DANGERS OF SHELL EXPERIMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 3307, 4 May 1885, Page 3

DANGERS OF SHELL EXPERIMENTS.

SHOCKING FATAIi EXPLOSION. A shockiug accident occurred on Feb. 26th, at the School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness. An experimental party, together with some members of the Ordnance Committee of the War Office, were practising with base delay action fuses, and while Bcrewing one of them into a 6-inch shell the latter exploded with disastrous results. Gunner Allen was killed on the spot ; Colonel Fox-Strang-ways, commandant of the School of Gunnery, had one foot blown off and his leg shattered ; Colonel Lyon, of the Ordnance Committee., had both legs blown off just below the thigh ; Captain Goold-Adams, second experimental officer, had both legs blown off and his face terribly mutilated ; and Sergeant-Major Daykin had one leg blown off from the thigh. Gunner Underwood had his leg blown off, and another gunner was wounded severely. Mr Ranee, a civilian, of Woolwich Arsenal, was severely wounded m the leg, while Mr Low, assistant manager of the laboratory, Woolwich, and others had narrow escapes. Major Bally, who was 800 yards away, was struck by a portion of the shell and rendered insensible, but his squad-book saved his life. It iB understood that Colonel Lyon came from Woolwich to carry out experiments with fuses of his own invention and a rocket float, both of which were too hazardous to be attempted at the ArsenaL - Information of the terrible occurrence (saya a Home paper) was quickly conveyed to the camp, and assistance was speedily forthcoming. The wounded were conveyed to the Garrison Hospital, where they received every possible attention from the local surgeons, civil and military. Several medical men at once left London for Shoeburyness. Dr Acland was among the first to leave, with some relatives of the wounded officers. Later m the evening, Sir William MacCormao and other eminent surgeons left by special train, and on arrival at the camp of the School of Gunnery held a consultation with the local aurgeons. In the meantime, two of the injured persons succumbed to the injuries which they received — namely, Capt. Goold-Adams and Sergeant-Major Daykin. After consultation, it was deemed necessary m the caaea of Colonel Fox-Strangways and Colonel Lyon to amputate both legs above the knee. The operations were accomplished under the care of Sir William MacCormac. Colonel Fox-Strangways and Colonel Lyon, however, succumbed from exhaustion and died next day. Gunner Underwood also succumbed to his injuries, making six deaths from the disaster. The remaining

five who are injured are doing well, and no further deaths are anticipated. Gunner Allen, who was killed on the spot, m addition to having his right leg blown away, was all but decapitated, a piece of the shell striking him m the neck and nearly severing his head from hi 3 body. A correspondent at Shoeburyness states that the experiment was almost completed when the explosion took place. The laßt fuse for some reason would not go into its place m the shell, and Gunner Allen was using some force to screw it m when the explosion occurred. All of the seventeen officers and men on the ground were blown off their feet. Two men close by the shell had a very narrow escape, getting off with a very severe shock and some bruises. Nearly all the injuries sustained were m the legs and lower portions of the body. This explosion is the third which has occurred at Shoeburyness recently, though, fortunately, none have been attended with such fearful results. Indeed, there has been no explosion at Shoeburyness attended with fatal results since the Crimean war, when an old 64-pounder burst, killing three sergeants and injuring another very badly. The intelligence received from Shoeburyness that Colonel Fox-Strangways and Colonel Lyon have both succumbed to their injurieß has intensified the consternation which the disaster has created m the Royal Arsenal and garrison at Woolwich. Inquiries have been constant at the Government offices, and announcements of the fatalities to officers so well known and respected have produced a most painful impression. It is stated that the new fuse was an attempt to settle a difficult question. It was not to explode on striking water, as most ordinary percussion fuses do, but was to explode, after passing through water, on striking some solid object, such as a ship's bottom under the water-line. This was not the first invention of Colonel Lyon m this direction. He has for a long time past given special attention to guns, and this last effort was an attempt to solve the most difficult of all problems m the matter of percussion fuses. The latter stages of the invention have been somewhat hurried, as tho gallant officer was about to leave the Royal Laboratory for a command at Plymouth, his successor at Woolwich being already appointed. He himself was busy m tho workshops of the Royal Laboratory up to nine o'clock of the night before the accident, superintending tho preparation of the experimental fuses that were being used at the time of tho disaster. It is said, as regards the accident itself, that two of the fuses had already been fired without explosion, and the failure was thought to be due, directly or indirectly, to a part of the mechanism called the safety-pin. A third fuse was being fixed for experiment without the safety-pin when the fatal explosion occurred. Whether the absence of the safety-pin was the cause of the accident or not it is at present impossible to say ; but there is a strong impression m some quarters that the fuse itself was mechanically faulty. In fact such fuses, like any other complex mechanism, are not perfected at once, and it is often only by painful experiences that faults are detected, and the completion of the inventor' b idea arrived at. The safety-pin of a percussion fuse is an arrangement for holding fast the hammer or striker of the fuse during ordinary handling or transit m carriage from place to place. When the shell to which such fuses are fixed is fired from a gun, the rotary action of the projectile spinning through the air dislodges the safety-pin and leaves it ready to act as soon as the shell strikes any object. The resistance of water is ample for this purpose, and an ordinary shell ricochetting from the surface of water will explode as readily as on striking a house or any other solid object.