Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1893-10-28
BRAZIL LTOTRY DYNAMITE
The Government Will Blow
the Insurgents to Atoms.
'FoRPBDO-THRowER ON THE Ell CID

A Fight to the Death Can Now BE Looked
for in Brazilian Waters when Brazil's
New Cruiser Meets DIello's Boats and
Begins to Throw Bombs.
NEW YORK, Oct. 2S.-The Herald of
0 day says. eve have bought from
he Pneumatic Torpedo and Construction
]ompany, of New York, the finest 10
nch dynamite gun ever built and 100
'roiectiles, loaded with nitro gelatine,
use and ready for use. The gun will at
nee be taken down the river from Cold
i pring, N. Y. where it is now mounted
shore, and will be lifted bodily on
GARD the steamer FL Cid for use against
I he insurgent navy of Brazil. "
4 For obvious reasons, the name of the
!. erson whom l overheard making the
q oregoing remarks in the little town Of
4 Jewburg, near West Point, n. Y, yes
erday, is withheld. He is a man suffi-
emily near to the Brazilian Minister to
aake his statements absolutely trust
& 7orthy. It is certain that within few
g avs El Cid will be fitted out as a war
3 essel, with a battery that may make her
match for the whole naval force com.
u handed by the Brazilian insurgent, Ad
II liral Mello, in spite of the armor of his
q quidaban and the speed of his cruiser
A :epublica
The News Fully Confirmed.
Seeking to follow up the news thus in
autiously spoken in my hearing tried
N get a confirmation and fuller details
rom the Brazilian Admiral Mauritz who,
soon learned, was at Cold Spring on the
q Iudson to-day, watching the firing of
A he 10 inch gun he had bought for the
Il brazilian Government.
Before the end of next week the great
a . inch dynamite aerial torpedo thrower,
"a yeighing forty tons, that has recently
q cen finished by the Cold Spring foundry,
a nder contract with the Pneumatic Tor
e edo and Construction Company. Of New
o. k, will be mounted on board Ell Cid.
Plenty of High Explosive Shells.
At the same time one hundred pro
& ectiles will be put into the ship. These
3 Pill be mostly what are known as sub
alibrs projectiles- that is they are OF
e sss diamster than the bore of the gun
5self. Thus, the 6ineh projectiles which
re about three feet long, carry only fifty
ounds of nitrO-gelatine, the S-inch are
bout FIVE feet long and carry one hun
red pounds o the same high explosive,
ghile the 10 inch, which are more than
+ light feet long contain bursting charge
two hundred pounds
ba Fr,n oa1fhra r,rosoatf1no horo ~
xternal diameter of fifteen inches anc
heir explosive carrying capacity is more
han 500 pounds. These proiectiles are
sroportionately shorter than the Others
nd they are guided differently.
How sub-Calibre Shells Are Fired.
In using the sub .calibres the proiectile
centred in the bore of the gun by
wooden blocks, which keep it in the
xis of the bore until it leaves tn.
nuzzle Then the wooden centring
pieces fall off aud the shell goes on alone
At its rear end are vanes of me al, set al
IN anglo, and the resistance of the all
gainst these vanes, causes the she'll {,
pin rapidly on its longitudinal axis anC
o make true flight
There Is no room on the full calibri
hell for these vanes. because It com
1letely fills the bore. Hence a rotar,
notion is impaired by tail piece, some
hing like a screw propeller.
The gun now at Cold Spring has givei
range Of nearly three and three quartz
miles with the 6 inch shell carrying
fifty pounds of nitro -gelatine or dyna
mite. The range for the Sinch is tw
and one-half miles. for the 10 inch nearl
Two miles and for the full cslibre tw
thousand yards.
How El Cid win Probably Fight.
The high power powder guns @
modern war ships would, if well serve
and we'll aimed, cut El Cid to pieces b
fore she reached the two thousand yal
rang, but at a distance of two and hs
pr three and half miles only by chanl
would she be hit. espe sially coming en-
on or running straight away, 1t woul
therefore, be her policy to run towai
the enemy until the latter was approac
ing or running away at a distance
two and half miles Then it would
El Cid's object to keep that distance al
use her 100 pound charge shells to bio
up her antagonist.
c. p Huntington, president of Il
Southern Pacific Railroad Compan
which owns the Morgan line, admitt
yesterday morning that the ship hi
been sold to broker, but declared tn
he could not say whether she had be-
bought by Flint & Co. He believed 81
was to be used in the South Americ
trade by her owners. The original CO
of the vessel, he said. was 1885 600, a.
he added that the price for which S
has Just been sold was In excess Of tn
sum. When the vessel was registered
the Custom House in the name of b
new owners later in the day the pu
chase price as given did not tally wi
Mr.. Huntington's statement about
price paid for her