The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-11-12
A BIG GUN.
with Four Hundred and Ferry one
IsssupsIs of POwAer IL Sesuls q TwO-ThOu-
Asmd Pound Hail Forty Ave Feet a0sO ~
Snuei- nssnk.
London standard.l

Il
London Standard!
A disappointment which occurred in a
second attempt to fire the ohe-hundred-
ton gun whetted the interest in a renewal
of the experiments. After an inspection
of the gun and preliminary trial of the
hydraulic machinery, the port door of
the loading turret, technically called the
"cage," was opened, and the muzzle of
the gun depressed in the loading posi-
! ton. The proof shot of two thousand
pounds weight was placed in the loading
truck, and the two cartridges were
placed in position behind it. The pow
der charge was now increased to four
hundred and forty-one pounds, and the
powder was of the character profession
/ ally described as "P g" which consists
of cube-shaped "pebbles one and one
| fourth inches in diameter.
Loading was the work of very few
minutes. 1t was not performed as time
test, but it has been found that the whole
operation of loading, aiming, and firing
can be got through In less than two min.
utes. OF the 80 feet 3 inches, which is
the depth of the bore. the charge occu-
pies nearly 8 feet, and when the mark
on the hydraulic piston showing that it
had gone fairly home, the muzzle was
raised and trained to the left, the work
of very few moments seeing that the
gun can be carried completely round in
eighteen seconds. With the aid of lad
ders Captain Morley, Il. A., the proof
officer, and his assistants laid. the gun so
as to direct the projectal through the two
electric screens which stands before the
butts to measure the velocity wire from
| the instrument-room was connected with
the vent, and the. warning bell was
sounded. Then it was found that Colo
mel Inglis, r. f., who is president pro
tenn. of the committee, was to occupy
the turret while the gun was fired,
and after handing to Lieutenant Will
locks an official looking paper, which,
| by grim joke, was said to be his will, he
entered the exposed side of the tllrret
! with lighted lamp and was fastened in
! with chain and staple. Major Ellis takes
his stand beside thevgun ON the open
side OF the en,ptaceDselst, and Captain
! Lewis, X. E., posts himself ntherecess
on the other side, where are the levers
which control the machinery. All.others
withdraw to such distances and refugees
as prudence may suggest, aud, without
any long interval OF suspense, the gun is
fired. As the spectators run forward
they see Colonel -ngiis walking out of
! the turret. the door of which has burst
open, breaking the iron staple He de-
scribes the conclusion, however, as not
distressing, and accounts Tor the door
opening by the outside vacuum created
by the expansion of the powder gases,
which he thinks, can hardly affect the
permanent works, inclosed as they will
be OH all sides with heavy masonry. As
q man will always have to occupy the
turret to work the loading apparatus
whenever the gun is i'll action, it was as
I surfing to have the opinion of Colonel
Inglis that he should he quite comforta-
bic under the circumstances. The Off
GERS who stood beside the gun stated that
the effect was much the same rs they
might experience fifty yards off, and the
impression upon the other observers was
that the report was not quite so loud as
they had heard the other day. The i'm
preston was soon confirmed III various
WAYS. The recoil with the increased
charge was but 2 feet s inches, not much
more than half the recoil of the other
dav: the shot which then went forty
five feet into the sand-bank, was now
found at depth of thirty feet only; and,
most conclusive of all, the velocity,
which with the 425-pound charge was
1920 feet per second, now measured
with the AL pounds of powder only
/. O4O feet 1t was clear that there was
something wrong somewhere, and the
natural conclusion was that the projectile
had slipped forward while the muzzle
was depressed. The gun was therefore
loaded again with the same charge of AL
pounds, care being first taken to wash it
well out and search it with mirror for
obstacles, Of which none were found, and
all being prepared, it was once more
fred The report was sensibly heavier;
the recoil was 4feet7l inches, the pene-
tration of the sand butt was 40 feet, and,
finally, Captain Morley came from his
observatory with the report OF velocity
of 1,556 feet per second. AS in this
round the shot was proved to be in its
proper position by a measuring rod,
after the gun was elevated---ap recaution
which was not observed an the previous
round-the suspicion that the shot had
slipped forward gained strength, and it
will probably be requisite to employ
wads in future experiments. '''N ''s''
81 H. S. $1,000 -a-.E11-I4L-A IL. Lc4 .lSeegf
/ What ,Io., N. a M ouro,,I .f