The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-18 00:00:00

Progress of Ordnance at Home and Abroad,

The above was the title of a most important and interest-
ing lecture delivered by Commander R. A. B. Scott, R.N.,
at the United Service Institution, on Monday evening;
Captain Heath in the chair.
Capt. Scott remarked that at his lecture in January, 1862,
he had to describe the French cast-iron guns, hooped, rifled,
which still fired the round ball, and made use of rifle pro-
jectiles with a low charge for the purposes of bombardment.
Now the French were fast making steel guns, which they
had rifled upon a simple plan, and it had been said that 4-
one-third inch plates with wooden backing had been pierced
at 1,000 yards by a steel shot from a
gun weighing 6 tons.
The rifling of their field-pieces, which are muzzle-loaders,
continued unchanged, and the projectiles have similar studs
to those that were first adopted. American officers wbo
had taken part in the struggle going on between the North
and the South had told him that in that country the navy
had always been opposed to the tided guns, and although
several of the larger Parrotts have been introduced it had
been in opposition to their opinion. Qne officer, who had
commanded a squadron, told him that the crews were
afraid to use the rifled guns,
and that in consequence
he gradually got rid of all but a few light chase pieces.
The experience at Charleston amply confirmed this idea,
for a large proportion of the Parrott rifles gave way
below ;an average of 300 rounds each, and most of
them gave way towards the muzzle, owing to the increasing
twist checking the shell, and so causing an explosion in
the gun. They stood pretty well when fired horizontally,
but could not stand high elevations where the recoil was
reduced. The new cast-iron 10-inch American gun of n
tons, with a special charge of 43,1 e., was the most powerful
broadside gun in the world. This charge was only in-
tended to be used when the gun was
employed against an
iron-clad. The 11-inch Dalhgren guns had been ordered
by the Secretary to the Navy to fire a charge of 301 b. of
powder when engaging an iron-clad ; but the usual charge
was settled at 291 b. for a solid shot, and 151 b. for a shell.
The light charges of 301 b. were adopted after many trials,
when it was found that 11 inch charcoal iron guns were far
stronger than anticipated, and that as an iron-clad would
be engaged at close quarters and the gun would be laid
nearly horizontal, it would have but a comparatively small
strain thrown upon it. The Southern States, although un-
accustomed to the manufacture of iron, soon started a foun-
dry, and had continued to turn out guns in considerable
numbers. The size of bore most in use for their defences
was a 10-inch. It was round steel shot from smooth-bore
guns of this size which did such good service at Charleston,
and large quantities of the shot were made by Mr. Vavas-
seur, the present manager of the Blakely Ordnance Com-
pany. Several other English makers also assisted,
and the shot was sent out as " cheese." The
Southerners had a pot rifle called after Captain Brook,
which—like the Parrott gun--is of cast iron strength-
ened with a band over the breech. They found,
however, from the capture of the Atlanta, that they
were greatly mistaken as to the power of the rifle, and that
after all the smooth bore was the best gun. What dispelled
their confidence was a 4201 b. shot from a Rodman gun on
board the Weehawken, which shook every timber of the
Atlanta, and killed or wounded about 40 men, besides
paralysing the remainder of the crew. The Southerners had
received a considerable number of field guns from Europe,
some strengthened iron guns of large bore, and some steel
guns. But the Blakely Company knew more about that
part of the subject than the lecturer did. The Prussian
system—from which the English lead-coating and breech-
loading was a delicate off-shoot—consisted of a rifling
similar to the Parrott and Manton, with the exception that
the grooves narrowed towards the muzzle, and so relieved
the strain upon the gun. It was possible that this ingeni-
ous arrangement suggested the contrivance of the muzzle
nips in the English fine grooved and shunt guns, as well
as for the French plan, the principle being similar to
that of our early Enfields. The Prussian projectiles were
leaded so as to show large projectiles of lead, which squeeze
down info the rifling with comparative small strain. They
first used one and then two wedges in their breech-loading,
but they have not found breech-loading so satisfactory
as they anticipated for 24-pounders. The Prussians com-
menced with a field-piece made by Krupp of mild steel,
and the wear of these guns had given them no reason
to regret their choice of material. They then con-
verted their brass guns into rifled breech-loaders. They
are now replacing their new 24-pounder rifled guns of 50
or 60 cwt. and their cast-iron rifles by steel guns. It
appeared to have been a shot from one of these steel 24-
pounders that lately damaged the Danish cupola ship by
striking her on the deck. Referring next to the Austrians,
Captain Scott remarked that after numerous experiments
with gum-cotton, and almost perfecting its use they seemed
unwilling to incur further expense, and therefore the manu-
facture was drooping. In the matter of artillery they had
made but little progress during the past year. The position
of the Spanish, Swedish, Danish, and Italian artillery was
also about the same as it was in the beginning of 1862, The
Russians had been recently making numerous experiments.
