New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-11-08
An Eighty.TOn Gun.
The London Dolly telegraph writes:

The London Daily Telegraph writes:
1t may not be generally known tina: the
| principle upon which al! our guns are now
| made is that discovered by Colonel Fraser.
! Briefly. i: consists OF series OF coils,
! welded together in such a way that the
grain OF the iron is best opposed to the ex.
plosive force Of the power, and encircling
a stee! tube, re interior Of which is ritiad.
A long bar OF iron-say of eight inches
square previously prepared, is slowly
drawn from furnace to a length OF abou:
300 feet, and wound into double col: in
the form of a cylinder. This is again
heated and placed beneath a steam ham.
mer. where, it is welded together by ire.
mendOus blows, which go effectually do
their work that a cylinder capable Of bea,.
ing the greatest possible strain is formed
at a comparatively trihing expense. Some
of these coils being made. they are
placed in order upon q long steel tube which
has been made in Sheffield, and the weapon
is finally turned out at an average cost of
about $50 ton, Is against nearly ESQ at
Krupp's factory in Essen. Upon this prin.
elple, then, it is resolved to construct an
eighty ton gun, which should be able to
pierce twenty inches of iron at distance OF
1000 yards, with shot 1000 pounds in weight.
and by the aid Of 300 pounds of power. The
length Of this magnificent piece Of artillery
was fixed at twenty-seven feet, its diameter
at tho trunnion six feet, and the muzzle six.
teen inches. inside Measurement. II was
calculated that such gun would be able to
deliver its mischief working missile at dis.
lance of nearly ten miles, and that it would,
at the same time, be easily placed in the
turret OF a war ship or the embrasure Of a
battery. and worked quickly and without
difficulty. OF course there were many
difficulties in the way Of the con.
struction o! such weapon. No steam
hammer such as that which Mr..
krupp possesses at Essen was to be found
in England; no FORCES were built large
enough tor such tremendous heat: 40
cranes were in position to hoist suct .
weight. But all these difficulties were
speedily overcome by the skiliful officials a.
WOOlwich. The FORCES were built, q huge
steam hammer OF forty tons weight. with
double action aTran cement and a striking
power Oh near: thousand tons. made. and
very soon all was il readiness to begin the
construction o! the great gun. curiou..v
enough. his Majesty. the Emperor Of Rus.
sIA, was the frst to gee one o: its coils
welded, and since that time the work has
been gradually going on, till now the steel
tube, the breech piece. one colt. and the |
truDnioE are finished: so that It il certain
that by June next the gun will be ready for |
trial! II will then consist of the following
parts: A tough steel tube inside. weighing
nearly sixteen tons, and measuring about
twenty-four feet in length; breech.pieos
coil twelve feet in length; one central. an.
other coil nearer the muzzle. and the trim.
MON coil The cascabel through which the |
fire from the friction tube is Communicates
to the cartridge inside the qua il Of steel.
aud iuWspsely strong. ~