Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-11-11
NUMBERING GUNS.

Small Steel Cannon Used for Kidding
Torpedo Boats and Moving Down Men.
''One has only to stop to think mo-
ment to appreciate the tremendous adj
vsnce made in the construction of guns
during the present century," said a
naval officer. Every one is familiar
with the fact that very great number
of the privateers that did their country
such great service in the last war with
England were armed with six-pounders
cannon that threw ball of cast-iron
weighing six pounds. These guns were
mounted in broadside, much as the nine
inch guns on the big wooden frigates
that form the greater part of our navy
now are mounted, and it required about
five men to serve them well. They were
fired perhaps once in five minutes. Al
though the principal weapon of the
little war-sh: ps of seventy five years ago,
the six-pounder is now one of the little
guns to be used as the tlint-lock mus
kets were used in those days to repel
men off of exposed parts of an
enemy's ship. This latter service
gives them the name of numbering
guns. TIE six-pounder of 1912
was usually a brass piece, and the
charge of powder was 80 small that the
ball failed often to penetrate the thick
plank of an enemy's ship. 1t is fact,
until within forty years, thick timber in
the top sides of ship was a sufficient
protection even against the cannon
balls of larger degree. But now the
Quick-fring sx-pounder has become an
awful weapon of destruction. Its bar
rel is made of steel Instead of being
fired by touching a flaming match to
the printing in the vent of the gun, as
its ancient namesake was, it is fired and
loaded as well by the motion of lever.
In place of the little loose bag of pow
der and the round iron ball that loaded
the ancient one, a metallic cartridge
that is made up of powder illuminate
and long steel bolt is used. The car
tridges are placed in a magazine con-
nected with the gun, and the motion of
the lever throws out the empty shell
after the discharge, inserts a fresh car
fridge and fires it. The speed attained
at recent trial of the Nordenfeldt six
FOUNDER at hartford, England. was six
rounds in fourteen seconds. 1t could
be easily and accurately fired twenty
times in minute.
zone glory of naval warfare has de-
parted forever-the glory of laying a
ship yardarm to yardarm beside the en-
envy, and to the mad music of the
ratchet. with sword and pike, swarming
over the rail and sweeping the enemy
from his own deck. 1t can't be done
now because sailormen don't fight on
open decks. The six-pounder is the
slowest of the machine guns, and in the
matter of destroying men who are I'M
protected BY shields of metal, the least
effect We. Quick firing guns that throw
proiectiles the size of rifie-ball are
made in great variety. The single-bar-
rel Nordenfeldt of this caliber weighs
but fifteen pounds. and can be fired $50
times minute. The next larger size
has three barrels. 1t weighs sixty
pounds and can throw 400 projectiles q
minute. This is Just now a very popu-
lar weapon in the French, German and
italian armies both on account of its
effectiveness and the lightness in
weight 1t is mounted on light car
riage for field service. On shipboard. |
however, the five-barrel gun is the
smallest size used. Larger ones, having |
ten barrels. weighing 220 pounds, |
have been dev sed for use in forts as |
we'll as on ships, and even twelve-bar- |
rel guns that weigh 260 pounds are be-
coming common The ten-barrel gun |
throws 1000 reiectiles minute. and
the other one 1,200. Their effective
range is 1000 yards. One gun |
like this is warranted to keep the open
ports of an enemy's SHIP clear when
within range.
"a curious test was made with one