The evening times., 1896-08-27

A successful test has been made at Indian
Head OF the new spring return carnage
system, which will hereafter be used in the
handling of all heavy ordnance on United
States battleships. The success of the eX-
pertinent, which was conducted by Capt.
Sampson, of the Navy Department, and 4
corps of naval experts, will have the effect
OF abandoning the present method of hy-
draulic power by which the heavy guns are
returned after having been fired, and the
substitution of the new invention.
While the cid method, which has been III
use since tie building OF the modern tattle-
ships began, has doEe the work salts
factoriiy. yetit is far from perfect. 1t is said
to be open to many accidents, generally
OF u serious character, when in action.
GUN EASILY DISABLED.
Should small projectle from the enc
mys battery enter portfolio, or in any
| manner affect one OF the small pipes of the
hydraulic pump, the whole gun would be
.sabled until repairs could be made. Oc-
caslons of this sort are not uncommon
when Il vessel is n action, especially at
close range, and IL is Just here that the
Old system has proven ineffective.
| In the new style this difficulty is en-
l. U-ItIy oNCISOiuc ny tHc spiihS iceuih Sui
rage. The gun will be operated by four
| heavy steel springs, so constructed that
| each function or the gun will be entirely
| free and independent or the other The
breaking OF one spring would not disable
the ordnance, as would be the case should
| one small pipe In the hydraulic system be-
| come broken.
In making the test five shots were fired
| from a twelve-inch gun projectiie, three OF
the shots being with full service charges.
| To the minds OF the experts who witnessed
the experiment, its operation establishes
beyond a question OF doubt the value Of
| the invention.
| The spring return carriage system Will
be used on all the new warships built by
the government, though the hydraulic Ell
gine for hauling the ordnance will be con-
| tinued, as this part Of the apparatus is not
greatly exposed To danger or breakage.
The old method will necessarily have to
be maintained on the battleships which
have been constructed, as the cost OF the
change would be tco great Besides, the
change would not be practical, as when Il
| vessel is being constructed account is taken
of the hydraulic plant for handling the ord
nance.
The first one OF Uncle Sans defenders to
be equipped with the new appliance will be
the Iowa, now in the yards at Philadelphia.
| Similar successful experiments have been
made with eight-inch guns, and IL was fear
ed that some difficulty would-be exIeri-
enced when the test was applied to the
heavier ordnance. However, Tuesdays ex-
pertinent has demonstrated that the sys-
TEN can he successfully used on the largest
aud heaviest guns in the service.
GUNS EASILY MANAGED.
Through its application one man will be
able to control the rifles and load and fire
them with facility and dispatch, where q
full gums crew was necessary under the
old conditions. The hand gear will be used
| 10 raise and lower the guns, and in spite OF
| their weighing $4,000 pounds one man
| can do it.
Great saving will also be made in the
weight of gun carriages, as well as some
| cost In making them, though perfection
| rather than economy is what is being
| sought. Altogether, the result of the cX-
pertinent, which was the first one made
with a twelve-inch gun, is considered by
experts as highly importanttot the navy and
will enable the ordnance branch to take
in the perfection of gun carriages, which
has long been problem with naval officers.
No country has yet constructed anything
approaching this type. Capt. Sampson be-
believes it will have a marked effect on
the batteries of all future vessels of the
United States.
The spring return carriage, which has
been constructed In the navy yard ma
chine shops here, under direction of the
Ordnance Bureau, is chiefly the invention
of Lieut.. Joseph Strauss.
Tests will be made of all the carriages
at Indian Head before they are placed
on the hattleships. Four will be used on
the Iowa. Another carriage, it is ex-
pected, will be turned out in about a
month. Those who witnessed the test were
the officials OF the Ordnance Bureau, Capt.
Sampson, Lieut.. Strauss, Lieut.. Nichol-
son, aud Lieut.. Chase.