The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-11 00:00:00

Rifled Artillery.

The report of the Ordnance Select Committee which con-
ducted the trial of the competitive guns rifled on three dif-
ferent systems contains the exact results of the experi-
mental practice with each gun. Those results are noted
so minutely in the tables appended to the text of the report,
that every detail of every shot fired can be referred to. As
the trial has ranged over three years, it may be supposed
that the tables and diagrams make up the greater portion
of the volume.

The experiments to which the first part of the report re-
fers were made with 7-inch wrought iron guns rifled on the
French system, and the competing systems of Commander
Scott, R.N., Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Jeffery, and Mr. Britten.
On these weapons the committee make the following re-

marks ,

" The difference between the systems of Messrs. Jeffery
and Britten consisted substantially in the method of attach-
ing lead to the base of the projectiles, and one gun only was
prepared for these two gentlemen. The French gun was
added at the request of the Committee. The Committee,
warned by experience of the former competition, determined
on this occasion to limit the trial strictly to the rifling of
the guns, and they therefore endeavoured to eliminate all
other sources of difference, and themselves fixed a uniform
weight and form and windage of shot, and also the charges
of powder. Mr. Lancaster's shot are slightly shorter than
the others, because the Committee had previously deter-
mined that the term ' 7-inch' gun should mean a gun down
which a 7-inch spherical shot could be rolled, and under
that definition the internal sectional area of an oval-bored
gun must necessarily be larger than that of a grooved gun
of the same nominal calibre. The committee would gladly
have confined the competition to the same amount of twist,
but it was clear that the expanding projectiles of Messrs.
Jeffery and Britten would be unfairly treated if fired from
a gun with as sharp a spiral as would suit the other com-
petitors; and, moreover, the French system is that of an
increasing twist, while that of the others is uniform.
They therefore allowed each competitor full latitude in
this respect."

The following paragraph gives a more detailed
description of the guns :

" The guns are muzzle loading. They have solid steel
tubes 3 inches thick, a solid forged breeched piece, and ex-
ternal strengthening coils. Their weight averages 149 cwt.,
and the length of bore is 10ft. 6in. Oammell's steel is used
in Scott's, Lancaster's, and the Jeffrey and Britten guns,
and Firth's steel in the other. They are vented 5.75 in.
from the end of the bore, being the position to give the
greatest initial velocity with a charge of 201 b."
-

The shot used were solid, weighing 1001 b. and
1101 b. The powder used was A 4, and the cartridges
were made up to an uniform diameter of 6 inches and
five-tenths. The charges varied in weight from 121 b.
to 251 b.

The following are stated as the "general results"
of the trial :

" Lead-coated expanding projectiles.—A very short ex-
perience showed that the systems of Messrs. Jeffery and
Britten were unsuited for heavy charges ; large pieces of
lead were blown off the shot, and the shooting was so Wild
as to throw these systems entirely out of the competition.
" Endurance.—About 350 rounds have been fired from
each gun. This is sufficient to text the endurance of guns
such as these, but it is sufficient to indicate that with steel-
lined guns there need be no fear of the breaking down of the
grooving by the abrasion of the ribs or'studs iu either of
these systems ; at all events when in Commander Scott's
system soft bearings are used. The committee can see no
reason at present for placing one gun before the other in
point of endurance.

" Easiness of loading.—The French gun was certainly
the easiest to load ; but there is nothing to complain of in
this respect in Commander Scott's gun. Mr. Lancaster's
shot were all got home with more or less difficulty, and in
some cases a metal rammer had to be used.

"Liability of the projectiles to injury from rough usage.
—None of these descriptions of shot are liable to injury
from knocking about, but the Lancaster should take the
first place in this respect ; Commander Scott's first plan the
second place ; the French shot on Palliser's system the
third ; and Commander Scott's second plan the last.
"Recoil.—There seems no practical difference between
the guns in this respect. In the early part of the trial the
Scott gun had the greatest recoil, but on an exchange of
carriages with the French gun their places in this respect
w'ere reversed."

There is no difference worth mentioning in the