The St. Johns herald., 1892-10-27
A MIGHTY GUN.
Its Charge Nearly Q Thousand
 Pounds of Powder.
Awful Effect Produced by the Discharge > of This Terrible Engine of War
 How It Is Loaded and Fired
 The Missile Employed.

British navy. These gigantic weapons are in the Victoria, the Dcnlow and the SanspareiL The 110-ton gun is fired with slow-burning cocoa powder "cocoa" because of its brown color. This powder, says the Pall Mall Gazette. is shaped in hexagonal prisms, this be- ing the most convenient form for close packing. Each prism is pierced with a hola in the center, so as to give ready access to the flame and secure an equable ignition. Ten thousand of these prisIns 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 hoist. and having been placed on the spout tray, is rammed into the gun by hy- draulic rammer, the shell of course hay ing been first driven forward into its 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
 
 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 1,sO0 pounds, and it goes out with a velocity of 2,105 feet per second. and has a destructive energy equal to 55,305 foot-tons. If the gun were to be used against a body Of men or fotilla of boats, shrap- mel shell would be used-that is, the long drum-lil1e cylinder of steel stand ing close to the carriage would be shot from the gun, and its contents 300 four-ounce bullets-woulds scatter death amongst the foe.
 The bullets arc put in layers, though not with mathematical exactness-they 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 fattened against each other. Directly the shrapnel case bursts, the bullets go flying on, Niile the spin of the shell, communicated by the rifing of the gun, spreads them out by centrifugal force over large area But the gun will most likely be used for attacking armored 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 end so increasing the difficulties of penetration. A good shell carries itself into the interior of the ship before it eXplodes. The shell is constructed to carry such aI amount of powder as will cause it to, explode and add its pieces to the de- structive splinters from the broken plate. The shell used in this gun, as stated, weighs 1 1,so0 pounds. The terrible havoc which such shell will play when fired with d full charge from this gun IS most vividly illustrated on the wall closet to the model. There is given a sketch of the course of shell from the 110-ton gun of the Sanspareil at trial at Shoeburyness in March last. The shell tore its way at the rate of 2,079 feet per second through twenty inches of compound armor specially manu- factured, inches of iron fastened in a heavy wrought-iron frame; 20 feet of oak baullSs; feet of granite blocks; II feet of concrete, and 6 feet of bri k; altogether, A feet inches of a wa.4 unique in history, surely, for combina- tion of width and variety and strength of material! For firing a full charge with armor-piercing shot from the 110- ton gun, the country pays for the pow der, ESQ; for the shell and fuses, 9120- total, e200; not to mention much more serious item if the gun were continual ly being fired with a full charge, the damage from the erosion caused by the powder gases, which causes it to lose its accuracy, and necessitates its 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 in "Modern Naval Artillery" that the life of the 67-ton guns may be taken at 12O rounds and the 11O-ton guns at seventy five rounds, both with full charges.
 Breathes with Closed Mouth.