The sun., 1893-04-04

Tests or New I.ve,ao.s Co-i.s st Sandy
Hook, sprirEncid, and Isdtan Head.


HOOK. sprirgncis. and Isdtsn Head.
WASHINGTON. April 3-The present summer
has not been looked to for much work on the
army and navy ordnance proving grounds
beyond what IL needed for current purposes
A good deal OF material. especially from Sandy
Hook. will be at the Chicago Fair: neverthe-
less. certain tests OF great Importance have
been already arranged for.
Among the earliest OF these. happening prob
ably within few weeks. will be the trials OF
two wire wound 10-inch rifles. one OF thom
the well-known Invention Of DR.. Woodbridge
and the otkor that OF Capt William Crozier OF
the Ordnance Departm ent The merits claim
cd for the wire-w wound system OF construction
compared with tho built up guns now In vogue
have often been set forth. It'll asserted that
the wire wound rifles are tbe stronger. and
that. since they do not require as heavy forg-
ings they can be built more rapidly ard moro
chenply. On the other hand 1t is admitted
that great precautions must be taken
in these guns to GUARD against longi-
tudinal weakness. There has always
been q great desire among ordnance
officers and others to test thoroughly the mer-
its Of the wire-wound system. The British
have. It is said. adopted rapid-Gre 8-inch RI
fle OF this sort for their fleet. which is strong
enough to allow them the use OF cordite their
high explosive. giving an initial velocity OF
1900 feet per second. As this gun is 40 cali
bres long. the propelling charge has an opportu-
nifty for full action against the projectile. The
Woodbridge gun will probably be tested this
month. and the Crozier the month afterward.
and. should the results be satisfactory. an Of
fort will be made to secure appropriations for
adopting them In service.
Smokeless powders continue to be triod
both by tho army and navy with tho desire OF
securing something for practical use. This Is
the more important since such q powder will
be needed for the new magazine small arm.
1t is said that one Of the most promising
powders lately tested By tho army was manu-
fnctured in California. and that facilities will
10 granted for its production. in the hope that
It may furnish the solution OF what is now
The selection oi the magazine rife itself Is
another current subject of ordnance work.
that they could compete successfully against
the stn gun selected On tn
"s fSsnss S SSs1a soasis,ieG 81 sa tol 6.is.
nsn Of The as fns HsSf p FsFs1
and Cant. s. L Blunt. Recorder. Of the Ord
mi tbs cs
last week to begin the new tests. which are
s%ips on hs are tsSs the
sns' msns years. @ aeo ihe IaS Lee % essn.
q new 1SD;, model. 80 caIibre with u direct
forward and backward bolt action: the Savage
bnkc so ealibre sf aiso improyed n ' last last
year: four burst riees. two Of the 80 and the
Others q 1903 ssalibre; modified from last year;
spp|anins ;, GaT,s q re . PSipshsd, Iids; ths
trial on SATURDAY and Withdrawn ior repairs;
er1ore inns ~ a1 naiihrs nreoenT.S Sv M
new .so.caiibre Livsrmore gun. with his latest
and the Wilson OF sprins sfield.
1t will therefore be- seen that practically, the
must meet about ali its Old competitors MI @ W again
thnt & have aye any any chance OF success against t:
Krag. the authorities laid down a number Of
general principles on the subject giving cluo
to beat mSdss Of
accordingly studied these views. and. guided
by the success Of the Krsg. have. have sought to
Of tri als. although II genuine novelties OF
weapon. % It viii disp!ace the ioreisn arm n''''''
fSs Ss be
With % the be uG pneumatc 81 M dfssppearins ~ gun car.
riage at Sandy Hook last year will be remem
beTed: and two other Disappearing carriages Ts
are the Gordon. and the burlington Crozier.
which adopt the counterpoise principle.
male In England from the designs OF RosEa-
zoN. q Russian officer modified. 1t Is said. by
the suggestions OF our ordnance officers for
their uses. The return Of the gun to the firing
position is effected by the action OF powerful
Beleville springs-
Long ago the Board Of Ordnance and Forti.-
cations proposed to hold n competitive test
between the Hotchkiss. Canet. and Armstrong
rapid-flre guns. From one cause aud an.
other 1t has been postponed. and now 10 not
expected to take place before next autumn.
Meanwhile, not only is the, rapid-hre system
extending to very large calibres, but new sys-
tens q copstructiop are com petng with the
familiar in our navy. while soon at Indian
Head q new Iapid-nre gun. the inyen-
Its chief features are said to be
a further reduction In the mum Der OF pieces
about the breech block and ease in manipula-
ton. It already lays claim to rate Of about
thirty shots, per minute. and has shown great
facility in the taking apart and putting to-
gether Of the breech mechanism.
At Indian Head thore will also he the usual
testing Of heavy guns and plates this year. so
that upon the whole. there seems no reason
for thinking that the season either there or at
Sandy Hook will be devoid OF interest.