The Irish standard., 1892-04-23
A MIGHTY GUN
It's Charge Nearly a Thousand
Pounds Of Powder.

Awful Effect Produced by tho Discharge
of This Terrible Engine of War
How 1t Is Loaded and Fired
The Missile Employed.
There are nine 110-ton guns in the
British navy. These gigantic weapons
are in the Victoria, the Benlow and the
Sanspareil The 11O-ton gun is fred
with slow burning cocoa powder
'*cocoa" because of it's brown color.
This powder. says the Pail Mall Gazette,
is shaped in hexagonal prisms, this be-
ing the most convenient form for close
packing. Each prism is pierced with a
hole in the center, so as to give ready
access to the fame and secure an
equable ignition. Ten thousand Of
these prisms are needed to make up a
full charge for this monster gun. The
powder along with the shell comes up
from the magazine below in a hoist,
and having been placed on the spout
tray, is ramnled into the gun by a by
draulic rammer. the shell of course nav
ing been first driven forward into it's
place by the same instrument. In near
ly all naval guns the powder charge is
made up into four cartridges, the object
being to get each cartridge down to a
weight that a man may lift. But on
account Of it's extraordinary weight
nine hundred and sixty pounds--the
charge for the l1o-ton gun is divided
into eight cartridges. The gun having
been loaded and sighted by the captain
of the turret from his coming tower is
fired by him by electricity. The gun
can be loaded and fired within two and
half minutes.
The projectile fired from the gun
when attacking ships or forts weighs
1900 pounds, and it goes out with
a velocity of 2,1O5 feet per second,
and has destructive energy equal
to 55,3O5 foot-tons. If the gun were
to be used against body of
men or fct;lla of boats, shrap-
mel shell would be used-that is, the
long drum-like cylinder Of steel stand
ing close to the carriage would be shot
from the gun, and it's contents-2,3 300
four-ounce bullets--would scatter death
amongst the foe.
The bullets are put in layers, though
not with mathematical exactness--thev
are merely shaken together. Melted
resin is poured in among them in order
to fill up the interstices: else, when the
heavy shock of the explosion came they
would be all tiattened against each
other. Directly the shrapnel case
bursts, the bullets go flying ON, while
the spin of the shell, communicated by
the riaing OF the gun, spreads them out
by centrifugal force over large area.
But the gun will most likely be used for
attacking ar1nored ships and forts; in
this case the steel shell, with q strong,
sharp point, will be used. These shells
are first forged, then bored, and finally
tempered. While they should be tough
in the body they must be hard at the
striking point. The hardness of the
point increases the penetrative power Of
the shell, while the toughness Of the
body prevents it swelling as it is en-
tering the plate and SO increasing the
difficulties of penetration. good
she'll carries itself into the interior of
the ship before it explodes. The
shell is constructed to carry such an
amount of powder as will cause it to
explode and add it's pieces to the de-
structive splinters from the broken
plate. The shell used in this gun, as
stated, weighs 1900 pounds. The terrible
havoc which such shell win play when
fired with a full charge FRONT this gun is
most wildly illustrated on the wall
closet to the model There is given a
sketch of the course Of a she'll from the
110-ton gun of the Sanspareil at a trial
at Shoeburyness in March last The
shell tore it's way at the rate of 2,07e
feet per second through twenty inches
of compound armor specially manu-
featured, 8 inches of iron fastened in q
heavy wrought-iron frame; 20 feet OF
oak baullzs; feet of granite blocks; II
feet of concrete. and 8 feet Of brick
altogether, IL feet inches of a wall
unique in history. surely, for combina'
ton of width and variety and strength
of material! For firing a full charge
with armor-pi ercing shot from the l1O'
ton gun, the country pays for the pow
der. ESQ; for the shell and fuses, 9120-
total, 92O0; not to mention much more
serious item if the gun were continual:
ly being fired with full charge, the
damage from the erosion caused by the
powder gases, which causes it to lose
its accuracy, and necessitates it's being
refined, at great expense and at the cost
of long delay. But it is right to say the
gun is seldom fired with its full charge.
Provision, in the shape of sights and
range tables, is provided, with all our
heaviest guns for three charges, name
ly, the half charge, the three-quarterS
charge, and full charge. It is laid down
in the regulations that for peace prac
tice the first is to be used, besides an oc
casional round of the second to test the
proper working of the mounting; the
full charge being reserved for special
cases during war, when the position OF
the ship requires extraordinary exer
tions to cripple her enemy It is gener
ally considered, says Capt. Noble II
Modern Naval Artillery" that the life
of the s7-ton guns may be taken at 1St
rounds and the 110-ton guns at seventy