The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-22
THE 13-INCH GUN.
Two shots Fired from Uncle Sans
biggest Death-DeaIing Weapon.

WASHINGTON, March PA distin.
guished party OF public men and depart.
ment officials and a number OF ordnance
experts accepted the invitation OF the Sec
retary OF the Navy 10 witness, at naval
ordnance proving grounds at Indian Head.
the Official test Of the first Of the big
thirteen-inch guns which have been COM
pleted at the government works. This IS
the biggest gun ever built in this country,
and vast amount of interest was mani
tested in seeing 1t operated
Just as the warning had been given TO re-
tire TO the hills preparatory TO making the
gun ready for firing a water pipe In the
hydraulic recoi apparatus burst AS il
was found that 1t would require some time
TO repair il, arrangements were made for
test Of some projectiles from a ten-inch
gun in the interim. The first Of these pro-
tectiles was Johnson cast steel, fired point
blank at sheet of armor OF Harveyized
nickel steel, placed at a distance of less
than two hundred yards from the mouth
OF the gun. The projectile penetrated the
shattered and scattered. A Carpenter
armor piercing shell OF wrought steel from
the same gun met with hardly better
fate, although il crashed around the dent
made by the former shot. The initial ye-
locity of these projectiles was 1.600 feet
Inc damaged water pipe on the big gun
was by this time repaired, and the visitors
ranged themselves on the hill back OF the
embrasure cut in it's sides for the rife TO
project from. Here they could watch the
loading The enormous mass OF metal OF
the gun, sixty-seven tons in weight, 10
easily under control for elevating de-
pressing by a hydraulic apparatus. The
eleYen-hundred pound cast steel shot was
hoisted up 10 the breech by tackle pulley
and then rammed home by a hydraulic
ramming apparatus. which extends itself
in a most astonishing manner by a tele-
convenient compass TO rest at the breech
Of the gun. The 403-pound charge OF powder
was then put In behind the shot. The pow
der is in grains, shaped much Ike an iron
grain being an inch or more In diameter.
The massive breech pin was then swung
into place and the warning given for the
coming discharge.
Many a spectator stood not on MS Dig
nifty, but retreated TO retired points and
held his fingers I'm his ears while the gum
ner pulled the lanyard OF the gun and sent
the metal roaring and ripping ana tearing
and raging into the inmost receSses OF the
opposite hillside. The explosion and con-
cussion were not equal 10 the apprehension
OF most OF those looking on. In fact the
sharp crack OF the smaller rifle guns Is
more trying 10 tie tympanum than the
deeper-toned roar OF the giant The tni-
per second. The wonderful extension ram
rod was brought into use 10 sponge the
gun, and a second charge then inserted.
this time of 4S2 pounds OF powder. The
testing instruments indicated an initial ve-
locity OF 1875 feet per second.
Interested observers OF the test were the
naval attaches OF the embassies OF Great
Britain, France, Germany and Italy and
the Russian and Japanese legations. After
two shots from fou-inch rifle with