The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-09-12
GREAT GUNS.
The Immense Strides Made In Naval ord
nance Since the War-A Comparison 30
tween the Old-Fashioned smooth
Bore" Armament and the Guns for the
New Steel Cruisers.

knc Immense Str10ee Maue In naval 0f0-
nance Since the war-A Comparison Be-
tween the Old-Fashioned smooth
Bore" Armament and the Guns for the
New Steel Cruisers.
If the brave fellows who manned the
vessels under Uncle Sans flag during
the late war had been told then that the
guns they were using would in the near
future be looked upon almost as so
many popguns. the prediction would
have been ridiculed as are the notions
Of SOME perpetual motion crank" and
yet in the short space OF twenty years
almost a revolution in naval armament
has taken. place. Inventions in this
field have been numerous. though most
of the noise over such matters has been
made by foreigners. Krupp. the Ger
man, has come to be known throughout
Chrstendom for the powerful weapons
he has been turning out from his works.
Yet, in this country, notwithstanding
the fact that there has been continued
peace and no need Of such things. i'm.
mense strides in the construction 81
naval ordnance have been made.
=. During and since the war the arma-
ment of our naval vessels consisted of
two Classes mooth-bo and ri
fles"--both of which were loaded at the
muzzle. The ''smooth-bores'' fired
proiectiles of spherical form, while the
rifle projectiles were of cylindrical
shape, one end being pointed. All of
these cannons were made of cast iron,
the rifles having bands of wrought iron
shrunk over the cast iron bodies to
strengthen them. The "smooth-boresn
ranged In caliber. or diameter of bore,
from about six inches to fifteen inches,
their proiectiles varying from thirty-two
pounds to $50 pounds in weight, and
their powder charges from six pounds
to one hundred pounds. The fifteen
inch smooth-bore with its battering
charge of one hundred pounds of pow
der and solid shot weighing $50 pounds
has penetration of fifteen inches of
iron at short, range. The smooth
bore" guns OF smaller caliber than
fifteen inches were not considered as
''armor-piercing" guns, their proiectiles
being spherical shells filled with pow
der and fitted with fuses to burn a GER
tain number of seconds, according to
the range desired, when the shells
would explode and fragments be
scattered over an extended area. The
rifle guns used during the war varied in
caliber from the three and one-half
inches to six and one-half inches, their
projectiles from twenty pounds in
weight to one hundred pounds, and
their powder charges from two to ten
pounds.
Efforts were made for many years to
produce breech-loading rifle guns of
large caliber. but the mechanical diff
| culties of manufacture and failure to
find a material strong enough to with
stand the destructive pressures of large
charges of powder were not overcome
until within the past ten years. The
guns being built for the new cruisers
represent the most advanced types of
their respective calibers. They are
made of forged steel and are of the
built up pattern, or composed of num-
Der of pieces. There is first tube
which forms the bore and powder
chamber; over the rear end of the tube
and extending nearly one-half the length
of it is shrunk jacket, and over both
jacket and tube are shrunk strengthen
ing hoops of high grade of steel. The
breeeh is closed by plug on which a
heavy screw thread Is cut; one half of
this thread is removed, a corresponding
thread is cut on the inside of the rear
end of the jacket, one half of which is
also removed. The circumference of
these threads is divided into six parts
and each alternate part is removed, thus
permitting the threaded part of the
breech plug to pass longitudinally along
the renewed portion of the threaded
part of the hole in the jacket, so by
turning the plug one-sixth of turn the
threaded portions engage each other
and the plug is thus prevented from
being forced to the rear, when the gun
is fired.
The calibers for the guns of the new
cruisers are Of five, six and eight inches,
their projectiles weighing seventy, one
hundred and two hundred and fifty
pounds respectively. and their powder
charges being one-half the weight of the
projectile in each case. As these guns
are made very long, thirty calibers, q
much larger charge of powder can be
burned and correspondingly greater
velocity given to the projectile. BY this
means the guns become much more
powerful. One of the new guns OF eight
inches caliber will penetrate at least
sixteen inches of wrought iron. or moro
than can be pierced by the old fifteen
inch gun.
The material, forged STEEL for the five
and six-inch guns is produced in the
United States, but that for the larger
guns is imported, though it is expected
that material for the eight-inch gun will
soon be made here
In addition to the foregoing the Ma
val Ordnance Bureau has now in course
of construction steel guns of ten and ten
and half inches caliber, and has the
plans ready for guns up to sixteen inches
caliber, which will be built when Con-
gress provides the money. The ten-inch
guns are to throw projectile of five
hundred pounds with a powder charge
of two hundred and fifty pounds. and
will pierce more than twenty inches of
wrought iron, while the sixteen inch gun
will have a projectile weighing two
thousand pounds and a powder charge
of one thousand pounds, and will send
its shot through thirty-two inches of
iron.
The officers who have charge of the
construction of the guns for the new war
vessels are among the most skillful In
the whole line of the navy. Tbay have
been selected because of the proficiency
they have attained in this branch Of
their profession. The ordnance corps
of the army has also made great strides
in the way Of improved guns. but their
progress has not kept pace with that
made in the navy.-Washington Cor.
Cleveland Leader.
In The Garden.
He-You'll get cold, but it was so
nice of you to meet me here.
She-I said l would, and I did, but,