The evening times., 1896-01-06

and mounts, these vessels, he will show,
could he turned into nosteffectiyc cOnme rec
destroycrs In twenty-four hours, but with
out them they would be of no practical
value.
At least one hundred fiye-;ncli guns. Capt.
Sampson says, should lie made a"a ila hle for
this class OF ships. and should they not tie
required for service in the next ten years on
merchant vessels. the navy will need them
to replace guns requiring repairs, or which
kave died" from overwork.
There will be but two more acceptance
tests of arnor at the Indian Head proving
station under the original arDlor contracts
made several years agoby Secretaries Whit
ney and Tracy. Every ton OF the heaviest
arnlor ha s been made ttested, and most OF it
has been installed on the baitleships. and
save for the Iowa there is no other plate
now being manufactured for the service. In
a week there will be a test OF fifteen-inch
plate ror the barbettes of the 10 wa. and later
some eight-inCh armor will be fired on, but
after this armor trials will cease for a long
WHILE or until that for the kearslrge and
Kentucky is ready for delivery. This viii
not be for probably eighteen months. In all
armor tests the government has been par
ticularly fortunate in results obtained, and
considering the experimental nature of
armor-making in this country, the plates
produced cannot be equaled by any country.
The cost to the government OF armor tests
has proba bly, reached $500 900, many OF the
plates attacked having cost fully 100000
each. The cost to the two companies under
contract with the navy has been about the
same.
NEW MACHINE GUN.
new machine gun has been adopted for
use on naval ships, which the small arms
board reports to be the most destructive
lls,f ,f tie
found.
The gun has a record of 420 shots min
ute, and requires no work except the press
urc of an electric button to maintain the
terrific fire. The automatic system having
been applied to it, the gun Is a self-feeder
and grinds out shots with a rapidity that
would make it a most dangerous piece for
landing parties. As compared to the CAT
ling, which has been the naval machine
gun for years, 1t is just about as superior
as the modern rifled gun is to the old
smooth bore.
The Calling has a weight of $50 pounds,
while the new gun weighs but So pounds,
and can be taken by a man on his shoulder
and easily carried from point to point. For
years the Ordnance Department has been ex-
perimenting with various types of machine
guns, with a view TO perfecting an auto
matte system whereby the guns could be
by the old trigger style now in use, and of
the several guns submitted in the competi-
ton all have been SO near one another in
excellency that the board has had great diff
ficulty in making choice.
Last winter the number from which a Sc
lection was to be made was limited to three.
the Hotchkiss, Maxim and gun known as
the Colt piece and, after numerous trials
and improvements and changes. the ordnance
bureau has reported in favor of the Colt
gun, and has given an order for the immedi-
ate purchase of fifty. which will be placed
on shipbOard as soon as delivered.
DISCARD OLD PIECES.
The boards report states that the auto
matte system ha wing been perfected to 4
point where there seems no longer room for
further Improvement. it has become neces-
sary to adopt this type of gun and discard
all hand-workcd pieces.
The only question. that arose in deters-
mining the particular gun to be accepted by
the department was Whetherathe automatic
system had been developed TO point
VIII ere II could be no longer improved. The
new Colt gun is the lightest weapon of its
power ana efficiency known TO ordnance
officers, and is especially adapted for use in
tops of warships and on landing parties OF
The guns oaliber is -thc same as that Of
The ne W small arm about which the army
thinks a mistake has been made In reducing
The size of the bullet. a eontinuous belt feeds
The gun, and one man, with his finger
pressed on a button, fires 1t. With the other
hand be trains ft from side to SIDE as
though the muzzle pele . hose, and as fast