They had copied the French system of grooving. England
had supplied them with a large number of steel shot, and it
was understood that most of the 9-inch and 11-inch built-
up steel guns now making by the Blakely Company were
for that nation. The Russians had also given large orders
to Krupp for solid steel guns, and had also caused several
to be made in their own country ; but the larger charges
and heavy elongated shot used had prevented the heavy
solid rifled guns yet tried from withstanding 100 consecutive
discharges—a failure which might be cured by the use of
lighter shot. But there could be no doubt that the guns
were powerful, and behind the iron slabs with which their
forts are to be covered they would prove very formidable
antagonists to any ships daring to attack them, for they
could fire round shot with the heaviest charges, Having
thus briefly noticed the progress of ordnance abroad the
lecturer directed attention to proceedings at home ; but
inasmuch as when Sir William Armstrong's system was
adopted it was said that the country was bound to
work it out, any remarks upon home ordnance must
necessarily be conined to a resume of the progress and
results of that system. He --e (Captain Scott) had the grati-
fication of stating, in connection with that system, that not
only had the Armstrong 12 pounder been reduced a foot in
length, but by the skill of Lieutimant Reeves of the Royal
Artillery, a sort of Dutch case had been adapted to the gun
for use at close quarters. Instead also of the new guns
being made of an excessive length, the 600 pounder is so
short that it approaches the howitzer in that respect. The
fifty Somerset guns building in the Arsenal were all that
could be desired for 6 ton naval guns. The vent piece of
the Armstrong was giving way to the double wedges and
a vent hole through the gun, thus following closely the
Russian type; and although the fine grooving had not been
entirely abandoned no new 160 pounders were now being
so rifled. In a word, breech loading was flickering in its
socket before having been finally given up by Sir William
Armstrong.
The shunt system, of which the disadvan-
tages
had aready been pointed out, is also on the wane, it
having been
proved that the early impression as to the
damage done to the muzzle from squeezing the shot was
well founded. The whole of the heavy guns rifled on this
plan had cracked round the muzzle. So, after all, it was now
in contemplation to give up the shunts and grips, and coma
to a plain groove, with sharp corners. But the same ten-
dency to fracture existed in these sharp cornered grooves as
in the shunt groove. Capt. Scott next proceeded to notice
the Armstrong and Whitworth competition. He described
the
the guns used, and remarked that the Armstrong ordnance
ised all Sir William's latest improvements,
employed col:1*r
but did not include any gun now used in the service, not-
withstanding all that the nation had paid for the earlier
Whitworth brought to
the Armstrong gun. Mr
forms of
the contest three 12 pounders and three 7 0 pounders, such
as he proposed for
the service. He had rounded out the
angles of his rifling, and his shot were entirely of iron
rounded at the
an improvement which had greatly
corners—
lessened the :wear on the driving side of the gun's rifling.
His 70 pounders weighed about 78 cwt. Captain Scott then
gave a long and technical account of the result of the expe-
riments at Shoeburynese with these rival guns. Upon the
breech-loader he remarked that it was so far below the
of its strengest supporters
standard of the others that
us, some
at all events, have a breech-
had at last said—
" Let
leader ;" and they
or 50 rounds were good reason to say so, for whenever
bad
dconsecutively, even with moderate
40 fire
quickness, the men in the rear of the gun had their faces
and clothes blackened by the
escape of gas. It was useless
to further conceal the fact
that soldiers were as fearful of
the gun as sailors, and became
agitated and nervous in
rapid firing that during
200 rounds fired about a fortnight
ago the vent-piece was once put in the wrong way, and
once the breech screw was not screwed up. Both these de-
fects were happily seen in
time
by a spectator. The 70
pounder had not yet been tried, but the lecturer had no
hesitation in stating that the Whitworth projectiles would
have greater penetrating
power than the Armstrong shot,
The Mackay, the Blakely, and
the Palliser guns were next
l
passed in review, and, in conclusion, the lecturer remarked
that
was a great national
that the discussion of these questions
advantage, and had it taken place earlier, and conducted
thoroughly, a very large would have been
sum of money
saved which had been expended upon weapons now proved
to be of comparatively little valee. This money would_
employed in developing the steel
have been far more usefully einf,
manufacture of the country--a
manufacture which was
admitted by Sir Wm. Armstrong
behind the great Prussian fires represented by Krupp. All
other countries had utilised the material already in hand,
and expended very little upon new guns; but England at
once commenced a new manuracture, wbich was pointed out
at the time to be imperfect ; and at the present moment
of Sir William's hum
te
there was not a single portion of any a P.
naval gun, Some
of rifling which could be [slapa to
remarks upon the many failuree of the Armstrong guns in
active service ; the benefits that would accrue from the sub-
ject
of naval guns being taken up eh y a committee of prac-
tical naval officers and the best mode of plating vessels,
brought the lecture to a conclusion.
In the course of the discussion which followed, Captain
late leading Selwyn commented adversely upon the article
in the Times upon the practical lesson to b© deduced from
the late fight in the North Sea. The Tunes declared that
rifled guns and long ranges would decide future actions;
and the Times also made other remarks concerning which
Captain Selwyn observed that it was very dangerous to the
naval supremacy of the country that the leading journal
should draw such incorrect conclusions and teach such