The Placer herald., 1859-07-23
The Armstrong Gun.


known to the service Of wal is the Armstrong
gun. A battery Of such weapons, on the
land or ocean, would deal out death and d.
struction in manner horrible to contem.
plate. The London Times thus describes
the weapon:
Each gun is made in about three feet
lengths and on much the same principle "a
the twisted gun barrels. Thin bars OF the
best wrought iron, about two inches broad.
are heated to white heat, and in this state
twisted and welded together in spiral rolls
round steel bar or core, smaller in diane
ter than the bore Of the gun. Over this.
when cold, another twist Of the same kind
is made with the spiral running in contrary
direction, and 80. until three Or four LAYERS
have been put on, according to the calibre
of the gun and the thickness required. The
whole is then re heated and welded together
for the last time under the steam hammer.
The edges Of the three feet lengths are next
planed down so as to admit their Joining
and tapping over, and over these edges are
forced on thick wrought iron rings, which.
being welded down at a white heat, of course
contract, so as to make the joint almost
stronger than if made in one piece. In the
breech an opening is cut down into the
chamber; but the breech itself is separate
from the gun, and is worked backwards by
powerful screw. When the gun is to ke
loaded, and breech is to be worked back.
and wedge-shaped piece, fitting into the
opening of the gun, lifted out, but not to
admit the introduction of tile charge, which
is pushed forward with a ramrod at the back.
working through the large screw in whicI,
the breech turns into the chamber where
the rif1ng begins. The wedge is then re-.
placed, the breech screwed close by single
turn of q lever handle, and the gun fired.
The operation Of loading and firing can be-
performed, we believe, three times in one
minute. Apart from the simple but effective
mechanism Of the breech, the great merit of
this gun consists in the manner in which IL
is formed in spirals of metal bands, which
give it such an enormous increase of strength
that one half the thickness of iron can be
dispensed with
Thus an ordinary long 32 pounler weighs
81 cwt., and requires ten pounds Of powder
to throw ball to its utmost effective range
three thousand yards Sir w. Arnslronp's
80 FOUNDER only weighs 20 cwt., and charge
of five pounds Of powder throws its sho,
five and one-half miles, or nearly ten thou
sand yards In a 32.pounder of this latter
kind there are no less than forty. -four rife.
grooves, having one pitch in ten feet, or
making one complete twist round the inside
in gun Of that length. greater pitch
would no doubt give greater impetus to the
shot, but tine risk of stripping" the lead was
so great that it could not be attem, ted.
The shot used are iron and cylindrical, and
at first were completely coated over with
lead; but this plan has just heen altered, and
the shot have now only two rings of lead
one fourth of an inch thick. and one and a
half inches broad, one at the shoulder and
one at the base of the cone. Both these
rings are dove-tailed, 80 to speak, into the.
iron shot, so as to leave about one-tenth Of
an inch to fit the ring. Thus, when the
cartridge is ignited, the ball is forced forward
from the chamber into the narrow bore,
which it fills so closely, being actually too
large for it, that there is no windage what.
ever, and every explosive force is applied to-
projecting the ball. The gun on which the
Government experimental for months at
Shoeburyness before adopting it, was actual.
ly fired $500 times. and yet is now as ser.
vicable as the day it left the foundery. So
perfect is the weapon as to accuracy, that it
is said that at four thousand yards a target
ten feet square could be hit ninety times out
of one hundred BY good artillerymen.