Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-09-15
OUR NEW ARMAMENT
Guns Which a Throw Shot Thir.
teen Miles Built for the Ameri.
can Navy.

al Navy.
Chicago News: The quick firing
guns are being iopidly introduced into
our navy, and, though they do not con
stitute a part Of the navy batteries, they
are the finest small guns 10Y turned out
for quick firing. Their range Of four
miles makes il extremely difficult for the
swiftest torpedo boat to approach a YES
sci armed with these guns without being
torn to pieces by the incessant rain Of
solid shot they are capable OF throwing
They are breech loading, and are worked
either by steam or hand brakes. Six
men are all that are necessary t. handle
them efTectually.
These guns are an improvement. on the
Hotchkiss revolving cannon in the same
way hat the Hotchkiss was an improve
ment on the Calling and Gard".. The
superiority OF the new quick firing gan
is in the heavy metal it throws a. rate
which exceeds any modern gun O. single
firing capacity. TO be sure, the !!otch-
kiss revolving cannon may t-e 2JO
rounds per minute, but the accuracy
with which twenty-five shots per minute
can be thrown from the ''quiCk firing
gun to say nothing Of the increase in
metal. far exceeds the rain OF .ightcr
projectiles from the Iiotchkiss.
On our new steel vessels of-wpr 4 com
plcment Of Iiotchkiss cannon. Calling
guns and quick-tiring guns constitute
what is known as the secondary bat
terry" These light guns are judic.ously
distributed about the decks, in tLe tops
and advantageous positions for 81 clear
range at all small craft on the open wa
ter. The ''quick-firing guns being of
heavier metal than the Hotchkiss or Cat
lings. are kept wholly On deck, and
usually protected by IA half turret or
shield against small arms and light pro
~jectiles. When the quick firing guns are
in close proximity TO any gun OF the prl-
mary battery the shield serves as q pro.
lection from the terrible blast eft the
heavier ordnance.
When congress a few sessions past de-
cided upon building up the navy and
placing il upon "a footing compatible with
modern requirements the absence of al
modern ordnance among our ships-of-
war was a feature too appalling 90 be
overlooked.
ih lAdlbD' IA lIlSbipiSN VI
were turning out 100 ton guns while
Krupp had under contract a 200 ton gun
FOR the Italians gun which wo8id be
fifty feet in length, throw a proiectile
weighing =, 500 pounds TO a distance of
fourteen miles, and use a propelling force
of 900 pounds of gunpowder.
With US little or nothing has been done
since the last war. At the close Of that
period our naval vessels carried some of
the heaviest armament vessels QfiOat-
ritied guns o. the finest and most powerful
make. England, France, Germany and
Russia had in the meantime used every
energy to still further strengthen their
fleets, and emoluments and inLuCe-
ments innumerable were held forth TO
the inventive spirits of their respective
countries.
Congress commenced the new depart
ure of building up the navy by appropri-
ating S25, 600, 600 for iron clads and steel
cruisers, and at the same time set aside
81 600, 900 for the establishment Of an
ordnance foundry in Washington, ID. e..
A board OF naval officers, representing
the talent and brain Of the service. was
organized to devise and select 9 pattern
of guns for the new navy; ecourse was
had to every nation in the world. plans,
designs, propositions and opinions We're
brought before the board every expert
ment known in the world in gunnery
achievements was looked into, and rs a
result of the deliberations and wisdom OF
this ordnance board" a type OF guns
has been selected for the American navy
which has no superior in the world today.
The first gun decided upon was found
impossible to build in this country, for
the reason that no foundry possessed the
plant requisite for the work. The South
Boston iron works of Boston, however,
took the contract for the plant. This
gun cost the government { 1000, and 70.
day is the battery of the steel dispatch
boat Dolphin. Since the advent OF the
first six in rifle the government has
taken the building in hand and the cost
has been reduced from $75, 900 for the
original one TO $50, 900 for those now
turned out. These guns resemble u long
telescope, mounted on a steel hydraulic
carriage. In the six inch rifle
this telescope is twcnly-cight feet
long and the projectile fired has
a range of over five miles and il
can pierce three five inch steel plates
backed by four feet of oak and teak at a
a distance of 800 yards. The calibre lof
gun denominates its make. Thus the six
inch rifle has a bore which is six inches
in diameter. The eight inch rifle Diane
ter of the bore eight inches) is thirtytwo
feet long and throws its rrCjectilc ovcrten
miles. The twelve inch rifle is nearly
thirty five feet long and has a range of
nearly thirteen miles. These are our
modern guns. They have attained a We
locitv per second for their projectiles in
excess of Armstrong aud equal to Krupp.
Over thirty-fve ofthe guns of different
callbres are now finished at the Washing
ton foundry and the work on the others
intended fO- our new iron clads is being
pushed rapidly forward.
Not to BE InSuIte0.