The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-03-23
GREAT GUNS.

THE CANNoNs OF THE FUrURs-How THE
MILLENNIUM Is TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT.
The London Standard says: England is
now building a ship to carry twenty-four
inches of srmor, and she is making a gun
which will be eighty-one tons in weight. 1t
may be said here is proof of Englaud's SUI
periority. PROFESSIONALLY the ships splen-
didly designed. So also is the gun, which
we are TO have some time about next July,
and which will doubtless turn out to be
wonderful weapon. Artillerists speak of the
coming monster as an "awiul gum" Crowds
assemble at the forge whenever one of the
huge coils is to be pummelled by the new
steam hammer al Woolwich Arsenal. Even
in the making of thirty-eight ton guns
m asses of iron weighing twenty eight tons
at a welding heat, have to be laid under the
| hammer.
For the larger gun an incandescent mass
of forty five tons has to be fetched out of
the fire and duly hammered. The furnace
has the capacity of a cottage, and the tongs
bv which the glowing cylinder il
lifted out of its burning bed weighs
no less than thirty tons. A steam
crane bears the whole weight of tongs and
coil, and everything proceeds without acct
! dent or hitch of any kind. At night the
sight is truly grand, and well ropays those
who take the trouble to be present. Other
nations are not likely to be blind to the adj
of guns exceptionally powerful. Already
it is known that steel tubes are being made
having q diameter six inches greater than
that of the tube of the Sl-ton gun. These
tubes may be intended for the
lining Of the American smooth-bore
guns which are to be convered into rifles.
Possibly they are for the use OF the French
government, or for the Italian. At all
events such masses of steel are being made
and are destined to play some part in con-
orffl
tsinly the appearance of l9O-ton muzzle-
loading gun among foreign ornaments is by
no means remote contingency. But what
are we prepared to dc? Assuredly the great
steam hammer at Woolwich arsenal can ac-
complish something more for us than
THE MAKING OF AN EIGHTY-oNE TON GUN,
big as that undoubtedly will be with its bore
of sixteen inches in diameter. and twenty
four feet in length. firing prcjectile weigh
ing l 800 pounds. propelled by 500 pounds of
powder, therange OF the weapon being seven
miles. All this is very formidable, but il is
not by any means all that can be DONE We
NAV double the weight of the gun, making
it l60 tons, having a caliber of twenty inches
and bore of at least thirty feet. This would
be magnificent piece of ordnance; but
@ ven then there would be something beyond,
and why should we stop short OF that which
must be gained at some period or other Let
Us contemplate the further step at once. Why
not have gun with a bore of twenty -four
inches-simply two feet? The weight would
be 275 tons, the charge OF powder would be
1000 pounds, the weight OF the projectile
nearly two tons and hail. and the range
eight or nine miles! This is not a mere
dream, but perfectly practicable piece of
work. The colt would probably be triAe
less than EGO per ton, or e25 900 for the en-
tire piece. In weight of projecJile such
gun would be something more than a ,000-
FOUNDER. Perhaps when we had made such
u weapon we might think we had gone far
enough. AS for srmor, the proiectile of the
275.ton gun would possibly penetrate three
fes with a corresponding backing. As
we showed some time ago. DIR. Coils
Browne modelled a ship which shall actually
carry three feet of armor. This armor
would also be presented at slope, so that
our 600 FOUNDER would not have its work
to do. AS for cost there is the consideration
that one such gun will give results as no
number of smaller guns could accomplish.
The In1iexible sheathed in part with two
feet of .armor, will carry four 81 ton guns,
cosling6S 600 each. Her four guns, there
fore, will cost more than one 90 ton gun. Yet
bow would such vessel as the Inflexible be
able to stand the attack of tremendous
weapon? The 5000 pound projectie, unless
striking with considerable obliquty, would
readily smash through the thickess part of
the armor, and two three such visitors,
having bursting charge of 800 pounds OF
powder, might decide the fate OF the ship
Surely the result would be cheap at the
price,
The Chicago Tribune asserts that the