The Penetrative Power of Bullets

Abstract

I HAVE been stimulated by the recent trials of the bullet-proof cuirass, to try a few experiments on the subject. I will only mention one experiment, which I made this morning, assisted by several members of the junior scientific club here. It occurred to me that if the energy of the bullet could be made to act at rather a large angle to its line of flight, its penetrative power would be diminished. To effect this, I arranged a number of soft iron rods ¼-inch in diameter and 5 inches long, side by side and touching a piece of deal board; on these another layer was placed, so that one of the upper rods touched two of the under ones. A sheet of thin rubber 1/16-inch thick, placed on this, separated it from a similar combination attached to it at right angles; and the whole formed the target. The rifle used was a Winchester, 22 bore, carrying a long bullet. At a distance of 20 feet the bullet penetrated 5 inches of hard pine with certainty; but when the bullet fired at the same distance hit my rod target, it failed to penetrate even the first layer, but only drove the upper rods aside nearly at right angles to the line of flight. The next experiments will be made with heavier materials and larger shot. Possibly a similar arrangement, but of large steel cylinders, might make a satisfactory barrier to the shot of big guns.