The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-20
on q largo scale. and the now magazine rlnes

were sighted for cordite cartridges. :. In the q
roundcr, field gun only about one-tourth as
qulred to produce given velocity and q inch
Armstrong the very high velocity Of 2,13I feet
now TO consist OK niiro.gy ccrinc and nitro.
cotton, IN about equal p!Orortions, will, a
| comes in the form Of three cords or wires. made
into cartridges of any required size. 1t is said
tDEifc less pressure than BLACK powder with
Tho swedish smokelcss powder used to be
spyro has S' fS[ SbsttutSd f mnse
largely Of nitratrd cclulosc. in grains of tri-
singular, prismatc shape, which are lustrous
changed when scaled III cartridges. II does not
eXnlpdo when isni!cd. even N largo quantities.
ni@h tclnperature. 1T gives out less smoke
,nhn the German Government powder and
der one l!flcnlty, with apyrite, is It's liability
to ioni tho Gun. but this is said TO have been
wt wcro iMG HeRTs fs2 S ssISf9 9t9Gd
plesSures were rather TOO high for the gun thei!
%SiGd AShafsS q Pm grains r g2,e an initial
p rrSsii S Of 4ss tons ioo oe' with c"am'''
The sm okelsss powder used by Italy 10 call
Sa od Gnf nysn;eE BY E9oe
S Mn. ., and deseoned mueh heat yet i
cesson without Affecting the gun. In srito
OF the heating OF. tn. barrel. the 1,aiians
last experiments wit 1t in field guns were re-.
snrde ns very satisfactory. especially rs It
brought very little strain on the. mount. Italy
powder. cartridges. Switzerland Tor tho
Schmidt MAGAZINE small arm, has ,manufac-
smokeless powder. and she has also more
recently adoEted it for artillery PURPOSES #
cause little smoke or fouling.
sm IA t9r our own country. q selection Of q
"a hn n IN
years been busy with This problem nv The
definite adoptlon OF tho hraG-J,orgenson gun
marx. which uses this rifle. has produced a
factory. which causes little smoke or fouIins
and no excessive pressure. Three thousand
ISHna' aea S S@u @
hours without cleaning ard yet suffer no
injury; In firing tests tho proportion. Of hits
Vim Se 9s% 1Ssf the pow But USED
ferent product. the Belgian W etteren. This
VAS was selected after Experiments with many
snrns have often '" Fson spoken Of Neve
theless: 1t has not been recommended for reg
ulnr adoption in our army. The desire is: IL
given moreor less promising results, In ud-
experiments with smoke less powder are car
ried on. various foreign, devices, have been
trlcu, anu foreign SlnOkeleSS powder ms oven
been fired at sandy Hook in the eight-inch rifle.
At the Newport torpedo station the navy MN
compound of macaroni form has been used in
all cGlbres up to and including the 0-inch with
excellent results. Its stability is especially
noteworthy. its superiority to many European
powders in remaining unchanged in different
temperatures being very marked. In the point
of safety it is all that can Le required. The u
inch gun. with n charge of % pounds and only
1885 tons pressure yielded $3.50 feet Of initial
velocity. while with 70 rounds and 1896 tons
It yielded 2.4,;9 feet. Higher. velocities have
been obtained in other countries. but al ways
with much higher pressures. Our naval au-
thorities have officially reported that this pow
der yields higher and more regular velocities
than the European products ut lower and more
uniform pressures.
RevertinG to the changes in tactical ma
nCcuyres which the free use Of smokoless
powders will cause. it Is evident that the de-
fence may be assisted by being Rble to open
fire on the attack without having it's own posi-
ton and force thereby disclosed. At Alder
shot, recently. n battery. which had been firing
at the distance of a mile and half upon the
body supposed to be attacking 1t. had dis
closed its position so lit that, merely tor the
sake Of giving the attacking party practice. it
was requested to fire a few charges Of black
powder. SO that its position and distance
might be discovered. This is only one instance
OF the changes that may DO expected from the
general introduction OF smokeless powder. so
that its use In this years manpuvreS will BIO
watched with much interest