The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-27 00:00:00

A MAMMOTH GUN.

A. colossal piece of artillery is now in course o f
construction in the Royal Gun Factories at Wool-
wich, orders having been given for a 35-ton gun. It
is to be an enlarged specimen of the "Woolwich
Gun," a coil gun on the Frazer principle, with fewer
parts than the Armstrong and less cost, but greater
strength. The new gun is about 16 feet with a
maximum diameter of 56 inches and a calibre of 111
inches. It will be composed of six pieces, of which
the breech coil will be the principal, weighing 20
tons out of the 35. It will consist of two
bars of iron coiled one over the other, one
of them being 200 feet long, the other 170, and the
work of coiling up these bars while red-hot, and of
pounding the double coil by the largest steam
hammer in the Arsenal, will be one of the most
interesting of the various processes of construction.
The trunnion hoop is another important part of the
gigantic weapon of destruction. It will be the
largest solid forging of the kind ever made. Twenty
tons of iron will be worked en masse under the
Nasmyth hammer, and when made solid a hole
is punched through the centre, corresponding in
size to the body of the gun. The Woolwich monster
will require an aperture forty inches in diameter in
the trunnion hoop, and a fortnight's incessant work,
night and day, will be needed to complete the
forging. When finished, this part of the gun will
weigh fifteen tons, and then will come the last and
heaviest undertaking, the welding of the trunnion
hoop on to the breech coil. The Americans make
smooth-bore guns of fifteen inches in diameter, and
though rifled guns cannot be made of equivalent size
according to our present method, it is not impro-
bable that the latter may reach a larger diameter
than even the great experiment at AN oolwich.

THE DRESS OF NAVAL OFFICERS.

Officers in the Navy it appears suffer under a most
unpleasant grievance with respect to their dress.
When invited in any number to a levee, dinner,
ball, or evening party, they are in grave doubt as to
what particular garments to put on, and probably
when they arrive at the entertainment they have
the happiness of discovering that their brother
officers are clad insuits totally different to theirs. The
difficulty arises in consequence of each officer being
obliged to provide himself with two suits, to be worn
on special occasions. These are both handsome,
although one is described in the Navy list as
undress. They are, however, very opposite, the coat
of one being single-breasted and open, while the
other, in accordance with the prevailing taste of the
officers themselves, is double-breasted. Serious incon-
venience and anxiety of mind is said to result often
in consequence of this diversity of dress, and strong
efforts have at last been commenced with a view of
removing it, by providing for the abolition of the
open coats. Cocked hats are worn with either set of
garments, and -the officers think that nothing looks
so ridiculous or unsailor-like as these ornaments on
occasions when loose and civilian-like garments are
worn as well.

A DAY'S MARCH.

The march of the 94th Regiment from Woolwich
to Aldershott will not be forgotten in the annals of
the corps. The soldiers of the British Army are