The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-25 00:00:00

RIFLED ORDNANCE.

The competitive trials at Shoebaryness of the
rifled 32-pounder service guns have been brought
to a close by the Ordnance Select Committee with-
out any very satisfactory results. At the final trial
Lancaster's (oval bore), which had previously fired
about 90 rounds, stood the 57 competitive rounds
without serious wear, but every shell had to• be
rammed down with a heavy metal rammer by two
or three men, and several were cracked or broke up
in firing. Scott's (three groove centrical bore)
had already stood 300 rounds, but this gun
burst at the 10th round from a flaw in the bore.
Hadden's (eliptical three groove), which had fired
130 rounds, was cracked at the vent after 50 rounds.
Jeffrey's (five groove segmental bore) had fired 50
rounds, and stood the 57 rounds without apparent

injury. Britten's (seven square groove) had fired
300 rounds, and stood the final trial, but all the
grooves show considerable wear. Armstrong's im-
proved shunt gun burst at the 45th round. The
gun rifled upon the French plan (three groove) was
rendered unserviceable after 42 rounds.
The Lancaster and Armstrong shells fit tight;
Scott's centres against the groove, but allows a
windage of about 1-12th of an inch ; the others
have more or less windage, Britten's as much as
1-7th, which greatly reduces the strain on the gun.
With two degrees of elevation Scott's and Lancas-
ter's and Jeffrey's ranged 1,100 yards, Hadden's
900, Armstrong's 1,000, and Britten's varied
from 750 to 1,050 yards. The simple
iron shells of Lancaster, Scott, and Had-
den have less wearing effect on the bore,
require no covering such as the others
necessitate, and the velocities of effective breaching
distance appear to be decidedly in favour of the
simple iron projectile. The trials have been con-
ducted under the superintendence of the Select Com-
mittee, whose report will be looked for with much
anxiety, as the Whitworth and Armstrong heavy
guns, as well as the service guns tested at Shoe-
huryness, have all failed to answer the expectations
of the inventors, and none of them appear to be cal-
culated to meet the requirements of the day.

THE ESTABLISHED NAVAL RIFLED
(ARMSTBOIVG) GU.N.]

The following letter has been addressed to the
editor of the 2inies :

Sir,—ln furtherance of the important object an-
nounced in your article of the 9th inst., recently
received here, of promoting an inquiry which shall
place before the public " the whole truth about the
Armstrong gun," I beg to offer for your service the
following facts and observations.
When the first 80-pounder or 100-pounder Arm-
strong gun, for shot of both these and of intermediate
weights were alike employed—was used against the
Trusty, in September, 1859, the interior of the gun
itself was defective, having become so while under
proof, and the defect had been reamed out at Wool-
wich, whether the gun had been returned from
Shoeburyness for the purpose.

This gun was the type of the present naval 100-
pounder, which differs from it only in being about
15 cwt. heavier, with a calibre of 7 in. instead of
6 in. ; but the first of these was not brought to
proof till November, 1860. It was then sent to the
Stork gunboat, at Portsmouth; and your own
columns, as well as those of your contemporaries,
announced to the public in the following December
that, after sustaining but a few rounds, it, too, had
been condemned as dangerously defective.
In June last, when making inquiry about the
particular gun used in some experiments at Shoe-
buryness, I found it to be a second naval 100-
pounder, which had become defective, and had been
returned as dangerous from the Stork ; but at
Shoeburyness it was considered as still capable of
cautious use.

