The laws governing the resistance of armour to perforation have been the subject of investigation for many years, and a considerable number of formulae have been put forward by means of which the thickness of armour perforable by any given projectile at any given striking velocity Laws of resistance.may be calculated. Although in some cases based on very different theoretical considerations, there is a general agreement among them as far as perforation proper is concerned, and Tresidder’s formula for the perforation of wrought iron, t 2 = wv 3/dA, may be taken as typical. Here t represents the thickness perforable in inches, w the weight of the projectile in pounds, v its velocity in foot seconds, d its diameter in inches and A the constant given by log A = 8·8410.
For the perforation of Harveyed or Krupp cemented armour by capped armour-piercing shot, this formula may be employed in conjunction with a suitable constant according to the nature of armour attacked. In the case of K. C. armour the formula becomes t 2 = wv 3/4dA. A useful rough rule is t/d = v/1900.
Hard armour, such as chilled cast iron, cannot be perforated but must be destroyed by fracture, and its destruction is apparently dependent solely upon the striking energy of the projectile and independent of its diameter. The punching of hard-faced armour by uncapped projectiles is intermediate in character between perforation and cracking, but approaches the former more nearly than the latter. The formula most used in England in this case is Krupp’s formula for K.C., viz. t 2 = wv 2/dA1, where t, w, v and d are the same as before, and log A1 = 6·3532. This, if we assume the sectional density (w/d 3) of projectiles to be constant and equal to 0·46, reduces to the very handy rule of thumb t/d = v/2200, which, within the limits of striking velocity obtainable under service conditions, is sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. For oblique attack up to an angle of 30° to the normal, the same formula may be employed, t sec θ being substituted for t, where θ is the angle of incidence and t the normal thickness of the plate attacked. More exact results would be obtained, however, by the use of Tresidder’s W.I. formula, given above, in conjunction with a suitable figure of merit, according to the nature and thickness of the plate. It should be remembered in this connexion that the figure of merit of a plate against a punching attack falls off very much when the thickness of the plate is considerably less than the calibre of the attacking projectile. For example, the F.M. of a 6-in. plate may be 2·6 against 6-in. uncapped A.P. projectiles, but only 2·2 against 9·2-in. projectiles of the same character. In the case of the perforating action of capped projectiles, on the other hand, the ratio of d and t does not appear to affect the F.M. to any great extent, though according to Tresidder, the latter is inclined to fall when d is considerably less than t, which is the exact opposite of what happens with punching.
Another method of measuring the quality of armour, which is largely employed upon the continent of Europe, is by the ratio, r, between the velocity requisite to perforate any given plate and that needed to pierce a plate of mild steel of the same thickness, according to the formula of Commandant Jacob de Marre, viz. v = Ae0·7·a0·75/p0·5 where e = the thickness of the plate in centimetres, a = the calibre of the projectile in centimetres, p = the weight of the projectile in kilogrammes, v = the striking velocity of the projectile in metres per second, and log A = 1·7347. Converted into the usual English units and notation, this formula becomes v = A1t 0·7·d 0·75/w 0·5, in which log A1 = 3·0094; in this form it constitutes the basis of the ballistic tests for the acceptance of armour plates for the U.S. navy.
Common shell, which are not strong enough to remain undeformed on impact, derive little benefit from the cap and usually defeat a plate by punching rather than by perforation. Their punching power may be taken roughly as about 23 that of an uncapped armour-piercing shot. Shells filled with high explosives, unless special arrangements are made to deaden the bursting charge and so obviate detonation upon impact, are only effective against the thinnest armour.
With regard to manufacture, a brief account of the Krupp process as applied in one of the great English armour plate works (omitting confidential details of temperature, &c.) will illustrate the great complexity of treatment which the modern armour plate has to undergo before its Manufacture.remarkable qualities of combined hardness and toughness can be developed. The composition of the steel probably differs slightly with the manufacturer, and also with the thickness of the armour, but it will usually contain from 3 to 4% of nickel, from 1·0 to 2·0% of chromium and about 0·25 to 0·35% of carbon, together with from 0·3 to 0·7% of manganese. After being cast, the ingot is first heated to a uniform degree of temperature throughout its mass and then generally forged under the hydraulic forging press. It is then reheated and passed through the rolls. After rolling, the plate is allowed to cool, and is then subjected to a thermal treatment preparatory to surfacing and cutting. Its surface is then freed from scale and planed. After planing, the plate is passed into the cementation furnace, where its face remains for some weeks in contact with specially prepared carbon, the temperature being gradually raised to that required for cementation and as gradually lowered after that is effected. After cementation the plate is heated to a certain temperature and is then plunged into an oil bath in order to toughen it. After withdrawal from the oil bath, the plate is cooled, reheated to a lower temperature, quenched again in water, reheated and passed to the bending press, where it is bent to shape while hot, proper allowance being made for the slight change of curve which takes place on the final chilling. After bending it is again heated and then allowed to get cold, when the final machining, drilling and cutting are carried out. The plate is now placed in a furnace and differentially heated so that the face is raised to a higher temperature than the back. After being thus heated for a certain period the plate is withdrawn, and both back and face are douched simultaneously with jets of cold water under pressure, the result being that the face is left glass-hard while the back is in the toughest condition possible for such hard steel.
The cast-steel armour made by Hadfield has already been alluded to. That made by Krupp (the only other maker at present of this class of armour) is of face-hardened nickel steel. A 5·9-in. plate of this material tried in 1902 had a figure of merit of more than 2·2 against uncapped 5·9-in. armour-piercing projectiles of 112 ℔ in weight. The main advantage of cast armour is that it is well adapted to armoured structures of complicated design and of varying thickness, which it would be difficult or impossible to forge in one piece. It should also be cheaper than forged armour, and, should time be a consideration, could probably be turned out more quickly; on the other hand, it is improbable that heavy castings such as would be required could be as regular in quality and as free from flaws as is possible when forged material is used, and it is unlikely that the average resistance to attack of cast-steel armour will ever be equal to that of the best forged steel.
Of recent years there has been a considerable demand for thin steel plating proof against small-arm bullets at close ranges. This class of steel is used for field-gun shields and for sap shields, to afford cover for men in field-works, for armoured trains, motor-cars and ambulances, and also Defence against small-arms.very largely for armouring shallow-draught river-gunboats. Holtzer made chrome steel breastplates in 1890, 0·158 in. of which was proof against the 0·43-in. hard lead bullet of the Gras rifle at 10 metres range, while 0·236 in. was proof
