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(Confidential.)
Sir,
235
Inclosure 10 in No. 74.
Commander Johnstone to Lieutenant-Colonel Parnell, C.B.
(6
Egeria," at Singapore, December 24, 1880. I HAVE the honour to inclose, for the information of the Defence Committee, a Report on Mount Siloso.
This will be followed shortly by one on Fort Blakang Mati East, &c.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
C. JOHNSTONE, Commander
134
Appendix No. 4.
SINGAPORY.
Inclosure 11 in No. 74.
Report on Fort Mount Siloso.
ON the 16th instant we proceeded to Mount Siloso and closely examined the positions and the directions of fire of the various guns.
2. Having carefully considered the suggestions in Articles 68 and 69 of the Report of Captain McCallum, R.E.,* and also Article 3 in Lieutenant Rhodes' remarks on that Report,† we are of opinion as follows:-
3. (a.) No. 1 gun, which is at present a 7-inch 63-ton gun firing through 70 degrees, should be
replaced by an armour-piercing gun mounted on a land service dwarf traversing platform D pivot, so as to fire through an angle of 272 degrees and bring a fire down the New Harbour and over the entrance from Pulo Brani North Cliff on the extreme right, round to High Island on the extreme left.
(b.) No. 2 gun, which is at present a 7-inch 63-ton gun firing through 70 degrees, should be replaced by an armour-piercing gun mounted on a land service dwarf traversing platform D pivot so as to fire through an angle of 168 degrees from Belayer Beacon on the extreme right to Boelang Peak on the extreme left.
(c) No. 3 gun, a 64-pounder, should be removed altogether.
(d.) No. 4 gun, at present a 64-pounder with an all round fire, should be replaced by a 7-inch 6 ton gun mounted on a land service dwarf traversing platform D pivot, so that it would fire through an angle of 143 degrees from the Cyrene Shoal on the extreme right to the beach on Blakang Mati on the extreme left.
(e.) No. 5 gun, at present a 7-inch 62-ton gun firing though 120 degrees, should be replaced by an armour-piercing gun on a land service dwarf traversing platform D pivot. It would then fire through an angle of 194 degrees from its present extreme range over the Cyrene Shoal round over Blakang Mati, up the New Harbour and as far as the P. & O. Wharf on the left.
(ƒ) A new gun, a 64-pounder mounted on a D pivot should be placed on the right of the present entrance in the Horn-work, so as to fire through 180 degrees from the coral beach south of Blakang Mati on the extreme right, over Blakang Mati, up the New Harbour and round to and over the western entrance.
4. In this way a minimum of alterations would be required in the present works, and no gun would fire over another.
5. The fort would be so strong in itself as to be unlikely to require much support in an ordinary attack.
6. The term " armour-piercing gun" is intended to imply a gun capable of piercing 8 inches of armour at a distance of 3,000 yards.
7. The number of guns in the battery would, therefore, remain the same. The following Table will show the substitutions proposed :—
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At present Proposed
::
Singapore, December 24, 1880.
::
(Signed)
*Inclosure 15 in No. 74.
64-pr.
7-in.
Armour-piercing.
2
91
3
0 3
C. JOHNSTONE, Commander, H.M.S. “ Egeria.” GEORGE G. HANNEN, Major, R.A.
E. F. RHODES, Lieutenant, Commanding R.E.
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Inclosure 14 in No. 74.
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