The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-09-10
M - - x = ~ ssI, K n jll.ffi
.Ghe !0ittelE iQetlce.r.
once, Nos. 70 and 81 Fourteenth Street.
THE DYNAMITE GUN.
Description of the Monster TINT Nothing
ff A44F' 81 Can Resist.

Il
/ @.g THE DYNAMITE GUN.
A Description of the Monster TINT Nothing
4 ASf lIN Can Resist.
ctere'dad Herald. {-
Mr.. D. N. MelIord, Of Toledo, is ut the
kcnnard House. Tic Is an elderly gentle.
man and Is known in scientific and mill.
tary circles. MS the inventor OF the dyna.
mite gun which has recently been tired as
4 force In warfare IN New York. Mr.. Met
ford has given twenty years to the study
OF sunnery, the first dating back to 1856.
when Ills attention was called TO tho pnne.
matte gun which depended on tho acce-
lcrated force Of compressed air TO gvo
force TO the solid shot. At that time there
was not the perfection In compress and
there were no steam pumps or coIldcnscrs.
The growth OF the ironclnd system which
were resisting any powder Tint gun pow.
der could bring to bear upon them led him
to Try 10 either increase the power OF the
gun powder oil the guns or discover some
other force. .5ll. M
A rear admiral said TO him one day in
Washington, In June, 1882, that il he could
invent n gun which would throw dyna-
mite projectilc Of eighty pounds asiinst
an ironcad It would breach her so Il mule
could jump through thcholc That even
Inv in his hotel Mr.. Meiiord planned his
dynamite gun, The original ono Is now
in New York. It briefly consist OF plain
two.inch snooth-borc brass tube twenty
feet long and n quarter OF m inch thick.
'lhc gun has beaten everything yet made.
1t rests on u wooden support TO hold the
barrel and prevent it waring over the
tru'lion, and Is supported on u pivot post.
On the rear end OF this gun was i. common
lircmen's coupling, to which piece OF
heavy two-ilich hose was attached and
connected to the magazine Of compressed
mir. This magazine is round boiler
shaped, md XXI feet OF rvitcd iron.
The magazine is connected with
the steam mir compressor, the
,lexiblity OF the hose permitting the gun
to be tnvcrscd OIL the trunion. The pro.
iectile which slips into this barrel and
which does the mischief when sent out Oh
business is thirty-four inches long, four
teen inches OF which is brass tube fitting
on a tenon OF wood onc-quar,er of m
inch in diameter, diversins toward the
rear Of the barrel until it is almost the
same size MS the barrel bore. This tube
incloscs and protects the charge OF dyna-
mite, while the explosion is produced by
Il percussion fuse in the head OF the pro.
jectile on striking its object. This wooden
tenor or Sabot at the bore diverging, rs it |
does, is dca!sned to direct the flight Of the
projeclile like 4 feather OF I'll arrow. When
charged tue projecti!c in the original gun
weighed but three and one.llalf pounds,
and the greatest capacity attained in dis.
charging 1t was n pressure OF 100 pounds to
the square inch.
The first trial OF the gun was oil tho 22StI,
and 18th OF january, 1888, in til. basc- |
ment OF Il inanuiactory building in Toledo.
Only low pressure was used. 4 ,li ,charse
with Twenty-Five pounds to the square
inch, gave 4 penetration in hard seasoned |
oak Of three inches. A pressure OF 10
pounds gave i'll the Same resistance pen
c:rntion OF ten and one.hali inches. The
gun was taken to lakeside in the follow
ing spring, where Il longer range was
given. At Lakeside the inventor added a
ten loot section to the barrel, making il
thirty feet in length. He found that
where l.e could get ,hree-quarter mile
range at twenty lcet, vii. $ thirty foot
barrel he could get 4 mile and u Gusrler
range. From Lakeside thessun was taken
to sau:h Sprwalls, Conn, in the winter Of
1884 whese i Nas .:tted with sufficient
pressure TO handle ii. Then il wss sent
10 Fort Hamilton, Nov York, iocrr uraI,
teal experiment. Tho first target
shooting was done at 1000 yards range,
the highest Pressure being two hundred
and .ifty-iiya pedni.5 The projectilc ut the
distance penetrated target u heavy tim.
Der and STONE twenty.six inches. 1t was
admitted by the military officers present
US being yeiy remarkable both ior power
and accuracy. From Fort Hamilton the
Gnn was placed on y parapct commanding
the hhf!jiar, and there charged with i60
pounds pressure. Tho distance between
Fort Hamilton and Fort N'adswofth is
o,l0o yaTnS. The gun sent tic three and
onc-ciehth pound prolcc,iio Tassthcnar-
graph Hill, 4 distance OF mile and half,
and sum-; It into the hard concrete earth
about seven iect s...i WILLY tore
the ground besides. All tile : oHicers
conceded that it eScelled anything i'll
powct M: cree witfa projecti!c OF that
weight: Captain zoli.,sHs commanding
Fort Wadsworth then brgan extcusivS
communication with tic Government
with reference 10 tito Hew departure iii
warfare. The inventor readily diseognt6tl
the defect OF the gun in the flexible hose
attachment, which would not keep in cx-
act line with the calihes Ct the Gun. This
defect he has rcmedird. He PROPOSES 10
carry out these plans, ard is periecting Il
gun 'tilty iectt j, length with ten.inch bore
and walls one and one-i.a.t:ipch thick ior
the purpose OF ril,ing. 80 III
Mr.. SIeiIord ltas numerous drawings OF
t1,n ann in MI 10 unMy