The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1881-10-29
CASTING A TwENrY-TON GUN.

CASTING A TwENTY-TON GUN.
Fifty-six thousand pounds of molten iron
werei ready at the Reading Iron Works, Read
ing, Pa, Monday for the casting of the
Lyman Haskell acceleratiue, or multi
charge, gun, and an interested company
gathered to see the casting. The gun, its
inventors claim, is to effect a radical change
in modern gunnerY. The theory Of the in
ventors is that they can give Increased We.
locity to ball, with less danger Of bursting
gun, than has heretofore been deemed
possible. Their plan is to first overcome the
inertia ofthe projectile by a moderate charge
of coarse grained powder burning slowly.
As soon as the FRS. force Of this is expanded
another charge is exploded Immediately be-
hind the projectile. This discharge is fol-
lowed by two other discharges in succession,
80 that constant force is added as the pro-
jectile passes through the gun, while no one
discharge Of powder is as great as is now
used for similar projectile.
Experiments have been made for years in
perfecting this gun for range, for penetra-
ton, and velocity. One test was made at the
Washington Navy Yard between a 5.inch
bore Whitworth English gun aud a 2linch
bore multicbargc gun fired at the same tar
get, which consisted of wrought iron plates
S inches thick, backed by Is inches OF solid
oak timber, at 200 yards distance. The
English gun fred three S0-pound shot, not
one of which penetrated the target. The
multicharge gun fred two shots, one OF
which went through the target and about
100 yards beyond. The English gun used
about IA pounds of powder and did not
penetrate one diameter of its bore. The
American gun penetrated to more than
twice the diameter Of its bore and used less
than pounds of powder. The penetration
Of the American gun was half as much
again as that of the largest Armstrong gun.
Gen. Newton calculated that ten and twelve
inch multicbarge guns will penetrate more
iron than the sixteen and seventeen inch
single charge guns, and il was determined
to build gun of six.inch boro TO test the
invention on a large scale. The Sc 900
pounds of molten iron in the Reading works
was for the casting Of the breech end.
The melting began at 2 p. M, Monday,
and the iron was in two big furnaces, one
containing 32,0s5 and the other 24,O15 lbs
Col. j. R. Haskell had invited number of
officers of the army, iron men, newspaper
men, and personal friends to witness the
casting. Among those present were Con-
gressman-elect Daniel Ermentrout, H. G. II.
Tarr, T. G. Smirk, B. II. West and j. G.
West of the Reading Iron Works, and many
of the 5000 workmen employed in the var
ious branches of the works. The immense
mould of the cannon stood in pit twenty
one feet deep. a hugh iron kettle swung by
a crane ready to receive the contents of ono
of the furnaces. A gutter led from the mouth
of the other furnace to the mould pit. At
2;25 p. M, the emptying of one furnace in
to the kettle began, and in few minutes
about $4,000 pounds Of the molten iron had
sputtered ont with grand display of pryo-
technics that kept the spectators at iis-
tance. Then the big crane lifted the melt
ed iron ov'rto convenient place for pour
ing it into the mould. While the mass was
cooling 10 proper consistency for pouring
Col. Haskell said:
ave now propose TO cast the breech sec
tion of the gun, which is fifteen feet long.
and co.taius the four pockets that hold the
charges of powder TO bc successfully dis
charged. Each Of these pockets wrli con-
tain 2s pounds of powder, and the entire
quantity required to charge the gun will be
1870 pounds. With this we expect to project
$50 pounds Of shot WITH Penetrating effect
oi four calibres, or three and half calibrcs
more than the strongest known guns. Mr..
A. S. Lyman, of New York is the inventor
of the principle Of multickarge guns, and
have made some improvements which /
think will make the principle practicable.
The entire length Of the gun will be % feet,
and its weight, when completed, about 40.
coo pounds. We claim that the strain on
this gun, while doing enormously more
effective work than is done at present, will
be much less than upon the guns now in
use. The latter require pressure of IS, 900
pounds to the inch at the breech. We be-
gin with $4,000 pounds but get our power
by repeating the dose. Our aggregate pres
sure will be greater. but the strain Oh the
gun will be much lees"
At 3:5j p. m, the metal in the big kettle
bad cooled sufficiently to be used. A sturdy
workman whose post near the furnace
seemed TO be one that would roast man in
about two minutes, picked away the clay
and brick at the furnace mouth, and the
red hot stream of iron began TO pour out OF
the second furnace. At the same moment
the big kettle was tipped as il it had been
a teapot and two rivers of fire ran rapidly
into the mould. In less than six minutes
the mould was filled with its As, 900 pounds
of iron, the mouth of the furnace was closed,
and the casting was flushed, leaving a
hugh mass Of iron in the furnace
At least two weeks must elapse before the
immense mass will cool. Then it will be
bored and lined with steel, the pockets will
be arrsyed, and the end will be cast and
screwed on. All this will be the work of
several months.
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STATE NEWS.