Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-03-25
GUNS TO FIRE UNDER WATER.
prajectilcs which Could Quickly Dsstrsy;
q Who'll Fleet. .

Prajectilcs Which Could Quickly Destroy;
q Whole Fleet.
C. s. Bushnell of New Haven, Vice
President of the Ericsson Coast De-
Tense Company, which has just had
the old Destroyer taken out Of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard and hauled up
on Simpsons dry-dock at South Brook
Ign for repairs, says, in regard to the
fitting up of the vessel for the trial
of u newly invented gun.
ION the Destroyer the late Capt
Ericsson and G. II. Delamater spent
$3.50, 900. The vessel is 100 feet long
and is substantially constructed,
though now in great need of repairs
Our company has a capital of $780,
900. We are fitting up the vessel for
the purpose of testing Il gun that will
fire under water. Now. with the
heavy nettings which the big war
vessels have for the protection OF
themselves against torpedoes, the Or
binary projcctiles are almost useless
"sut with the gun that is to
be tested on the Destroyer we ran
make a %proicctile penetrate any Of the
AiSOOiAiSo iltNO AIC IIOM III uSC. we
are to use a siXtccn-inch gun. That
which we will experiment with is be-
ing constructed ut Bethlehem, Pa,
and is about half done. 1t is to be
thirty-flve feet in length. The pro-
jectile is to be twenty-five feet long
and to throw it Il charge of twenty
five pounds Of powder will be used.
The shell will contain from 300 to
400 pounds of nitru-glyccrinc, enough
to blow up any vessel atloat if struck
right. The mnzzle of the gun will
protrude for ten feet from under
water and the %projcctile will be car-
ried for $50 to 1000 feet. The pro-
jectile will extend eight feet beyond
the muzzle of the gun before firing.
We intend to try the gun for the first
time at Newport next July, having
obtained from Congress an a%ppropria-
tion for making the tests.
with Il few such vessels as the
Destroyer will be when equipped with
our gun the armed fleets of the world
could be swept out of existence. I
believe that this invention will rev0-
%lutionixe naval gunnery throughout
the world. One of our shells can be
sent right Through the netting and
into the side of a vessel. where a tor
pedo could not penetrate. Commo-
dore FNolger of the Ordnance Depart
mcnt has written a letter to me say
ing that he has prepared a heavy net
ting for a target upon which our gnn
a be tested. Later we shall buy an
old hulk and blow it up with one of
our percussion shells to show the
efficacy of the new gun.
III think that if the test proves sat-
isfactory the government will arm
some of the naval vessels with it.
For the price that one of our big new
ships would cost we could build and
arm five of the smaller ships, which
would be able to sink the best navy
atloat. If the nations should arm
their navies with these guns it would
so enhance their destructive power
that the Powers would not dare to go
to war with each other. Since ships
have been armed with the Hotchkiss
rapid-tiring guns there has not been
a naval battle. In a sea fight these
guns would aus terrible havoc.
Vessels of the Destroyer type are to
be heavily armored, so that they can
approach any vessel without being in
Jured, These vessels will be only a
foot out of the water. and that part
will be armored, 10 very little will be
exposed to an encmy's guns. One
of these vessels, made to steam at
great speed, can be made very cffcc-
tive"
Mr.. Bushnell was associated with
Ericsson in the construction of the
Monitor.