Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-12-29
rHT DYNAMITE GIN CRTIsEE.
Tie SfipEI~iions which May Produce
wholly novel War. Vessel.

\ Washington telegram >sy,: The im-
preston that Secretary Whitney !, abJg.
go award % contrast FOR building the dyul.
mite 4ur cruiser provided Tor I'm iI>i ~e~-
.ioH'- navy lill d. uo' correct. The ayr
Nom made IN regard to thi~ vessel vas t.
cuilr. differing from 200 other it-m, IN tla
pil. The making of q contract ior The yc 90
-cl j. ltif to the Sccre'ary'- discretion. al .
i, ~ depend ON favorable report upon O."
system hy experts. Then the con,'r1cti0n
!, 10 ir practically NJ thc ri,k ~ the IN ',.
m.iic Dynamite Gun Company. which j, O.
give bonds tor the return Oi The cDIir
amount ~ ~3jl,00o advanced by The Gov
clUmcui duru. tAc progress II thr Wo.L
.houid ihe vessel when completed iall
cotrc up O." the requirements.
Itc,c requirement, are 0i rcmlrk3.
character. "a Tie iig.t place. wholly apIu
from The question % employing high c.-
plo>Nc, in her armament, the new or 10
must attain avery high .pctd. She i 10 .t
go feet long. with 3i Icct beam and -
feet drau-lt. and her engine. are 20 re- a
.. POO indicated horsepower. she il gun
anltcd 30 attain twenty knots an hour.
The confidence oi the conlrlctIu-
company in IT, plans D., indicated Joy
II, volunteering TO produce q ,peed % un-
usual. at lcast IN vessels constructed Tor olr
nlVy. Had the guarantee been - prodU--
Only ~ knots the project would probably
have been accepted. being covered % care
fully with the stipulation for the return uf
every dollar laid out on failure 10 rca
lcr coutract speed. But the periormlnrr.
of the ~tilctio IN ibis country, and o. many
torpedo cruisers in Europe, encourage TIER
idea that twenty knots on the m,1sur-d
mile can Dee attained IA vessel Of TN, char
actcr.
I'm the second feature oi the new yc..cl
the company has manifested equal conf
dcncc. She i, 10 carry, not one dynamite
Gun, but three. Thee guns are 70 he clpI1lc
OF throwing 4 she'll at least once In iyo
miuute,. They are 20 be- OF l0t inch ciii.
bre. and 10 throw proioctile, containing
the cuormou, charge Of 200 pounds 0t dy-
uauitc or other hi-h explosive t. q di--
fsucc of a. least one mile. II wa. perhlp,
he enthusiastic ,pilit with which thc rrm
panv thus went 90 The verge Of al ihli
could reasonably zoe demanded that pro-
cur,d the proUp; insertion OF this len il
the bin presented 20 COnsre.> AMI ll,
p..-7ge.
There j. no doubt That all the cond. ion-
Of 6rIue have been practically tested iu thr
experiments WITH dynamite guns IN NeN
NOlk harbOr Shell, cOntiinn. 100 pounds
of explosive gcl1tine have been fred from
the Gun mounted at Fort Lafayette. and
conca iron shot weighing 200 pouni. hi'
been discharged from the same gun Dis
tance OF more than miie. There is, ac-
cordiugly. no reason why the conditions
now imposed by the Goyernmen, should
not De- carried out.
Of course the short range Of the pneu-
matte gun and it, low velocity will preveht
il from being anything but an AUXILIARY Of
the powder gun. But, regarded ~ au aerial
torpedo. il has great advantage over the
movable submarine torpedo I'm the possible
size Of is buTsting charge and in the rcia-
tive Tapidity with which IL reaches the OBJ
ject after discharge. Being on fast vessel,
the pneumatic gun can be moved rapidly
against an enemy, aud In any case a vessel
which produces such effects, even WITHIN
the range OF n mile, Is not to BE- despised A.
an auxiliary defence. II viii be oi Interest,
therefore, 10 see this novel craft under
construction with the other additions TO
The navy.