DEADLY IMPLEMENTS OF WARFARE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6362, 17 December 1898, Page 7

DEADLY IMPLEMENTS OF WARFARE.

SOME NOVELTIES IN THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN. ». General Kitchener's marvellously successful campaign in the Soudan is of interest 1 (says "Engineering",), as affording the first occasion in which the new high-explosive shells have been used in actual "warfare. Much experimental work has, of course, been carried out ait Home, and is still going on, in the hope of discovering an entirely satisfactory delayed-action fuse. At present? it is stated that itiie shells are more useful against men than material. Another novelty tried in the campaign is the Woolwich bullet, which has been devised witl» a view to increasing the stopping power of the Lea-Enfield rifle» whilst at the same time avoiding the inflicting an extremely severe wound at a short range. Thus the (Spaniards' bullet. Apparently this objdet has been obtained, as in the recent battle the Egyptian and Soudanese troops were armed with. Martini-Henry rifles, whilst tue British troops had the Lee-EnfieM. Accounts of the battle state that the Dervishes succeeded in getting closer to cue native than they did to the white troops;. In discussing these smalt-bore ; bullets it has to be remembered that the, type originally used, which is practically identical wiui those still employed on the Continent, was capable of inflicting an extremely severe wound at -a short range, 'liius the Spaniards were at one time accused of using explosive bullets before Santiago, the characters of the wounds inflicted with the Mauser rifle giving rise to this charge, which further investigation proved to bo quite baseless. Up to a range of 300 yds the extremely high velocity of the modem small-bore bullet causes qnite an explosive effect wher^ entering a soft : b&dy. If the latter is filled with liquid, Jit will' bo burst with the hydraulic pressure set up, as has been proved by repeated' experiments. A- remarkable confirmation -'of this is ifelaftsd by an Italian officer, Major Michelini. The Italian rifle is of but 6.5 millimetres (.256---inch) in diameter, and proved very deficient in stopping power at the battle of Adowa. Nevertheless, at short ranges the very, high' velocity of the bullet gives rise to a powerful explosive effect, as already explained.' Major Michelini one day fired one of these guns into water at an angle. of about 45deg. A dead fish almost immediately rose to the, surface. On examination, no wound was discovered in the body, the death being due entirely, to the hydraulic shock arising from the impact of the bullet with the water. Further experiments amply confirmed this view of the matter, other^fish being killed in the same wy, exactly as if by an explosion of a dynamite cartridge, which in cciv tain districts forms a favourite method of poaching fish from preserved waters. The effects of (this hydraulic shock seem, from Major Michelini's experiments, to be sufficient to kill all fish within 2ft to 2ft 6in of iue point of impact. Beyond the range of 300 yds : ithe .ordinary bullet inflicts -a. wound of a much less dangerous character, and instances are on record of men being shot through the liead and recovering.