Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-21
TESTING DYNAMITE GUNS.
The Cruiser Vesuvius Does Excellent Work
With Her Pneumatic Devices-A Vessel
and Armament That May Revolutionize
Modern Warfare

Modern warfare.
fortress MONROE, VA, May 20.-In compli-
ance with orders from the Navy Department
O test was made of the accuracy of the
pneumatic guns of the so-called dynamite
cruiser Vesuvius. Target practice was con-
Quoted by the officers and men of the ship
under the observation of board of ord
nance experts specially detailed by the
Navy Department, and theresult was highly
gratifying to the friends of this vessel and
of her aerial torpedo throwing tubes, some
times called Zalinski dynamite guns. The
officers of the Vesuvius are Lieutenant Sea-
ton Schroeder, commanding; Lieutenants
Karl Rohrer and FL. NJ. Donebaugh, Ensign
w. T. Maxwell and Past Assistant Engineer
W. j. Moore.
The Board of Experts ordered to report on
the results of the target practice consisted
of Commander r. ID. Evans, Lieutenant Com
mander A. X. Conden and Lieutenant j. F.
Meigs, all men of such high professional
ability as to insure the fullest possible in
vestigation of the vessels merits and de-
fects. As the guns had never before been
ranged II shots were fired yesterday to dis
cover the air pressure needed to throw
projectile given distance. The pneumatic
guns on board the Vesuvius cannot be
elevated or depressed except by the rising
or pitching of the bow of the ship. Theya are
built into the vessel at an angle of 1So from
the horizontal Range is altered by chang.
ing the amount of compressed air admitted
behind the projectile.
The Necessity of Test Shots.
1t was necessary to learn by test shots how
much would send projectile mile and so
on for shorter distances. This was approx
mately known by experiments made with
pneumatic gun on Shore but as every gun
has eccentricities of its own it must be tested
for its own ranges. The targets consisted of
three spar buoys, each surmounted by
small red flag. They had been carefully
anchored in a line parallel to the south shore
seweii's Point and Cape Henry. The dis
tance between No. and No 2 was one half
of mile, between No. 2and No. 3 one-quarter
OF mile and the same distance between
No. and No 4. Hence Nos. 2, and were
respectively one-half, three-quarters and
mile from No. l, which was the firing station.
The range-finding shots fired yesterday
the midship gun. The fall of the projectiles
was in one case as much as 80 yards beyond
the target, and in another case as close as
within "a yards OF the target. The value OF
tO-dayS practice. The starboard guns
capacity was determined with satisfactory
accuracy, while that of the midship gun was
not obtained with certainty, and no trial OF
the port gun was made at all.
When Lieutenant Rohrer had taken station
in small boat about half a mile Off the line
of the projeetiles, the Yesuvius steamed up
toward buoy No. l. Commander Evans was
outside the coming tower and Lieutenant
Schroeder inside at the helm and firing
lever, for these guns are aimed laterally by
the helm. Lieutenant Commander Condor
was at the firing valves below to regulate
the air discharge. Lieutenant Meigs on the
bridge handled q peculiar looking inStru-
ment, by which the lateral deviation was
observed. Ensign Maxwell, also on the
bridge, held stop watch to record the time
OF flight of the projectiles.
A Good Time for Trial.
When all was ready the meal pennant, q
red burgee was hoisted at the foremast head
to warn Lieutenent Rohrer to look out for u
shot. The sea was so smooth that the vessel
was practically stationary in the water.
Only an occasional catspaw of wind ruffied
the generally CLASSY surface and the bright
sunshine began to be oppressively warm.
