The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-04-12
NEW IMPLEMENT OF WARFARE.
The Disappearing Gun-Carriage to be
Tested at Sandy Hook.

The Disappearing Gun-Carriage to be
Tested at Sandy Hook.
"The War Department is informed of the
arrival at Sandy Hook, New York Harbor,
last Saturday, for official test at the Govern
ment proving grounds, uf an important i'm
plement of modern warfare, which promises
to effect revolution ia ordnance ideas" saws
the Washington correspondent of the Concord
EUening Monitor. sit is the pneumatic dis
appearing gun-carriage for ten-inch breech-
loading rifle, built at Boston under contract
between the United States Board of Ordnance
and Fertilization and the Pneumatic Gun Car
riage and Power Company, of this city.
"This novel gun-carriage is to be put in
position in the fort at Sandy Hook, and will
be ready within about thirty days for the Sc
we're practical tests to which it is to be sub
jected by the Board of Ordnance and Fortifica-
tion.
sThe great ten-inch steel breech-loading
rifle built by the War Department, which was
successfully tested at Sandy Hook and which
broke the French (Creusot) carriage.on which
1t was then mounted, is to be placed on this
new disappearing carriage. Itweighs 26 tons,
and will be fired with $50 pounds of powder
and a 500-pound shot.
'The gun and its carriage are to be placed
IN pit below the earth's surface, where the
gun will be loaded, mechanically raised above
the parapet or mouth of the pit, and fired.
Having been fired, the gun retires to the bot
tom of the pit for reloading, the recoil being
taken up with compressed air. During the
entire operation the gunners are in position
OF safety underground. 1t is estimated that
the entire operation of sending the gun up into
the battery, firing it, and having 1t recoil
back for loading can be accomplished in three
or four seconds, The carriage 1t is claimed
can be traversed as rapidly as desired by the
pneumatic power.
Government officials say that If success is
achieved in the tests soon to be made at Sandy
Hook, it is probable that the disappearing
system would be adopted in the naval service
as we'll as In the land service For naval SER
vice they say the hold of the vessel can be
utilized like the pit in land service. The gun
can be raised above the deck, fired, and sunk
below the water-line without single man be-
ing exposed. 1t has been suggested by naval
officers that the problem of utilizing the thir-
teen old Ericsson monitors, which has been a
sort of bone of contention in the Navy during
some years past, can be solved by taking off
their turrets and replacing them with disap-
pearing-guns. In this way, according to ihe
opinions expressed by Admiral Jouett,
Shipbuilder Cramp, Gen. Rosecrans, Lieut..
Nixon, of the Navy, and other experts, 1t is
practicable to thus convert the old monitors
into formidable instruments of coast defense
at inconsiderable cost"
Eminent Army and naval authorities say
that If the thirteen old monitors were now
| converted into floating batteries, with 10
inch disappearing gun on each one, under the
| plan OF the Pneumatic Gun-Carriage and
| Power Company, six of them would suffice
| to drive the whole Italian navy off our coast
whenever necessary