The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-05-31
: TaE kRUPP GUNS.
What They Are, and what Gave
Them Their n3erueaSlOn.
From the Louisville Courier. Journal

krupp has given reputation to the
Prussian artillery, or the Prussian
artillery has given quick reputation to
krupp. 1t is certain, however, that
in the last ten years the Prussian
artillery, using for the most part
krupp's system Of breech-loading
rified common, has achieved Il very en-
viable reputation. 1t Is also certain
that Krupp's guns would have achiev-
ed as much repute even If it had
come to them slower. The Krupp
guns are made of east steel, composed
of puddled steel and pure wrought
iron, melted in crucibles and then run
into large ingots, which are worked
under powerful steam hammers. In
loading, the breech block is drawn
out only far enough to allow the
charge and projectile to pass through
hole i'm its end: an exterior lever
working on hing, starts the block
which, being guided by proper grooves
can readily moved in or out.
The various calibers are forged from
single ingot up to the nine-inch gun.
The larger guns are built up by shrink
ing successive hoops of steel over a
central steel tube, and in theses slight
modification Is made so that the
charge and projectile are inserted at
the side Of the breech instead of
throught the end. The larger calibers
are from six to eight, eight to nine,
nine to ten, eleven, twelve, and four-
teen inches. The heaviest Krupp gun
used at the siege Of Paris were six-inch
weighing 500 pounds. aud firing
tifty-five to sixty pound projectiles,
and they were opposed to the heaviest
French naval guns. Both the French
and Prussians attribute the success Of
the Prussians in their late war to the
excellence of the latter's artillery,
which whenever practicable, was en-
ployed in mass: but there is no ques-
ton that the superiority of the Prus
sian field guns was very much en-
chanced by the skilful manner in
which were handled. Many of the
battles of that war were artillery com
bats in which the krupp gun bore
conspicuous part. The attack on
MacMalion at Worth was made under
cover of battery of ninety-six guns.
AtGravelotte over 300 guns, mostly Of
the krupp make, played upon the
French infantry and forced it to re-
tire. At Sedan $50 guns brought
death to l0,O0o Frenchmen. All
that war the cannons roar
sounded the praises Of the krupp gun.
The krupp projectiles are of cast
steel, lead coated, and take the rifling
of four raised rings on their surface.
The deep grooves cut into the steel to
retain the lead reduces the strength
of the shells SO much that they can
contain only very small bursting
charges compared with those of some
other guns. Thus the Armstrong and
Whitworth 9-inch shells carry charges
from ten to fourteen pounds, while
the krupp 9-inch shell coatains
charge of only four pounds. The s-inch
seacoast krupp gun, sending 300
pound projectile, is used with great
effect up to 800 yards against ships
covered by ~ inch plates, and at the
same range the nine inch gun, with
297 pound projectile, does serious
injury to 6-inch armor plates. Four
teen inch guns have been made by
krupp, which with l5o-pound charge,
fire shells weighing 1850 pounds, ex-
elusive of shell charge ofl7 pounds,
or solid shot weighing l,2l2 pounds.
These large guns, with carriage and
turntable, weigh about 80 tons; the
gun alone weighing ll2,OOO pounds,
which is not quite SO much as the
American twenty-inch Rodman gun.
The English consider steel guns dan
gerous, and this objection might
attach to the krupp gun were ii not
that the Rodman prismatic powder,
which gives EXTREMITY low pressure,
is exclusively used for them. Nearly
all the European powers have adopt
ed the Krupp system for their heavy
guns, and the Krupp field pieces are
now in very general use. Turkey,
Roumania and Servia were among
the first to follow the example of
Prussia in this respect, and Turkey
is now well supplied with field artill-
cry of this character.