At 1927, under barely steerage way, the
by" said Commander Evans. "Fire!'' The
starboard tube gave the characteristic
wheeze and bark that belong to this gun,
fragments of the wooden sabots which hold
the sub-caliber shell in place in the bore
went whirring out into the water, while
ahead of them, rapidly whirling as its yanes
caught the air, could be seen the shell itself,
q black dot against the blue sky Rising at
an altitude of several hundred feet it grace
fully curved downward, and without wobble
or gyration it plunged down over buoy No.
a mile distant, striking the water 1O9 sec.
onds after it left the tube. 1t was a perfect
line shot, butIit went beyond the target.
Six shots were fired sriccesSively from the
starboard gun and then three from the mid
ship gun. The target of the first, fourth and
seventh shots was buoy No H. one mile dis
tant; the second, fifth and eighth were aimed
at buoy No, 8 three-quarters Of mile away,
and the third, sixth and ninth at buoy No. 2,
half q mile OF. The first three and the last
three shots were fired when barely moving;
the fourth, fifth and sixth were fired while
dashing at the target at the rate of about IA
knots an hour.
Would Have Paralyzed the Enemy.
Following are the results of the nine shots:
No. fired at-buoy No. 4, exact line, 81 yards
over; time of flight, 1O13 seconds. No. 2 fired
at buoy No. 8, 16 yards to the left, As yards
over; time, 10 seconds. No. 8 fired at buoy
No. 2, made a bull's-eye, striking so close to
the buoy as to hide it in the splash; time
seconds. No. 4 fired at buoy No. 4, 81 yards
to the left, 80 yards over; time, 1011 seconds.
No. fired at buoy No. 3, exact line, "a yards
short: time, 81 seconds; No fired at buoy
No. 2, Is yards to the left, % yards short;
time, seconds. No. fired at buoy No. A, "a
yards to the left, AZ yards short; time, 10
seconds. No. fired at buoy No 3, 16 yards
to the left, 30 yards short; time, 81 seconds.
No. 8 fired at buoy No. 2, 10 yards to the left,
2S yards Short time, ~ seconds.
In explanation of the failure of the seventh
shot it should be mentioned that there was
some trouble with the valve of the midship
gun, and also during the mems dinner hour,
when firing was suspended, fresh easterly
breeze sprung up exactly in the teeth OF the
line of fire. Examining the results it will be
found that shots Nos. 3, 4, 3, 6, 8 and would
have either fallen on an enemy's deck OF SO
close aboard that the explosion of the shells
would disable or sink the vessel.
The shells are fitted with q delay action
fuse, which explodes them at depth of
about 20 feet. Shot No.3 would have pumped
down directly on the deck, and the explosion
there of 500 or even 200 pounds of gun cotton
or nitro-gelatine would have put an end to
the most OOwerfnl armOred ship at1Oat t.
Shots Nos. 5, 6, 8 and would have fallenJust
a few feet short of the enemy; but as the
projectiles plunge continually forward after
striking the water, each one would have
been just about under the enemy's bottom
when it exploded, and no vessel could resist
such shock. The fourth shot went few
yards beyond the enemy's nearest water
line, but as most battle ships have at least
90 yards beam, it would have struck either
the ships upper works or so close aboard as
to do her serious, if not irreparable, injury.
A. Description of the Vessel.
The Vesuvius was built by Messrs. Cramp
& Sons, of Philadelphia, at O cost of $3.50, 600,
for the purpose of demonstrating the useful
ness afloat of the system of projecting large
masses of high explosive through the air by
air pressure instead of gunpowder. High
speed was given the vessel, her trial per-
formance resulting in o record of 2l.65 knots
per hour. She is 246 feet long, has 261a feet
beam and displaces 725 tons on u mean
draught of feet.
When tried at PHILADELPHIA the REQUIRE
ment was that 10 shots should be fired from
her three 15-inch pneumatic tubes within 30
minutes. The actual performance was the
discharge of Is shells having a capacity of
| and IL seconds. The air pressure was ample
| to repeat the discharge. The initial pressure
| used was $50 pounds and the fall of the pres
and 12O pounds. In addition to the pneu-
matte guns she carries three ee-pOundeF