National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-06
ORDNANCE.
THE RECENT EXPERIMENTS ON NUT
ISLAND.

THE RECENT EXPERIMENTS ON NUT
ISLAND.
The New York Herald gives the following &C.
count of recent trial of ordnance on Nut Is
land, Boston harbor: ssThe experiments were
made under the observation of Captain Trux-
ton, captain Of ordnance of the Navy Depart
ment, and under the supervision of Norman
Wizard, agent of the Department and inventor
of the rifing improvement. For the purposes
of the experimental test there were provided
two guns of % tons each and of 15-inch cali
bre. One was the common smooth-bor and
the other was rifed in accordance with Mr..
Wards invention, but In other respects there
was no difference whatever. One hundred and
forty pounds of powder-the largest quantity
ever used in gun-was fred from each, and
the projectiles were respectively of 450 pounds
weight. The targets consisted of wrought
iron plates of Is inches in thickness, and they
were erected side by side $50 feet distant.
"The rifled projectile fired from the Wirad
gun was of conical shape, and the one fired
from the common smooth-bore piece was ne
cessarily round. The one frst-named went
clear through the 15-inch plates, and out of
sight into a sand bank in the rear. The demo-
lition of the almost inYulnerable target was
complete, and so great was the force with
which 1t was struck that a fragment of 800 or
400 pounds was thrown clear across heisland,
a distance of not less than quarter of mile.
The projectile from the smooth-bore gun pene-
trated the target only about six and half
inches; and as the advantages were precisely
equal, the superiority of the rifed arm was at
once established by the experiment, and ad-
mitted by the Government authorities of OBJ
seryation. Compared with other comparative
tests, this style of gun is the most destructive
ever We: produced. The improvement, as the
Government understands it, does not involve
the manufacture of new gnns to secure it.
''Take the present armament of our forts Just
as they are, and they can be rifed at one-tenth
the cost that new guns can be manufactured,
and at the same time their efficiency as smooth
bore ordnance is not in the least impaired; and,
including the cost of riling, the arms will be
cheaper by one-tenth than the best English
guns, and for destructive powers their efficiency
can hardly ever be equaled. The improvement
consists in rifiing each gun with two grooves,
having for q 15-inch gun twist of about one
full turn In so feet, and so stationing the
grooves at the side of the bore that neither
groove will intersect or cross the bottom or top
of the bore, thus leaving 1t smooth at the bot
tom and top where the shot would strike in
"balloting," should the gun be used as q
smooth-bore for spherical projectilcs after be-
ing rifed.
"After the gun is riHed, however, 1t is proposed
to improve the spherical projectiles now on
hand by drilling three small holes In each, q
little distance from the point of contact the
shot or shell would have with the bore of the
gun when inserted as if for iring-the holes to
be e4ui-distant from each other in the form of a
regular triangle. Into these holes insert three
brass pins each to be cut, after the insertion of
such, the exact length necessary to support the
projectile up and out Of contact with the bot
tom of the bore, so that the windage shall be
equal all round. By supporting the projectile
ing its impulse from the powder, the windage
all round alike, an achievement is arrived at by
most simple means, often attempted in this
country and Europe without success.n