Arizona silver belt., 1884-05-10

Compressed AIR Flfeefng Esrolectiles
From Fort HamEliea 10 l.ort seaas-
srnrth.



weighing nineteen pounds and two
with preieetiles iahing seventeen
pounds each, were fred across The
Narfows yesterdas om Fort Hamii-
ton 70 Fort Wads 18th with The nen'
dynamite air gum be gon IS mere
a seamless brass loes quarter Of an
inch tb.ek and forts feet long with .
four-incb smooth bore The propel-
ling power IS simply Sc air compres-
Nor pfiging aboe pounds pres
ssre Is tie square m e pre- ea-
tiles used were fonr feet long They
were loaded with lead instead of dyn-
aulite. and feathered with a stick Of
wood not unlike brass-eosered base
bah bat.
This gau is tho invention Of 2. q.
Ne80rd, " A. Bartlett and George
IT. Reynolds The patent IS ewned
b. II. b. Windsor. Of tie American
Torpedo Company. The experiments
/ yesterday were part Of an elaborate
series ordered BY Secretary Lincoln
Of the War Department, and carried
out under the direction Of Col. Hamil-
ton by Lieut. Z. l. Zalinsli. Of the 5th
Artillery. The experiments yesterday
were witnessed by Col Hamilton, aiaj
Randolph. Capt Weir. Lieut. Wood
Lieut.. hickman and Lieat Roberts.
The same gan, "a previous test
sent a 2f-pound shot across the Mar
rows wi,h SOD pounds aiI rrsssuse
striking about fifteen yards short q
the target a . aegs. elevation. An
other shot With the same pressure, et
p degs elevation, went five yards to
the right of the target These figures
however. have no signIfcaree as 70
possible accuracy for The gun has not
been fred often enough to give the
requisite date for accurate aim. The
proiecllle Is new the propeliing ioree
is new and the gun is new. So lhat
many details are BE- 5s learned by ex-
perienee, but the faet shat ! 2l-pound
Shot can pc sent across the Narrows
with a popgun. opeas g vide feld Of
possibilities when the nse Of increased
az pressure and improved pFojeetles
IS taken into consideration
Tie advantage elasms8 fol tie aew
gun. and now nartly demonstrated.
are simply stnpendous In the 6rst
place the ammuniticn IS much cheap
er than powder II forts and Oh
beard ship the steam power to COM
press SIR Is easily svai.able. and for
field work the compressed ali can Be
transported IN TASKS The gun IS not
made dirty. and need not Be cleaned
There IS nc smoke IL reveal the loca-
ton q the gun to the enemy, 50 that
masked batteries may te planted With
iapunisy There IS 20 more noise
than IS made IS enc puf Of a starting
locomotive. The propelliug force can
be measured as accurately as gauge
can measure and The force of the am
munition does NOT vary with The
8ampness Of the wsafher
The gan costs only about one-twen-
tieth as much as ether guns Of its
range. and can be built "a almost any
maebine-sbop. The Delamater Iron
works. which built the one used yes
terday. could turn cut one ike it
every day il the year n an emfr-
eency the entire coast could be stld-
ded with such guns IN feu weeks
Tie propelling force used yesterday
was only about ons-fE.ieth Of The ex-
plosive force Of gunpowder. But the
gun can be adopted 70 an ar pressure
Of 2000 pounds 70 she square inch.
The projeetile IS torpedo ia The air,
much more dangerous than d torpedo
IN the water because It can Be sent
more accurately ind more swiftly
The next dynamite air gun 10 he
/ tried viii be a six-ineh bore, and win
throw a dynamite shot Weighing 112
pounds. Such q shell It IS calculated.
would destroy any ship aaost and dis
mantle any fort The experiments
thus far have been with a smooth
bore. but later On rife bore may Be
used Already some attempt has been
msde to rifle the feather Of the projec-
tile so as to secure accuracy Of aim.
1t is not So necessary for the pgoiee-
tile TO penetrate tbe object as with an
ordinary shot, because it is tho ezpio-
sion Of The dynamite and not the con-
cusson Of the projeetile that does the
execution.
The new gun looks very ranch ike
telescope In tho vicinity Of the
experiment yesterday there were many
of the old-fashioned big Dahlgreen
smooth bore guns mounted in the
fort The contrast in The appearance
Of the two guns WAS as striking IS
that between the Monitor and al old-