The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-09-30
THE COMING GUN WILL Be A MONSTER
SO Far Armor Leads In the Contest
With Ordnance.
Uncle Sam Need Not Feel Ashamed
of His Death Dealers.
John Bulls Have a Trick of killing
the Wrong Men.

WASHINGTON. September 20. = new
phase has been given to the recent armoI
tests at Annapolis now that the government
has proclaimed in favor Of nickel plate for
ships of war. The armor trial was expected
to. and did demonstrate the capacity OF
American ordnance. On that occasion, the
two guns used, special six-inch and eight
inch breech-loading rifles, developed the
fact that this government was not behind
foreign services in the manipulation any
more than in the manufacture Of guns. The
six-inch gun was fired II times In less than
half as many hours without injury or appar-
ent strain. The eight-inch gun was fired
three times with equal precision and success.
But the inability Of the six-inch guns to do
execution against modern arm0r plate has
led to the question among experts as to their
abandonment in war ships, it being held that
they take up room which might be used for
heavier guns, and that the work they are ca
paDle Of performing could better be done by
rapid fire machines.
The contest between armor and ordnance
stands today in favor of the former. The ten
and twelve inch rifles alone can be depended
upon in the attack. The new cruisers afioat
have nothing above the eight-inch rifle, and
fourteen of these guns are divided among the
ornaments of the Chicago, Boston. Atlanta.
Charleston and Baltimore. OF the armored
vessels, the Puritan has four twelve-inch
guns; the MiantOnOmah, Amphitrite, M0nad-
mock, Terror and Maine four ten-inch each /:
the Texas two twelve-inch, the Pacific Coast
defence vessel one sixteen-inch, one fifteen.
inch and one twelve-inch. The armored
steel cruiser monitor will have two ten-inch
and one ffteen-inch dynamite gun. The
United States, however, compares creditably
with foreign powers, IL not in relative quau-
tity, at least In direct quality Of material. In
England during the last year many COM
plants have arisen at the faulty c0nstruc-
tion of the high power guns. At the works
1I one trm, 90 according to the Naval
Intelligence I61 Ohice. It appears that one
ten-inch and two elght-inch guns were con-
demned; that out Of 26 nine-inch guns five
split their liners, and two sixty-seven ton
guns were disabled after few rounds. The
proved @ faiures WitS @ these ' results sS fro% aGe
English ordnance, the American authorities
have reason to be satisfied with the showing
of the domestic guns. The tendency Is
toward bigger guns, and so lar the United
States has been fortunate in its freedom
from any ordnance disaster. II its position
can be sustained, it may hope to lead the at
tack on armor which, meanwhile, Is gather
ing elements of defence from experiments
with alloys. While the Iiheman is devising
methods Of increasing the initial velocity
and experimenting with high explosives and
smOkeless powders, the monitors and
battle ships are girded around
with constantly increasing thickness
of armor. The English line Of battle ship
Infexible has the thickest armor afioat, A
inches in all. 1t is of wrought iron. in two
plates of IL inches each, sandwiched with IL
Inches of teak and packed with six inches
more of teak. and finally with two inch iron
plates The thickest solid side armor afoat
Is that of the two Italian line battle ships,
Duilio and Dandolo, which consists of %
inches of solid plate of Schneider steel. It
has greater power than the armor of the In
flexible. The Admiral Baudin and the For
midable, French battleships, have % inches
of Schneider steel, superior to that of the
Italian vessels. Upon these and heavier ar
NOR belts the ordnance authorities must seek
to make an impression. The results at An
fective application of existing ordnance.