The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-06
GUNS AT THE FALL.
Objects of Special interest tc
the Visitors.
BIG KRUPP GUN DISAPPOINTING,

WORLDS FAIR, July A. [Special,] :
On this day we can find nothing better |
write about than the big guns OF the fail
A vast crowd is on the exposition ground
today, and when the tickets Of admissio
are counted up as midnight probably tn
total attendance fer the day viii be foun
to exceed ansthing in the history Of inter
national expositions. Il is a great day
sure enough; a day to be remembered b
al who are fortunate enough to partici
pate in this UNPARALLELED celebration il
this unprecedented spot. To many thou
sands OF visitors the big guns have beer
objects of special interest today. 1t is il
America day of guns, of gunpowder, o
noise, of martial spirit. Every Fourth O
1 July we feel as if we could lick all creation
and every other day of the year we ar,
quite sure we don't want to lick anyone O.
anything except Columbian postage
stamps, and that is task enough for tn,
majority of us.
When it comes to big guns we are not a:
far behind the world as some people thinl
we are. Of course the biggest guns here
are those shown by Herr Krupp, the IA
| nous German iron founder. You have
! read so much in the papers about his
! mammoth gun, and, no doubt, have seen
SO many pictures of it, that I don't feel
called upon 70 give you very careful de-
scription of the monster. To tell the
truth, it is not as big as / thought it was,
and when you come to the fair dare say
you will experience distinct sense of dis
| appointment in the magnitude of this IA
nous shooting iron. This is largely due to
the fact that the gun is mounted. If it
were lying on the ground, where you could
stand beside it and note that its thickness
at its thickest part is foot greater than
your hight, you would be less disappointed
in its size. Mounted on It's great carriage
the big gun is high in the air. 1t stands
in the center of a huge structure, and is
surrounded by other great guns, enormous
castings and forgings, steamer shafts and
screws, steam hammers, etc. The effect
of these surroundings is to dwarf even
the greatest piece of ordnance in the
world.
The truth of course is that this gun is
monstrous. Just comprehend the signifi-
canoe ofthese figures, if you can: Greatest
thickness, 6 feet inches; length, AZ feet;
bore, 1873 inches; weight, 270, 600 pounds.
Krupp had some big guns at the Philadel
phia exposition, and though they were not
nearly as large as this monster they were
more sensational. In trying to discover the
reason for this spent good half hour, and
finally it dawned on my brain that the
difference was in the bore. The Krupp
gun of 1876 had but little more than one
half the weight of this piece, but it's bore
was so wide boy could walk straight into
its muzzle. That gun had much less
strength than this, and that meant less
power. 1t could not throw such heavy
projectile nor could it throw it so far.
Thus even the dullest layman may note
that the effectiveness of ordnance does not
depend upon bore. A 16-inch bore, sup
ported by vast strength in barrel, may
have double or treble the effectiveness of q
bore of three, feet in lighter and weaker
gun that is not able to sustain the shock
OF powerful discharge of explosives.
This biggest of all guns is marvel of
strength. The shell fred from it is about
40 inches long and weighs q little more
than ton. 1t is of forged steel, with a
sharp cOnical end, and it is lifted to place
by means Of a steam derrick. The gun
Will throw this one-ton shell distance of
sixteen miles, with great accuracy and
effectiveness at a distance of twelve miles
Imagine the mighty play of forces re-
ouired to hurl such mass of steel through
sixteen miles of spacel
Considering the cost of firing this mon
ster one is surprised to learn that Herr
krupp has amused himself by firing it no
fewer than forty times Every discharge
cost him Thousand dollars, and forty
firings cost one-half as much as the orig
inal cost of the gun itself. The machinery
for manipulation of the piece is of course
on a large scale. Nothing else would do.
1t is hike fortress in itself-a fortress
with steam plant and machine shop in
it. The gun rests upon a carriage which
runs upon track and along which it NAV
be moved backward and forward. The
point Of contact is about twO-thirds of the
way from the muzzle to the breech, and
the piece is balanced on g pair of trun-
MONS or projecting arms each two feet
long and two feet thick Hydraulic ma /
chinery disturbs this balance OF the will
OF the gunner and moves the muzzle up or
down in range-finding.
There was d rumor some time ago that |
Herr krupp intended presenting this giant |
gun to the city of Chicago, and on the /
that the rumor was well based /
some patriot has suggested that the piece I
should today fire salute TO the free and 4
independent states of the American union. /
IL Is scarcely necessary for me TO add that +
the big gun is silent today, and that the /
rulnor concerning the generous intentions /
Of its owner was not well founded. When
asked the superintendent of the building
If his master were going 10 present the /
great gun TO Chicago he replied with
yigor:
"Aaw-pouf-nix. We are not giving
guns away this year
While Herr krupp makes the greatest
guns in tie world. so far as size is con
cerned, it IS disputed that he makes the
best guns. The constant tendency Of /
modern gun-building is not toward great
size, but TO llghtness and ease Of rna.ir,1-
atlon and, above ali, rapid fire. Only
certain percent age OF discharges from ord
nance can be expected TO be effective. AT
o2st The necessity for repeating is OBJ
sious, II much damage is TO be inflicted
upon the enemy 4 single SHOT from
brupps monster might cripple an ap-
preaching battleship, at a distance of
elght or ten miles, but the chances are il
you'd fire three or four times without !
laee hitting the target. At a somewhat
;horter range number Of rapid-firsny
'teel rifles would uroYe greater protection
sg2inst q formidable feet.
The British have carried gun-rna king Il,
higher degree IF perfection. probably. I
han an other nation. Today they make
10 larger gEZ than The 65toa Armstrong
I'd ve-y leFF As heavy as that. While
here has LII o@e1 enough fighting il the
ast twenty years 20 afford coed basis q