The morning call., 1892-11-23
Commodore Folger flakes
a Report.
TRULY WONDERFUL PROGRESS
America Now Leads the World i'm
Naval Guns and the Armament
of War Vessels.
Special TO THE MORNING CALI.

which is a very lengthy one. asks that an
appropriation, aggregating nearly So, SOC. 900,
be made for his bureau; but the request
seems moderate In view of the achievements
of the present year and the promises for the
future. The yoluminous report is filled
with interesting details as to how the navy
compares with the navies of foreign na-
tions. and how active skill and inventive
ness have placed this country in advance of
all others in the comparatively new, so far
as the United States is concerned, field of
ArmOr construction and great-gun making.
To arm the vessels of the new navy, 3S1
guns, varying in calioer from 10 13 inches,
were required. and of these 237 have al
ready been completed and 110 are afoAt A
marked step in advance have been made In
improving the breech mechanism of 10 and
II inch guns. SO that they may be worked
easily and rapidly by hand.
The bureau is now building a nickel steel
gun on new designs invented by William
Sellers, which will doubtless inaugurate the
entire use OF nickel steel for naval gun
construction. 1t is stronger and better than
ordinary gun steel, and the designs permit
of the reconstruction of the guu whenever
the tube is worn. The use in guns up TO
six inches in ealiber Of fixed metallic am
munition has resulted SO satisfactorily that
1t is said to be merely a question of time
before the idea will be applied to guns of
larger csliber.
The rapid-fre mechanism as applied to
6ve-inch guns has enabled five shots to be
fred from one gun in nineteen seconds. But
the result OF the application Of this mechan-
ism TO four-inch gun was followed by re-
suits still more remarkable, for it has been
possible to Ere five shots in fourteen sec
ends.
Improvements are noted In the quality OF
the domestic brown powder supplied dur
Ing the year and it Is stated that the bureau
has taken steps to establish the manufacture
of brown powder on the Pacific Coast, sup
plying the California Powder Company of
Santa Cruz, Cal, with testing implement
and guns and securing for ii the use OF the
Dupont formulas.
Marked progress has been made also iu
the DEVELOPMENT in the navy Of smokeless
powder during the year. 1t is now made in
large quantities much safer than other
powders. Is unaffected by climatic condi-
tions and is superior in marked degree TO
the best European smokeleSs powders.
Tests With the high explosive, emmen-
site, were made with great success, and
shells filed with this material were fred al
second from rif1ed guns and exploded upon
Impact with water at COCO yards range.
Experiments with another American ex-
plOsive have shown that common shells
filed with this material can be fred through
siz l-inch iron plates and burst detonatively
at will behind them. These experiments
are regarded as settling the long discussion
with regard 10 the relative merits Of firing
high explosives from air guns or powder
guns.
The report speaks in terms Of praise of
the developments in this country of the
manufacture OF armor-piercing projectiles,
and saws that in the test recently made al In
dian Head of eight-inch shells-two of the
celebrated German Holtzer two of the Car
penter and two OF the Sterling Droduct-the
Carpenter shells were clearly equal to, II
not superior. to the best OF the Hotter
manufacture thus far delivered in this
country. One Of the Sterling projectIIes
showed qualities of a very superior char
acter. The deliveries Of automobile tor
pedoes were delayed by the difficulty ex-
peTienced in securing suitable TASKS, but
these had at last been obtained from do
mestic steel companies. and a number of
Howell. Whitehead and other torpedoes
were expected to be preseR ted for testing
st an early date.
Commodore FolgeT speaks approvingly of
the submarine boat now being made the
subject OF experiments al Chicago. While
full success has not Teen obtained. the in
vention Is promising and he suggests
combination with it Ia effective warfare of
a controliabie hoatingtorpedo or submarine
gun.
Under the head OF torpedo boats the re-
nrS etr H. H.
petroleum be used for fuel in these boats,
increasing their radius of action, giving
better control and generally increasing their
efficiency.
The report says that the labor troubles at
Homestead put a temporary stop to the re-
eeipt Of armor manufactured by Carnegie,
but that work has again begun. and it was
hoped that in short time the total armor
product OF the Carnegie and Bethlehem
companies Will reach six or seven hundred
tons Of finished plates per month. Orders
for armor TO the full amount OF both con-
tracts have been placed. and, there being
about 1000 tons still needed for the ships
authorized by law, the department is pre-
uaring to advertise for bids for this
quantity Of armor of nickelsteel and
treated by the Harvey process at the dis
erection of the department. Touching the
developments of armor in this country the
report describes the test last July of two
Harveyizsd 10-inch Dicklel-steel plates.
On one of these, five 8-inch Roltzer shells
were smashed without injuring the plate
This test was more severe than any ever
before made.
The commodore thinks the result OF this
great development OF armor will doubtless
be to check the tendency In Europe to
abandon guns of large caliber, which was
caused By the belief that the guns were
more than able to penetrate the heaviest
zrmor.
Some Information that may lead to a
revolution In gun-maklng and also
have far reaching effect In
other directions is contained in that
part OF the report which treats of nickel
steel alloys. Following up certain sugges-
tions made by James Riley Of Glasgow,
the ordnance Bureau succeeded In making
IN alloy of steel with 25 per cent of nickel
That possesses all Of the best qualities and
strength OF steel. with high elasticity dis
trfbuted throughout the metal, aud best
oil all, 1t Is practically non cor
robbie Ia air and almost so in
water Experimental gun-barrels and tor
pedo nets are to be made at once of this
alloy, and 1t Is believed that gun-barrels Of
this material will not only be rustproof
but will resist the corrosive action Of DOW
der gases, because the metal has only one
tenth of the susceptibility of steel to mag
netic force. 1t is also proposed to construct
the armored towers which shelter the COM
passes of one Of the new vessels of this
material.