Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-07-06
THE GUN IS A WONDER,
The Segmental Wire Gun VIII Excel
All Others.

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Great Destructivoness and Strength OF
Construct ton Exhaustive Tests Are
Now Being Made at Sandy Hook by
United States Army Officers.
New York Times, June 20.
The official Government test of the
Brown segmental wire gun has now
been in progress at the Sandy Hook
proving grounds for over week. The
test is being conducted by an official
board of ordnance officers OF the army.
The full details of the trial will not be-
come known until the report of the
board is submitted to the Chief of Ord
nance at the War Department.
A New York Times representative
learned yesterday from gentleman
who has been in constant attendance at
the present trial in an official capacity
that the results of the past weeks firing
have been deemed satisfactory. Or
two occasions pressures Of over 70, 900
pounds per square inch were obtained
without the slightestinjury being caused
to the gun. The initial velocities regis
tered on the two firings were, respec-
lively, $3.50 and 1890 feet per second.
In the language of the Times inform
ant, these velocities are high when com
pared with the velocities obtained from
steel built-up rifles, but it must not be
forgotten that the Brown segmental
wire gun is what, in artillery parlance,
is called high powder pressure gun,
and that up TO date no powder has been
manufactured cuitable for this gun. A
brown prismatic powder, manufactured
by DUPONT and intended for service in a
10-inch modern rifle, has been employed
in some OF the firings of the past few
days. The powder in question was found
to burn too quickly for service with the
ordinary 10-inch gun. When tried in the
| five-inch Brown gun II gave better re-
suits than any powder previously used.
"The unfit 10-inch gunpowder gave
in the Brown tive-inch gun an intia
velocity of $3.50 feet per second. The
pressure recorded in obtaining this We
locity was only 80, 400 pounds per square
inch. AS the Brown gun has demon
strated its ability to Withstand pres
sure of double that, it is obvious that
with suitable powder, an initial We
locity approaching close to 5000 fee
per second should be obtained. A 5000
foot-per-secoDd velocity will, of course
| Dioah al 1SSOiua nuuo Az huiSilSu v
abroad"
On the powder question this sam
gentleman stated that, SO far as the off
cial records showed, the new Leonard
smokeless powder, an American product
has given the best results. As an in
stance, he said, a 1871 pound projectil,
fired with charge weighing tw,
pounds and three and half ounce
had attained the high muzzle yelocit.
of 1880 feet per second. The pressur
registered with this last velocity wa
36,520 pounds per square inch.
"The velocity Of 2 $3.50 feet per second,
he contiNued, sis velocity of 800 fee
per second greater than has eyer.bee
known by artillerists to have been oh
tanned by 3.2-inch gun. Considering
then, that the length of the 3.9.inch GU
is only>26 calibres and the length of th
Brown gun is "A calibres, II is apparen
that an enormously high velocity can b
obtained from the Brown gun provide
Leonard powder can be made suitabl
to use in the gup."
The fact that TO date the breech sys
tenn of the Brown gun has given n
trouble is said to pc something of a SUI
prise to the ordnance expests at Sand
Hook. Many American aud foreig
officers of artillery prominence have bs
lieved from the first that the Brow
block would jam as soon as high. pref
sure work began in the gun.