In August last, when examining the gun abou
to be used against Mr. Jones's target, I found it im.
possible to omit noticing a most evident flaw of con.
siderable apparent length on the left-hand interior
of the breech, which I was informed was then five-
eighths of an inch deep, had made its first appear-
ance after about 14 shots, was gradually deepening
each time the gun was used, and had made it neces-
sary for a fourth specimen of the established naval
rifled (Armstrong) 100-pounder gun to be demanded
for the service of this one gunboat alone since the
previous month of December.
I necessarily conclude the three guns thus suc-
cessively disabled by service in the Stork to have
been considered sound when supplied, as the use of
these guns in this vessel is also considered to be our
nearest representation of their fitness for real action,
and thus we have a continued series from the first
production down to the present day of those wea-
pans on which England places her special reliance,
breaking down one after the other under proofs
very far below that severity which the first reality
of war must impose on them.
These 100-pounders of the Stork have been han-
dled as well as superintended by the best gunners
of the navy. Each of them has been disabled while
using only the lightest charges and missiles for
which they are designed—the 811 b.-shell with 121 b.
charge. The 1101 b. solid shot, with 141 b. charge,
was used for the first time out of the third gun only,
subsequent to its condemnation when firing at
Jones's target on the 21st Aug. last, tle shot itself
having had no existence as a " supply" prior to July
last. In no case, it is believed, had an aggregate of
50 rounds been fired out of either of them before
they became defective ; and up to the present time
this gun has never been subjected to any represen-
tation of real action by 50 consecutive rounds of
rapid fire, for those 50 rounds stated by your con-
temporary to have been delivered " in something (From the Mechanic.? Magazine.)
like eight hours" can hardly be admitted as having If any doubt had existed as to the necessity of a
put the gun to any such practical proof. full and impartial investigation into the alleged de-
Besides eliciting the several defects in the strut- fects of the Armstrong gun, Sir William Arm-
ture of the guns themselves, their limited use from strong's letter, published in The Sun of Friday
the Stork has sufficed to elicit their liability to week, would have settled the question. Such in-
choke up their shallow grooves with the lead vestigation is the more necessary, as Sir William
covering of their missiles. When the radical vice of declines to continue the controversy. No doubt this
" stripping" this lead covering :takes place, all ac- controversy has been needlessly embarrassed by
curacy of fire is then destroyed, and the gun must personalities foreign to the matter under debate.
undergo a tedious and delicate process in cleaning This, though to be regretted, is hardly to be won-
out the grooves before it is again serviceable. dered at, as it has been the fashion for artillery con-
Of the naval 40-pounder, which each day tells us structors to appropriate, readily enough, whatever
is being supplied with its heavier sister to every amount of fame and eclat their advocates and friends
size of ship at home or abroad, the only proof it has might be pleased to award them. This involves
undergone within my knowledge at all represent- antagonism, and to some extent implies personality.
ing real action has been in the recent experiments But the time is now come for investigating this
with Capt. Coles's cupola, which had to be inter- matter without personality. If the inherent defects
rupted by the successive breaking down of three of of the Armstrong gun be as alleged, the public
these guns also ; and, though the pieces were again should know of them ; and, if otherwise, Sir Wil-
made serviceable after intervals varying from 72 to Ham will derive solace and satisfaction from the
6 hours, in each case the effects on the issue of an results of the inquiry. There have recently been
action must have been all those produced by self- many inquiries on subjects of much less importance,
disabled guns. and looked forward to with much less anxiety.
Here, toe, the best gunners of the navy were It will be seen that Sir William Armstrong's letter,
selected to work and superintend, but about 15 which we reproduce in another column, does not re-
shots seem to have been the utmost continuous fir- fute the statements made by us a fortnight since.
ing which occurred without accidents ; these, as Sir William, in reply to our allegations, quotes the
well as the disabling of the guns, taking place by results of certain experiments conducted at " Shoe-
the breakage of the vent-pieces, 12 of which were buryness last week." Now, the fact is, that the
destroyedofthine sluepsspntehesanimlmooaeurloautnedws
wrought-iron)— month, not at Shoeburyness, but at Woolwich. It
them failure referred to by us occurred within the last
being
and, from this fires attempt to represent the stress
is to be regretted, in the interests of that fair play
of real action with either of our larger naval rifled which should characterise all scientific investiga-
guns, we thus arrive at the nece •ts of providing tions, that Sir William should, in his letter, have
spare vent-pieces on a scale
vessi
tionate to the supplies of shot andry ir
shell. spoken
Proper. ignored the occasion on which the experiments
spoken of by us were made. Possibly, owing to his
These vent-pieces, moreover, are reali in •
ty the numerous engagements, he might not have been
breeches of the guns, which consist of a solid metal cognisant of these experiments, but we must say it
plug or stop, having a separate screw with which is difficult to assume so much. We beg to state that
to fix
it from behind, whereas the breech of the the occasion fowling-piece has the screw tapped upon authorities w
was official ; the naval and military
eppre place.
et whensir Williamthe occurrenceArnietren g
de-
the
ordinary
plug itself—but, as the separate screw of the tailed by us tooker
Armstrong breech is hollow, for the purpose of look- own assistant, Mr. John
Anderson, was also present.
ing through it,
whenever the plug is blown out or The Shoeburyn •
ess expeliments have been need-
destroyed the barrel, like that of the fowling-piece lessly introducedinto the di •
scussion. They arc beside
the issue, and tend to promote confusion. Since, how-
with its breech out, can be seen through from end
cud. The aperture,
however, by which the plug ever, they have been introduced •
I
, t is well that the

ME ARMSTRONG GUN.