The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1893-07-22
SANDY HOOKS GREAT GUN.
Il Can Blow an Ordinary Man.of.Wa, Out
of the Water

!
Il Can Blow an Ordinary Man.of.Wa, Out
Of the Water.
NEW YORK, July 19.-The first gun
of modern ordnance for the protection
of New York is now in position at
Sandy Hook. 1t is q 12-inch gun
weighing fifty-one and half tons and
is mounted on Snyder disappearing
carriage. 1t is the first 12-inch gun
built in this country. 1t was con
structed at the Watervliet arsenal and
has fully borne out all the expectations
of its designers.
Army experts declare that It is the
equal In every respect of the 13-inch
gun constructed by the navy depart
ment 1t will make q hole In the heav-
lest armor-clad ship atioat at distance
of six miles with it's 1,OOO-pound pro-
jectile, and at distance of ,H0 yards
it will perforate arnlor 23l4 inches in
thickness. From the solid concrete
battery, SO scientifically constructed
that two miles out ut sea its outlines
are scarcely discernible this mammoth
gun appears to be an insignificant
weapon.
The total length of the gun, how
ever, is SO feet 8 inches, its greatest di.
ameter is feet 10 inches and its weight
is 511s tons. The breech mechanism
alone weighs 900 pounds, but it is SO
delicately adjusted that one man can
operate it. The gun is made of built-up
steel and is composed of one tube one
jacket and thirty hoops. 1t cost S4?,227.
Tho battery in which the gun is
mounted was begun three years ago by
the corps of engineers. 1t is now prac-
tically finished. Visitors are not ad-
mitted to it. A guard stands at the
sally port and forbids entrance to every
person unless he is workman or an Of
ticer of the government The purpose
of this secrecy is to prevent foreign
officers from obtaining information
concerning the position of the gun. and
the construction Of the gun carriage,
which is worked on hydraulic plan
that is believed to be known only to
the officers of this government.
As it stands, this battery, which is
commonly called in the service gun
lift, is the most formidable one the
United STATES possesses ashore today.
Its main purpose is defense and it is
admirably adapted for that purpose. 1t
commands absolutely the entrance to
the main ship channel to New Yorl,
city. With its armament and its dis
appearing gun carriage, none but the
heaviest equipped foreign men-of-war
could inflict serious damage upon it at
long range. 1t could blow any ordi-
nary lnan-of-war out Of the water be-
fore close range could be reached.
1t is proposed within four months to
place in position Il second l2-inch gun,
and to mount short distance to the
right of the battery 18 12.2-inch steel
breech-loading mortars. When com
pleted the two 12-inch guns will perch
at least 25 feet in the air, their m,lzzles
pointing out to sea over the solid wall
of concrete. The guns will rest upon a
cement foundation at least 10 feet in
depth. The battery is constructed
upon the most enduring lines, with
rubble and cement foundations placed
Is or 20 feet below the surface of the
ground, and with a 1O-foot layer Of
sand between the inner and outer
walls.
The mortar battery is undergoing
construction on the same substantial
and enduring lines. 1t has been found,
however, that it will be necessary to
lift the guns and carriages bodily over
the parapet, as the sally port
is not sufficiently wide to admit
of their entrance. These lnortars
are most destructive guns. They
measure only 10 feet o inches in
length and foot in diameter. With
81 pounds of powder one of these NOR.
tars will drop 62S-pound projectlle
through the most approved decl1-platc
AZ inches in thickness. With the two
12-inch guns in position for horizontal
firing and the mortars for vertical fir
ing, army officers are of the opinion
that by January, 1894, New York har-
Dor will be tolerably safe in the event
of sudden foreign complications.
The advance in ordnance in the army
has all come about since the appoint
ment of the board of ordnance and for
titication and the promotion of General
ID. w. Flagler as chief of ordnance.
The board of ordnance consists of Gem
eral Schotield as president; Colonel
Henry l.. Abbott, OF the engineer corps;
Colonel Henry w. Closson, of the
Fourth artillery; Colonel A. Modecal,
of the ordnance corps; Congressman B.
NJ. Cutcheon, Of Michigan, and Captain
d. NJ. Taylor, of the ordnance corps, rs
recorder. Congress placed at the dis
posal of this board an appropriation of
s4, 4,5O0,0 900, and contracts have been
made for the construction of twenty.
five s-inch, fifty 1O-inch and twenty-five
12-inch guns The ordnance depart.
ment has now one 12-inch gun in posi-
ton, another completed, five or six
more on the lathcs at the Westervliet
arsenal, ten or twelve 1O-inch guns and
a sufficient number OF mortars to be
mounted ut all the principal seacoast
towns.