The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-07-28
new GUNS FOR THBNAVY
Small Callbre Rifle to Be Tested
at Newport Station Next
Week.

WASHINGTON, July %, 1S94.-The great
powers of Europe are almost as deeply inter
ested as is the United States in the forth
coming competitive tests of small arms COM
mencing at Newport naval torpedo station
towards equipping the marines and blue
jackets of this country with the most de-
structive weapon in the world
The small arm at present used in the navy
is the familiar 45-inch calibre, which with
the regulation black powder gives an effec-
tive range of 1,200 yards, only fifty-five
rounds being carried per man. With the
high velocity producing smokeless powder
these guns are rapidly becoming obsolete
and all modern nations have adopted new
weapons with smaller calibres.
Italy. Roumania and Holland have chosen
75-millimeters; Spain and Chill, 7-milli-
is .30-inch; the famous Lebel of the French is
millimeters or .3l5-inch: the Mannlicher Of
Germany is 6.5-millimeters and the ordinance
sharps of the United States Navy after
careful consideration, have adopted a cali
bre of six millimeters, or .256-inch, the
smallest bore used in warfare, being but
slightly greater than the familiar 23inch
calibre of the small boys first pistol or the
"cat rifle"
THE NEW CARTRIDGE.
However, the cartridge the navy will use
in the new gun is totally different from the
popular bullet cap. It's projectile lacks like
an inch and half of heavy telegraph
of the cartridge widens out like
champagne bottle. The bullet is
nickle steel, coated with nickle weighing
135 grains, the explosive is forty grains of
rihite, the highest power of smokeless ex-
plosive, the effective killing range is 1000
yards and each man can carry $50 rounds.
The United States Arsenal has already
manufactured large number of the new
barrels, which are but thirty inches long,
and the long projectiles from them have
been driven through fifty inches of solid
pine. Thorough tests have demon
strated the witdom of adopting the
smrller calibre and the only thing that now
remains to provide American bluejackets
with the most terrible like destroyers is
breech mechanism enabling the accurate
discharge of the greatest number of pro-
jectiles in the least time.
Naval officials here have the highets
confidence in the ability of American in
genuity to supply this desideratum, and
with this in view last March Secretary Her.
bert called upon inventors for a breech
mechanism, offering to furnish the new
barrels for experimental purposes, ana nam
ing August us the date upon which com
pleted guns should be submitted and tests
under a competent naval board should COM
mence at Newport.
READY FOR THE TESTS.
The government is now ready to begin
these tests. 1t has furnished % barrels,
many of them to famous gunmakers. and
considerable curiosity exists as to the
contrivances that will be submitted As
the first order for the new guns, all
barrels being made by the government and
the weapon to be finished by the successful
inventor will probably amount to $4,000
arms it is confidently expected that some
practice will be developed, and
little or no doubt is expressed that the
United States will secure something superior
TO anything in use in Europe if indeed an
advance is not made which will astonish the
world as much as early great American in
ventionS.
The tests at Newark will be exceptionally
severe, safety, general action, defective
ammunition, excessive charges, rapidity, ac-
curacy and ability to stand dust and rust
entering into consideration. The en-
durance test will be 500 continuous
rounds without cleaning, and the facility
with which the breech mechanism and
magazine system can be completely taken
apart and put together will be noted.
1t is understood that upon the result of
these trials will depend whether France will
abandon the wonderful Lebel arm, with
which she has gone to such enormous ex-
pense in equipping her troops and follow the
lead of the United States in adopting the
smaller calibre and superior magazine gun,
Z The tests of machine guns which has been
going on at the Washington ordnance fac
tory and Indian Head proving grounds, and
which will be completed next week, were
undertaken with the purpose of selecting the
best machine gun mechanism for the newly
ad0Dtad harral