Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1892-03-22
UNCLE SANS BIG GUNS.
Facts About Their g liber. Weight
and Range.
American Ships OF War Armed with
Huge Cannon which Fire ProJeStiie
weighing OnerThousand Poupda
Ton Miles.

power and capabilities of some of the
rain and secondary battery guns car
ried aboard war ships Of the United
states readers may 6nd of interest:
The main battery guns have for max
i1num caliber at present thirteen inches.
These guns are sixty-seven-ton brcech-
loading rifles. The minimum caliber
row allowed in the main batteries of
high-powered ordnance guns is tho
tour-inch rapid-fre piece. The various
calibers include the th1rteep-inch,
twelve-inch, ten-incll, eight-;nch, six
inch, fve-inch and four-inch. The sec
ondarg batteries include the six
FOUNDER, three4pounder and one
FOUNDER rapid-fre guns, the forty
seycn-millimeterand thirty-seyen-milli-
meter revo wing cannon and the Cat
ling gun. Recently, however, the navy
department. has confined the guns of
the secondary battery to the six
FOUNDER and long one-pouuder- rapid
fire pieces, the thirty
.revolWipg eappon and the Calling gun.
The majority of main-buttery guns
IN service. to-day are of the six-inch
caliber. The building up of the ord
nance of the United States navy may he
said to have begun with the six-inch
guns. just now, however, there ap-
pears TO be n tendency to make the
fo1r.inch guns prepondcrate in num-
bcrs, tho Dushiel rapid-fire brccch
mechanism making this calii@er. gun AN
IDEAL weapon for the smaller class OF
qnarmored ships.
. No guns of the thirteen,inch cnliber
have as yet been fabricated. This type
of gun will not be demanded. until the
new battlcships Indiana, Massachu-
sets and Oregon, now building, are
ready for service. Each Of these bat
tie ships will have four thirteen-incl
gums. In limiting the main-battery
guns to- the thirteen-inch. tGalibeP, the
navy department has adopted the plan
J,ow in vogue in the British navy. I'm
til recently the British admiralty was
order ing siXteeu-inGh 110-ton guns. The
maximum cqliber gun now building for
use in the British navy is the 13.5-inch
G7-ton gun. A few. Lotion guns are
aEoat to-dnJ aboard British warships,
Tut when ne life Of these pieces is OK
hausted 3.iey will in all probability be
replace't by G7-ton guns,
The llenvicst cnliber guns 80 far COM
pletcl for the United States navy are
the owelve-incb weapons, of which two
re finished. They are both designed
or service aboard the coast-defense
DatsIe. ship. Monterey, The twelve-ineh
gums weigh about Gfty-one tons, FIRE q
projectile weighing one Thousand
rounds to a distance Of about ten miles,
The powder charge weighing five hun
dred pounds. The twelvc-inch projec-
lie should be, able to pierce eighteen
Of f-tNl NIL
range. The twelve-inch gun is worked
either by hydraulic or pneumatic pow
cr, all the eleVating, training and load
ing being under the control of levors.
The United States navy has to date
four ten-inch guns mounted aboard
ship. They are carried by the double
trirretcd monitor. Miantonomoh, two
ten-inch guns being in EACH of her tur-
rcts. This gun has weight of about
thirty tons. The projectile fred weighs
about five hundred pounds and is pro-
relled by a powder charge. weighing
about two hundred and thirty pounds.
The estimated range is about eight
miles.
The eight-inch gnn is in service
aboard five wnrships of the navy and
will be placed aboaSsij number of the
new warships as the vessels put in their
appearance. This gun tires a shot
weighing about two hundred and ten
pounds, with u powder charge of about
:;1ety pounds, The range. is about
s,nf IN miles. ...
The siH-iuch gun weighs very clpse to
FIVE totS, The projcctile. weighs ono
hundred pounds and the ,powder charge
about forty-fve pounds. Tbs range IL
close to five miles.
The Rve-ineh gun, weighs about forty
hundred weight, and the four-nch CUR
about twenty six hundrctlrwcight The
rrojcSGle of the latter weighs thirty
three pounds. and the range Is. owe,
Abror rJilos