The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-28
Tho Pneumatic Gun in Cuba.

The account In our columns Of the recent
battle between GOMEZ and SEouRA referred
TO tho destruction wrought by three shell,
from n pneumatic gun on the Cuban side
worked by an American officer.
There Is no question that the pneumatic
gun has done good service for the patriots,
and the terror which It inspires is an i'm
portant element as we'll ss its actually de-
structive effect. The gun Is q light field
piece, said to be about ten feet long, and
weighing only go pounds. mounted on q
carriage Weighing $50 pounds. or course,
the whole propulsive mechanism, except ~
to the use Of compressed air, is different
from that of the big pneumatic coast-de
fence guns mounted at Sandy Hook, with
their ponderous engines, boilers, compress
sors, and tubes.
Ont OF the earliest and ablest army advo.
Gates Of the pneumatic gun, us originally
constructed by MEyFoRD and improved by
ZALINsKI, suggested that this appliance
might find q larger field In and han In
naval fighting. And this has to a great eX.
tent proved true. The navy, with its Gus.
tomary energy and with Its good fortune
~ . 81 opPioPh iotioho toha
Congress long ago, very early adopted the
pneumatic gun system for the Vesuvius.
But although the fundamental principle,
that of applying a slow motor to the high
explosive shell in place Of powder, worked
all right, and proved to be safe, there were
some naval objections to the gun.
Indeed, 1t IL obvious that, while with Its
%high.angle fire and the slow flight Of it's
projectile, the unstable gun platform Of .
rolling or pitching ship may be unfavorable
to the most effective use Of this weapon,
that objection, at least, disappears In use on
land. Hence these weapons have been
made auxiliaries in the Hxed forts Of some
Of our chief harbors. Blu last April
a successful trial was made Of a 4-inch
Sims Dudley gun IN the Long Island shore,
while for the Cuban service a still moro
radical reduction has been made to a Gig
inch bore. The result is a weapon 30 light
and handy that 1t can be used In any field
service, four men being sufficient to handle
both the gun and the ammunition, while
the gun can be carried by one mule and the
carriage by another, even up incllnes. 1t
can also be carried about by a few men.
The essential difference between this field
piece and the l5.inch pneumatic guns at
Sandy Hook is that the former has no COM
pressed air machinery annexed to the gun,
but the compression Of air is produced by the
explosion Of gunpowder within the weapon
itself. There are three tubes, arranged side
by side, INT the middle one, which is the
longest, contains the projcctile. The car
fridge for COMPRISING the air is placed In one
Of the side tubes, and the air In both is
compressed by the explosion 30 as to pass
INTO the middle barrel and expel the pro-
~jectile. This latter Is a brass cylinder with
q tail piece carrying a vane with blades to
cause rotation. Within the projectile is a
charge Of four pounds OF explosive gelatine,
and In the forward end a ~detonator which
explodes the shell on impact.
1t Is suggested by the Army md Navy
Journal, which gives other details Of this
weapon, that 1t will find many other fields
Of use. Thus in It's heavier calibres 1t could
be employed In siege work, and also In
countermining the approaches to a harbor
by exploding submarine mines and obstruc-
lions. 1t also could be Of great service In
fitting up ~flotillas Of tugs and other craft
for harbor defence, since It could be made
rapidly by any fairly equipped machine
shop. But however this may be, the chief
interest just now is In its use as q field
piece by the patriot forces.
And II u be noted that the testimony
to Its efficiency has como, not only from tho
Cuban side, but from the Spanish. Thus
the Darto del Eercito recently said thai
"the Cubans had a new gun which gave our
troops q great deal Of trouble. 1t must have
been very light, as they moved It about with
great ease. We tried to capture 1t, but
could not locate Its position until
1t had completed Its deadly work
and was moved again. Its destruo-
tiveness was phenomenal" The difficulty
In discovering the gun thus referred to Is
doubtless due to the fact that the charge
for COMPRISING the air Is a small one of
smokeless powder. Hitherto the gun has
not always done It's best, as the first
charges sent out to Cuba were not protected
as we'll from moisture as the later ones. II
the wal continues, we may hear Of still
greater results from the pneumatic gun.