The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-11-16
PNEUMATIC GUN CARRIAGE.
Eminently Satisfactory Tests-Interview
With President Creecy.

With President Creecy.
Upon inquiry at the Office of the Pneumatic
Gun Carriage Company as to the result of the
recent tests at Annapolis of the eight inch car
riage built by the company under contract
with the Secretary Of the Navy for the use Of
the Navy Department, a SUNDAY HERALD man
was informed by Mr.. c. L. Creecy, the pres-
dent of the company, that the tests demon
strated the fact that the carriage possesses
numerous advantages over the carriages used
here and abroad, and more than sufficient to
insure the adoption of the entire pneumatic
system on all ten-inch and higher calibre gun
carriages which are now manGuvred by steam
or hydraulic power, both here and abroad.
The pneumatic recoil and counter-recoil check
possesses such important advantages over the
hydraulic recoil-check of all sizes of carriages
now used here and in Europe (Which is the in
vention Of an Englshman named Vavasseur)
that Mr.. Creecy predicts its universal adoption
by all foreign naval powers in less than one
year from this date.
Mr.. Creecy says he has read the report of the
board on the trials, but as the Secretary has
not acted upon it he is not at liberty to give
out its contents for publication Mr. Creecy.
however, says that it is eminently satisfactory
to his company. Mr.. Creeey says that the
great advantage that the pneumatic recoil
check possesses over the Vavasseur hydraulic
check now in universal use is that by the former
the gun Is automatically, safely, surely, and in
stantly returned into battery after each fire in
any and all conditions of the keel or list of the
ship. In roll OF the vessel the present gravity
return carriages cannot return their guns into
battery for loading until the opportunity is
given by the downward roll of the vessel, and
valuable time is ost-a vital defect in battle and
one which renders the elevated side of the ship
useless and the ship practically at the mercy
ODDOnentS nnnnmatip phapls
remedies these grave defects. Foreign govern
ments have long been vainly endeavorng to
find some cure for this vital defect. France
has only partly succeeded in doing so by the
adoption of the unsatisfactory system consist
ing of the use of hand-jacks as a means OF
returning guns to battery.
Mr.. Creecy says that the cylinders of the
company's carriage at Annapolis during the
tests were filed with $50 pounds of air at five
minutes Of II O'Clock and the compressor dis
connected and after firing ten rounds of full
service charges for rapidity, the time being
nine minutes and ten seconds, and then firing
the rounds deliberately and testing the train
ing, elevating, depressing, ETC., it was found
the cylinders had not lost pound OF air in the
four hours occupied by the tests. This demon
strates beyond any question that with hand
pump the pneumatic recoil cylinders can be
filled in a short time with air with no more
trouble than filling the hydraulic recoil cylin-
der now in use with oil or water and once
filled the air will remain there without loss for
an indefinite period Of time.
''The pneumatic gun carriage has come to
stay" said Mr. Creecy.
The following despatch in yesterdays New
York Sun was shown to Mr.. Creecy and his
comment was that the article was substantially
correct and evidently it was written by an eI-
pert who knew what he was writing about:
Since the famous armor-p plate trial at Annap-
on the same grounds which, although less sensa-
tional in result, have yet been important.
One OF these is the test of the pneumatic gun
carriage n nffinnra atinnr ng
man. Lieut.. Q. G. Bowman, Ensign P R. Alger
and Ensign r. B. Dashiell. In the former trial
of this carriage it had shown some decided ad-
vantages, but 1t was not recommended for adop-
ton. y In the trial made the other day
the pneumatic carriage worked better, and
twenty rounds were fired from an 8-inch gun
mounted upon it. While the report of the
board is not yet made public, improvement
in the carriage over last years trial seems to be
conceded. In this system the work of loading
depressing elevating, and aiming the gun
and of checking the recol is effected
gain in weight, but the great feature
is that one man can manage both the eevatpg
ana traversng apparatus. and handle the car
result, II 1t can be regularly relied upon, is of
great Importance. Again, since the recoil is
taken up by compressed air, which forms an
elastic cushion, both the carriage and the deck
are relieved from sudden strain. In hydraulic
carriages the gun is made to recoil up an incline
so that t may come back into battery, and this
produces diagonal strain which comes partly
upon the deck. In the pneumatic carriage the
slides are parallel to the deck and the air com
pressed by the recoll sends the gun back into the
battery. The facility of training WAS COM
mended by the board last year, as well as the O.
| duction in the force of men required for hand
ling, 80 that if the objections then made to the
| carriage have since been overcome the result
! will gratifying.