It is in this field that we
may look for the most remarkable results, and it is here that the
absolute power of the explosive thrown is of the utmost importance,
provided that it can be safely used. Attention was at once turned in
Europe to the manufacture of large projectiles with great capacity for
bursting charges, and it has resulted in the production of a class of
shells 41/2 to 6 calibers long, with walls only 0.4 of an inch thick.
(If they are made thinner, they will swell and jam in the gun when
fired.)
These shells are used in long guns up to 6 and 81/2 inches caliber, and
in mortars up to 11.2 inches. They are made from disks of steel, 3 to
4 feet in diameter and 1 inch thick, and are forced into shape by
hydraulic presses. The base is usually screwed in, but some of the
German shell are made in two halves which screw together. The Italians
were the first in this new field of investigation, but the Germans
soon followed, and after trying various materials were at length
reasonably successful with gun-cotton soaked in paraffin. Their 8.4
inch mortar shells of 5 calibers contain 42 pounds; those of 6
calibers contain 57 pounds; and the 11.
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