The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-12-01
NUMBERING GUNS.
SMALL STEEL CANNON OF TIRE.
MENDOUs POWER.
S1x'Pounders Fired Twenty Times n
Minute and Penetrating Five
Iron Plates-Guns Throwing
1000 ProtectiIes a Minute.

'hoI oeais WIN inc construction of the
steel guns that are to be USED to arm the
new war ships that Secretary Whitney is
goingto build. incidentally the modern
machine gun, or quick. firing gun, is
mentioned as a numbering gum" al
though the article is chiefly devoted TO
the method of constructing big breech-
leaders. A naval officer who talked
about these numbering guns" said:
"One has only to stop and think a mo-
mont to appreciate tho tremendous adj
vance made in the construction of guns
during the present century. Every one
is familiar with the fact that a very largo
number of the privateers that did their
country such great service in the last war
with England were armed with six poun-
ders cannon that threw a ball of cast
iron weighing six pounds. These guns
were mounted in broadside, much as the
nine inch guns on the big wooden frig-
ates that form tho greater part of u
navy now are mounted, and it required
about five men to serve them we'll. They
were fired perhaps once in five minutes.
Although the principal weapon Of the
little war ships Of seventy.ive years ago,
the six-pounder is now one of the little
guns to be used as the fint.lock mus
kets were used In those days, to re-
pei attacks from small boats and pick men
of of exposed parts Of an enemy's
ship, This latter service gives them tho
name of numbering guns. The six.
FOUNDER OF 1912 was usually a brass piece,
and the charge of powder was SO small
that the balls failed often to penetrate
the thick plank OF an enemy's ship. It
is a fact, that, until within forty years,
thick timber in the top sides Of a shin
was a sufficient protection even against
the cannon bal 8 Of larger degree. But
now the quick firing ~siX-pounder has be-
come an awful weapon of destruction.
Its barrel 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 namcsake was, Il 10 fred
and loaded as we'll by the motion Of a
lever. In place Of the little loose bag
Of powder and the round iron ball that
loaded the ancient one, q metallic car
fridge that Is made up Of powder fulml-
rate and a long steel bolt is used. The
cartridges arc placed in a magazine con.
nectcd with the gun, and the motion Of
the lever throws out the empty she'll
after the discharge, inserts a fresh car.
fridge, and fires it. The speed attained
at a recent trial Of the Nordenfelt six
FOUNDER ut Dartford, England, was six
rounds in fourteen seconds. 1t could be
easily and accurately fred twenty times
in o minute.
but the speed attained, important se
1t 10, is not the only advantage of these
s~lx'pounder quick-frlng guns. At the
hartford trial mentioned the gun was
tested to show its power. Five iron
plates, each an inch thick, were used
over an appropriate backing of wood to
form q target, yet the steel bolts which
this gun threw with such marvelous
rapidity passed clear through che FIVE
inches of iron plates, the gun being fired
at a distance Of sixty yards from the
target. That is the sort OF n weapon
that the thin racing shells called torpedo
boats have got TO face. The little
steamer may fly at a speed of twenty.
five miles an hour, but unless she can
get unobservcd within n very short dis
lance of the big man of-war she ,eeks to
destroy the Captains of the top on the
htasts, which are erected in all ships,
will get the range OF her with the light
ming s~iX-poundcrs, and before she can
travel three times her length will drive
such a shower Of steel bolts clear through
hull, boiler and everything about her
that not a soul nor q fragment will be
left above water to tell whence she came
or mark where she wentdOwn. Not even
the best Of torpedo boats, except
through the accident OF fog or in the
smoke of battle between larger ships can
hope to reach an enemy to do him hurt.
"Quick- firing guns that throw proicc.
tiles the size Of n rifle ball arc made in
R!eat variety. Inc single barrel Nordcn-
felt of this calibre weights but fifteen
pounds, and can be fired $50 times q
minute. The next larger size has three
barrels. 1t weighs sixty pounds and can
throw 400 projcctlles a minute. This is
just row a very popular weapon in the
French, German, and Italian armies,
both on account Of its effectiveness and
the lightncss in weight. 1t is mounted
on a light carriage for field service. On
ship board, however, the five barrel gun
10 the smallest size used. Larger ones,
having ten barre.s, Weighing 22O pounds,
have been devised Tor use in forts as we'll
as on ships, and ever twclve barrel guns
that weigh $50 pounds are becoming
common. The ten-barrel gun throws
a