owing to the noise. The engineers in his vessel stuck to their work in the enginerooms when the temperature was above 200deg F., until the skins of their hands and arms were actually l roasted off, ahd every man was blinded . for life, the Bight being actually seared ont. The captain relates that late in . the action, after his air had been [ burned off and biß eyes bo impared by s injeoted blood that lie oonld only see 1 off one of them, and then only by ', lifting the lid with hiß fingers, he was deßirous of Beeing how the enemy - was delivering his fire. As he groped his way to the protected deck, a 1001 b shell pierced the armour about eighteen inohes in front of his hand, . whioh, touohing the steql, was instantly so burnt tbat part of tbe skin was left upon the armour. That ( shows how intense is the heat engen- . dered by the impact of a shot, and how rapidly the steel conducts that beat. Tbe aaptain tells of Boenes, ' the result of the modern cannon fire, whioh would bave been impossible , fifty years ago, and it is suggested , that it is a very moot point whether the refined oruelty of modern munitions of war is not really more brutal than tbat of those earlier days. Be that as it may, it may be taken as certain . that the only alteration likely to , occur either in the armature or . armament of modern warships . will be „to make them, in the i one respeot, still more invulnerable *, to attack, and, in the other, still more i deadly to tbeir enemies. Officers and ■ crews will siill suffer as they do now, ; but no nation will go baok to "wooden . walls' and popguns on tbat aooount.