The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-12-21
GREAT GUNS OF GREAT NAvlES.
The ilo-Toa Gun. Are Exsrrm.,, r.p-p-

r.
Two of the mammoth liHton guns.
upon which the British admiralty has
SO proudly commented as the modern
naval artillery" and which cost about
one hundred thousand dollars each,
Went down into seventy fathous. OF
water with the battleship Victoria.
and III connection with this fact there
must have been awakened much inter
est among readers as 70 whether sach
heavy war weapons, heavier than any
and heavier than Will probably Re
built, are wise addition 10 a modern
war vessel. Aud vet this big gun Is
not new thing. as it practically dates
back twelve years About forty cf
these big guns have been built. and
some OF them were sent 20 Italy
IL Is easy 20 comprehend among
navy officers that sueh guns are an ex-
pensive luxury, not oaiy IN the actual
cost OF the gun and itsammunition. bas
also IN the size Of the ships required tn
carry them. But what will be Of most
interest to lay-people j. the quantity
and cost of ammunition. and the life
of the gun itself. The best ordnance
experts calculate the life Of the lie-tou
gun 10 be seventy-tive rounds with fuE
charges The Ii6-ton gun. and indeed
all large guns. are fred wiih slow burn
ing cocoa powder. the name cocoa ec.
ing derived from the brown color OF
the powder. IL is shaped in hexagonsl
prisms, this being the most convenient
form of packing. and 10000 Of these
prisms are needed to make full charge
for this monster gun Each prism Is
pierced with n hole in the center &c
give ready access TO the flame aud in.
sure an equable ignition. For
nearly all naval guns the powder
charge is made up of four cartridges,
but. owing to the extraordinary weight
of the llo-ton gun charge $3.50 pounds,
IL is divided into eight cartridges. each
weighing iao pounds. To load the gun
it is necessary to bring IL TO its extreme
elevation. that is, the muzzle is point
ed upward as far II can be on the
mount; and these operations follow:
a. Unlock and unscrew the breeeh-
block; (2l withdraw the breech- block:
(S) traverse breech- block 10 one side:
a. place the loading trav in the gun;
(51 swab out the gun: t6l ram home. ar
put into place. the projectile; 90 phase
the first charge; (sl place and ram
home the scond half charge; t9) with
draw the loading tray; (i0j replace the
breech-screw; tiD screw up and lock
the breech-screw.
The gun is then ready TO be sighted
by the captain of the turret from his
coming tower. II is fired by electrici-
". The gun can be loaded aud fired
within two and a half minutes The
projectile used in the gun. when ships
and fortx. are attacked, weighs l.sod
pounds are only zoo pounds less than a
ton. and IL leaves the muzzle with q
velocity of 2.io5 feet sec
ond. and bas destructive cner.
gy equal TO SIS, sos foot tons.
When tested before mounting on
the Sanspareil three years ago the shot
tore its way through specially manu-
fsctured steel armor 20 inches thick,
and yet the armor belt OF the Victoria
ranged from 10 ITO Is inches in thick.
ness only. In addition to the 90 inchet
thickness of steel, tho shot went
through inches OF iron fastened in a
heavy wrough-iron frame. 20 feet OF
oak baul<s. 9 feet OF granite blocks, IL
feet OF concrete and @ feet of brick In
other words. il went through ss1 feet
of a wall unique in history for com
bination of width and variety Of
strength of materials. The cost OF oue
firing of this gun was 500 for the pow
der and 5000 for the project,le and
fuses; and after IS rounds there would
be the cost OF the gun 10 add. sl00 600.
In firing .he gun against body Of
men or a fotilla of boats IL i. intend
ed TO use shrapnel. drum-liks cylin-
der of steel, inclosing $500 +-ounes
bullets. As soon as the sbrapnei bursts
the bullets go flying on, the spinning
of the shell. caused by the rifed
grooves of the gun. spreading them out
over large area. When n shell is
used it is charged with powder. which
causes il 10 explode and scatter its
pieces with great destruction. Y.
Tribune.