The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Development of Armor-piercing Shells, by
Carlos de Zafra

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Title: The Development of Armor-piercing Shells
with Suggestions for their Improvement

Author: Carlos de Zafra

Release Date: August 25, 2010 [EBook #33535]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF

Armor-piercing Shells

(With Suggestions for their Improvement)

By

CARLOS DE ZAFRA, M.E.

Faculty Lecturer, New York University

1915

Historical

The manufacture of projectiles to meet the requirements of the modern
science of warfare has been brought to its present high stage of
development through a long series of experiments based, at first, more
upon theory than perhaps any other branch of engineering.

In the days of wooden vessels very little thought was given to the
actual _physical_ properties of the then cast iron spherical mass.
The gun was the agent upon which depended the ability of the projectile
to penetrate. The projectile, being confronted by so slight a resisting
material as wood, was distorted or physically affected to practically
no degree by the resisting medium. When fighting yard-arm to yard-arm
the power of the gun was sufficient to fully penetrate the enemy, while
at long ranges considerable damage would be executed without in the
least impairing, by the shock of impact (which was inconsiderable as
compared with modern conditions) the physical condition of the shot.

In the days of the all-wood vessel the guns were of the smooth-bore
class divided into various types with nomenclature according to the
size or weight of the shot, very much as they are today, i.e.,
3-pounder, 6-pounder, 4-inch, 10-inch, etc.

A general review of the gradual development of projectiles will be
found beneficial and helpful to a more complete understanding of the
complexities involved in overcoming the present day difficulties.

In the smooth-bore gun spherical shot was used. This was by no means a
tight fitting device. Upon firi