The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-02-04
DIG GUNS OF THE NAVY.
Interesting Facts About Their Calibre
Weight and Prodigious Range.

Interesting Facts About Their C0libre,
Weight and Prodigious Range.
New York Times.
The following facts concerning the pow
er and capabilities of some of the main and
secondary battery-guns carried aboard war
ships of the United States, readers of the
Times may find of interest. The main bat
present thirteen inches. These guns are
s-ixtv-seven-ton breech-lOading rifles. The
minimum calibre now allowed in the main
batteries of h~igh-pOwered ordnance guns
i the sar,d dosF-in saiibre rapid ih fisS pis shs
thirteen-inch. twelve-inch. ten-inch.
e~ight-lnch, six-inch, tive-lnch, and
four-inch. The secondary batteries include
the s%ix-pounder, three-pounder and one
mlllimeter and Observation-Disclosures re-
v~Olving n and Calling gun. Recent
~. however. the Navy Department has con-
fined the guns of the secondary battery to
the s~ix-pornder and long one-pounder rap
id-fire pieces. the Observation-Disclosures
revolving cannon and the Calling gun.
The majority of mandatory guns IN
service to-day are of the siX-inch calibre.
The building up of the ordnance of the
United States navy may be said to have
begun with the six-inch guns. Just now,
however. there appears to be q tendency to
make the four-inch guns preponderate in
numbers. the Dashiei ~rapid-ire breech
mechanism making this calibre gun an
" OoPOh a uhofA " IL
armored ships.
No guns of the thirteen-inch calibre have
as yet been fabricated. This type of gun
will not be demanded until the new battle
ships Indiana. Massachusetts and Oregon,
now building, are ready for service. Each
of these battle-ships will have four thir-
teen-inch guns. In limiting the main-bat-
terry guns to the thirteen-inch calibre the
now IN vogue in the British navy. Until
recently the British Admiralty was order
ing sixteen-inch, 110-ton guns. The maxi
mum calibre gun now building for use i'm
the British navy is the13.5-inch, sIxty-seven-
ton gnn. A few 1i0-ton guns are afioat to-
day aboard British war ships, but when the
life of these pieces Is exhausted they will, in
oil probability. be replaced by sixty-seven-
ton guns.
The heaviest calibre guns SO far COM
pleted for the United States navy are the
twelve-inch weapons. Of which two are
finished. They are both desi gned for serv-
ice aboard the coast-defense battle-ship
Monterey. The twelve-inch guns weigh
about thirty-one tons. fire q projectile
weighing one thousand pounds to n dis
lance of about ten miles, the powder charge
weighing five hundred pounds. The
twelve-lnch projectile should be able to
pierce eighteen inches of steel armOr at
point-blank range. The tweive-inch gun
is worked either by hydraulic OF pneu-
matte power. ali the elevating, training
and loading being under the control Of
levers.
The United States navy has, to date, four
ten-inch guns mounted aboard ship. They
are carried by the double turreted monitor
MiantOnOmah. two ten-lnch Runs being in
each of her turrets. This gun has q weight
of about thirty tons. The proiectile fired
weighs about five unnred pounds and is
propelled by a powder charge weighing
about ESQ pounds. The estimated range is
about eight miles.
The eight-inch gun is In service aboard
five war ships of the navy and will be
placed aboard u number of the new ships
as the vessels put in their appearances.
This gun fires q shot weighing about 2l0
pounds. with a powder charge of about
ninety pounds. The range is about seven
miles.
The six-inch gun weighs very close to
five tons. The pr0jectile weighs one hun
drcd pounds. and the powder charge about
forty-ive pounds. The range is close to
five miles.
The five-inch gun weighs abous forty
hundrcd-weight. and the four-inch gun
about twenty-six hundred weight. The
projectile Of the latter weighs thirty-three
| pounds. and the range Is over three mica.