The Helena independent., 1894-12-24
WIRE WOUND GUNS.
Their Remarkable Capabilities In tho Wa,
Of Wlthstandng High Pressure
While In Action.
VALUABLE CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE
Cen. Flagler Prefers tho 6uIlt.Up stoe Gun,
Which He Thinks Altogether
Satisfactory.


reached on the value Of wire-wound
guns for our service Such guns are
made In foreign countries, and II ia
certain that they resist very great pres
Hurcs. Al Woolwich they have
been under construction all the way
from the twelve FOUNDER up 10 the thlr-
teen and onc-half inch caliber The
twelve-lnch English wire-wound guns
weigh iif;y tons, Al least three OF the
modern bnttleships are to carry such
guns, two OF them mounting thirteen
inch rifles and third. the Renown,
ten ipch. All these are adapted FOR the
use Of smokeless powder. A slx-inch
wire-wound rapid tre gun with range
OF 1000 yards. using cordite. is fired
with extraordinary rapidlty. The
French seem less favorable to this
form OF construction. holdng. according
10 one author, that the guns are more
liable 10 be weak In the brcceh.
The latest of the American wire
wound guns is the Crozier, invented by
an officer Of the ordnance department,
and manufactured under the auspices
OF the latter at Wntervlelt. A central
tube Of forged steel Is overlald with "A
practically continuous wire from breach
10 muzzle and again, over this, slightly
shrunken. IL steel Jacket, carrying
the breach block and trunnion hoop,
connected at It's forward end with the
tube. Hoops, which serve as a pro-
lection against missiles, are shrunk
upon the chase. The arrangement OF
the tensions and shrinkages, In reliev-
ing the Jacket from much OF It's strain,
allows II tn be made of less costly ma
tcrial and the system has a peculiar
ity In its methd OF Joining the tube and
Jacket so as to prevent relative motion
In the direction of the length without
interrupting the continuity OF the wind
ing. In the recent report of the ord
nance department 1t was noted that the
gun had been fired sixty-eight rounds,
most of them with full pressures, reach
ing even $4,000 pounds per square inch,
without the slightest sign Of weakness,
and that the trial was still In progress
And very remarkable In all respects
was the record Of pressure obtained
with the well known Brown tve-inch
segmental wire gun, During the past
year forty-five rounds were fired with
pressures between 10000 and 10000
pounds. fifty-one with pressures be-
tween 1000 and $4,000, and forty-three
with pressures between 10000 and $4,000.
But, as II that were not enough to show
the strength OF the gun. two rounds
were fired with pressures between o.
600 and 60, ,0OO third at the latter mark,
another with 65,4l0 still another with
T65O0, and lastly one round with the
enormous pressure of 50, pounds per
square Inch.
There were forty-elght rounds with
Leonard smokeless powder. and the
pressures were Intentionally made very
high. However. after 1872 rounds, OF
which the last was with thlrty-sM
pounds OF brown prlsmatlc powder CIV
ing recorded pressures OF 5O,b96 ana 49,
lb0 pounds In two different gauges, two
cracks were found in the lining tube.
The upper crack was about one-fourth
of an Inch wide at the maximum, and
the lower was narrower. Gas escaped
upder the front edge OF the trunnion
tube, and was presumed 10 have passed
through the slaves and wire wrapping,
on removing the jacket II was found
that segment had parted, little less
than three feet from the breech, and
that the gas had escaped there, about
an eighth of an inch being opened in
the wires from the lining tube to the
space between the wires ana the jacket,
That, however. was the only segment
which was not completely Intact al
though the bore was naturally some
what eroded and scored after the pro-
longed firings at high pressures. Ii
was thought that the segment was rup-
tured some time before the fact was
detected by the escape Of gas; but how
many rounds had been subsequently
fred with safety and what the round
was which had caused the strain, could
l,a A.taruntnnH Snah tho n
cluslon of a very remarkable series of
firlngs
DIR. Woodhridge's ten-inch wire
wound gun Is another famous gun OF
this type. indeed antedating the Brown.
But In the Woodbridge the lining tube
extends throughout the bore. The lat
est specimen Of Il was fired during the
past year two rounds with pressures
under 10000 pounds per square inch,
thirteen rounds between $4,000 and 40,-
600, one round with il.167 pounds, and
one with 1890. The twenty-thlrd round
was too much for r., the gun showing
rupturcs Of the inner tube In five places.
The Woodbridge system has Indeed had
n hard experience. As long ago as 1881
a ten-lnch wire-bound braZed Wood
bridge gun went through ninety-two
rounds safely. but showed n fracture
on the ninety-third; while few years
HED II ihtN-HWH Nllf ~ All vi AiAt Hhalif
cnliber. using medium charges Of brown
prismatic powder went through l6i
rounds safely hut the board appointed
for testing II afterwArd reported that.
taking together the degree Of power
shown and the scoring and guttering
developed. 1t was not deemed suitable
for the service These guns were man
ufArtured by the ordinance department.
The bullt-up steel gun Is so excellent
II. L.. . flaaf..
manufacture goes right along, OF
course. and viii continue to do so until
some other gun can be found TO dis
place Il. II, ms Is claimed. the wire
bound gun can be made cheaper, then,
should its results be found to be equally
good, Il would have the advantage.
The actual claim Is that the wire en-
Nclope gives even greater strength than
the steel hoops put on tho bult-up gun.
The answer 10 this, as stated by Gen.
Flngler. is that the steel hoops are sum
Client. as they give greater strength
than the steel tube can be designed and
constructed 10 Withstand" and indeed,
they could be made stronger N noces-
sary. Therefore, the limit Of strength
would appear to be the ultimate
strength Of the tube common To both
systems. provided the envelopes have
the same modulus OF elasticity. and the
claims for superior strength OF The wire
wound envelope should reduce the claim
that with this envelope we may pos.
shly obtain u greater reserve NJ
strength for unusual or unexpected
strains or may arrive NJ the required
strength more easily" N M added that
the Brown scgmcntnl gun, although
cracked, ~ already described, had GER
tninly shown great endurance.
The addition o. the facts concerning
wirc-wuund guns which the trial uf The
CroElcr gun may present should throw
llght on the relative merits % this sva-
tom ~ construction and that Of the
regular service guns