The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-29 00:00:00

MORE ABOUT GUNS.

The Ordnance investigation, hitherto prose-
cuted before a Joint Committee of Congress, has
developed the following, among other interesting
facts :

SUMMARY OF BURST GUNS.
Parrott 100-pounders (rifles)
Parr4:tt 15D- pounders (8 inch rifles)
Parrott 10-inch rifles
Parrott 30-pounders
Rodn.an 12-iuch rifles .. - 4
Podmau 8-inch rifles
Rodman 15 inch smooth-b' re (navy) l7
Rodman 1.1--inch smooth-bore (army) 1
I `ahlgren 150-pounders (rifles) 3
Dahlgren }n-pounders (rifles)
Dahlgren 50-pounders (rifles)
Dahlgren 30-pounders (rifles)
Dshlgren 80-pounders (condemned) 2
Dahlgren 50-pounders (c.,nd ruffed)
D;d 150-pounders (condemned) 6
Dahlgren 13-inch smooth-bore 1
Dahlgren 11-inch smooth-bore 1
Miscellaneous wrought and cast-iron
Burst. spontaneonsly
Cracked, fissured, or ruptured before proof

Total_

258

Eighteen Parrott 100-pounders, in addition to the
above, are unaccounted for, supposed to be burst.
Twenty-seven Parrott 150-pounders were con-
demned by the navy. Of 43 Rodman 15-inch guns,
cast for the navy, which was the greatest number'
in service at any one time, 17 have burst or been
disabled. ' Of three 12-inch Rodman rifles, cast for
the navy, one was rifled on the plan of Mr. Parrott
acd burst at. the 27th fire ; one on the plan of At-
water, burst at the 30th fire; one on the plan of
Rodman, burst at the 16th fire. Of four Dahlgren
150-pounder rifles, one burst at the 27th fire, one
at the 20th fire, one at the 75th fire, and one at the
60th fire. One 13-inch gun, cast solid, at Provi-
dence, endured 178 fires. One 13-inch gun, cast
hollow, at Pittsburgh, endured 108 fires. The navy
15-inch guns, cast on Rodman's plan, are divided
by Admiral Dahlgren in his testimony into three
classes :-1. The original Dahlgren model. 2. The
new model by Captain Wise. 3. The new model
by Captain Wise. Of the first class, 3-1 were cast,
17 were altered to the second class. Of these, eight
were disabled—nearly half—after enduring but an
average of 135 fires for each. One-fifth of the un-
altered guns were disabled after an average of 175
fires for each gun. Sixty-six guns were cast of the
third class. The trial gun endured biit 131 fires,
when it was disabled. Of the remaining 65, 40
have been mounted in iron-clads, and have
been altogether fired 1,333 times ; one burst,
three condemned, two of them sold as old iron.
One-fifth of these failed, being subjected to an
average of 53 fires each. The guns above enume-
rated are all the 15-inch Rodman guns which have
been fired in service, none of the army guns having
been so fired. The Rodman gun was first officially
adopted in 1862 by the Ordnance Board, of which
the inventor and patentee was a member. When
Gen. Dyer became Chief of Ordnance, in the fall of.
1864, one of his first acts was to appoint Gen. Rod-
man Constructor of Ordnance. He raised the price
of the 15-inch gun to $7,000, which was previously
$6,500, and issued an order to receive the guns
made under the supervision of the constructor
without subjecting them to the powder-proof. Thus
it can be seen that General Rodman has held in
succession three important positions in relation to '
the reception of his guns, one-twelfth of the whole
price of which he has received as royalty, viz. :-
Ist. Inventor and patentee while an officer of the
United States army, and of the Ordnance Board—
the power behind the throne—which adopted his
invention officially for the service of the United
States. 3d. Constructor of ordnance, charged with
the inspection and reception of the guns in which he
is interested as patentee, receiving a royalty. two
hundred and ninety-six 15-inch guns have been re-
ceived by the army ordnance department under
this organization :-1.233 10-inch Rodman guns,
and one hundred and fifty-five 8-inch, for which car-
riages and a large supply of projectiles b ave been pur-
chased. There are no data upon which to found
an opinion that the Rodman gun, if subjected to
service test, would have any special rate of endur-
ance. 'None of them, except those referred to
above as used in the navy, have been fired in battle '
or service. A large proportion of them have been
mounted without having been fired at all. The
siege and sea-coast guns purchased by the Army
Ordnance Office from the Ist of July, 1861, to
June 30, 1866, c05t55,354,365 51 ; of this amount,
$708,554 20 was paid for Parrott guns. The rest
of this amount was paid principally for Rodman
guns. $3,230,526 52 was paid for Parrott projec-
tiles. 4289,105 80 was paid to Mr. Parrott for
carriages for his 100-pounders, 200-pounders, and
300-pounders. The navy purchases from the Fort
Pitt fouitdery, where the Rodman guns were prin-
cipally made, amortnted to $2,116,052 62. The
navy purchases from Mr. Parrott have not been
ascertained. It is believed that more than 175
100-pounder guns were. obtained. The number of
the Dahlgren shell guns which have been cracked
or fissured inside previc us to proof, or during ex-
periments or service, could not be learned. The
Chief of the Bureau evaded the questions relating
to the bad qualifies of his own invention, while he
was elaborate in his answers as to the bad qualities
of the gams of al er inventors.—New York Tribune.