The San Francisco call., 1896-04-04
GREAT VELOCITY WANTED.
Powder Tests Of Big Rifled
Cannon and Mortars at
Preside.
Uncle Sam Demands the Highest
Speed Known, and a Californian
Reaches It.

Uncle Sam requires that the powder for
some of his best rifed cannon shall be
powerful enough to send projectile at the
rate of 1000 feet a second, and yesterday
several tests were made near Fort Point
with the recently mounted 12-inch rified
cannon and the new Pinch breech- loading
rifled mortars to determine the power of
some new powder submitted as a sample
for an order of 5000 pounds that the
Government purposes to place where the
requirements sh all have been satisfied.
The United States b as demanded a
velocity several hundred feet second
greater than that required by any other
Government. 1t was said at the time the
standard was raised that some ingen ious
Yankee would find way to reach it, for
up to that time no one had produced an
explosive within several hundred feet of
the 2GO0 mark. Outside of the United
States Germany has attained the greatest
velocity from explosives, but her maxi
mum was 200 or 800 feet less than the
American standard.
1t was not Yankee, but young Cali
fornian and a graduate of the State Uni
versity, that proved most successful in
inventing the proper powder. William c.
Peyton, son-in-law of Dupont the great
powder king, has already submitted pow
der to the Government which has not only
met the requirements for the 5, g. and 13
inch guns, but has established worlds rec
ords with them.
Yesterdays test OF the mammoth 12-
inch breech-loading rifle was with 45O
pounds of brown prismatic" powder,
made by Mr.. Peyton at the works near
Santa Cruz. A solid cast-iron 10OO-pound
projectile was fired through two wire
screens, set 100 feet apart, and placed few
hundred feet from the muzzle.
The great gun was discharged bv cleo
tricity. an insulated wire having been
tralled some distance to the rear and con-
nected with small battery
There was terrific bang and a mighty
"whoof," accompanied by peculiar trem-
ulous aerial conclusion and suction that
seemed to affect the immediate spectators
about the shins, and before the great white
cloud could be blown from the muzzle by
the strong sea breeze. another dense cloud
but of reddish hue, burst out from near the
waters edge OF the precipitous bluff far
across on the Marin County shore.
The half-ton OF iron had struck, and the
spectators stood Tor moment longer with
their mouths open, though the necessity
Tor that precaution against deafness was
no longer necessary.
Each screen was formed of continuous
wire connecting in one of the undsr-
ground vaults with a small magnet and
making complete circuit. From each
magnet was suspended a metal rod and
simultaneously with the destruction oi
the screen the circuit was broken and the
rod was allowed TO fall. BY nice little
device, consisting of knife-blade Scratches
registered on the falling rod, the velocity
Tor the 100 feet between the screen was
computed from the interval between the
scratches. The result Indicated that the
proJectie was going at the rate OF 49, 73 fee,
second, twelve feet below the 15-foot al
lowance permitted by the Governments
feyton only took notes of the result that
ne might make some change in his secret
formula for the powder.
Inc oreech pressure computed from the
compression of three little copper cylin-
ders adjusted in the breech plate shove ed
81, IO pounds where the Government re
qulred force of 1900 pounds.
FIVE shots were fred during the after.