The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-20
1870

yard, and just Is minutes by the cable
cars from the navy department, stands
the United States gun factory. a model
institution of its kind. and monument
TO the ingenuity and perseverance of
naval ordnance officers and the skill
and integrity of American labor.
To understand and appreciate what
the United States has accomplished in
modern gun construction it is only
necessary to know the history of this
great plant, it's creation, its growth,
the difficulties overcome in its perfect
equipment, and the character of the
products turned out. Fourteen years
ago there was not a modern, high
power, breech-loading rife in the
United States. Today every large gun
supplied To our growing navy is man
ufactured at the Washington factory
and conceded by foreign as well as our
own ordnance experts to be the equal,
If not the superior, of any guns in the
world.
Before the civil war. when smooth
bores and muzzle-lOaders were the only
great guns known on land or sea, and
cast iron was the material used in their
construction. the United States pcs
sessed the best guns af1oat But after
the civil war long period OF absolute
inactivity followed in this country. both
in the matter Of shipbuilding and the
manufacture of guns, while the great
powers of Europe strOve to keep pace
with the demands Of the times in every
thing pertaining to modern warfare.
The condition to which our defenses,
ashore and afiOat were reduced. is a
matter of history. With no ships
worthy of the nation, we had no guns
capable of protecting us against those
of other countries.
10 in hG
right direction. When four new modern
steel cruisers-the Chicago. the Boston.
the Atlanta and the Dolphin-Were laid
down. the foundation Of a modern and
efficient feet. modern fleet necessi-
tated modern guns. which we did not
have. and. as these vessels neared COM
pletion in 1889. the question of their
armament had become a serious one.
Immediate steps were taken to meet
the deficiency. hut il was not until the
early spring Of 1887 (ten years ago.
that a systematic building plan was he
gun. The work of building and equip
ping has proceeded ever since. but
slowly and gradually. that there should
be no interruption in the construction
of guns
MONSTER GUNS ON EVERY SIDE
As the visitor enters the yard by the
north gates he can see nothing unusual
save what can be seen at all navy
yards-the sentinel walking back and
forth before the entrance, the watch /
man standing near the guard tower. |
houses built close together on either |
side of the gate for officers quaI teTs, I
and the long. low buildings which re- |
Semble storernoms, while the American |
cOlors float aloft from a 59-foOt flag I
pole, and beyond some snow-white /
cruiser lies snugly moored at tho dock. /
coll
the water front. a long. slate -colDre1 /
building is seen. partially hidden hy |
the high mound to the right. As be APP I
proaches this he sees that this building /
is an unusually large ona. suhstan
TALLY constructed, with a heavy iron /
roof, in which there are many sky
lights Over the east iOOr oG the build !
ing he sees the words Gun Slop." and /
after passing through il fiIIcs himself
in the center of the building, and to-
tally unprepared for what he sees. I1's
first impulse is to =Xrlaim or IL held his
breath while he tries ID grasp the
enormity of the machines and mateIie
before him. He has never seen any
thing like il. To the right there are
monster guns in all stages of construc-
ton. massive lathes. turning laZily
with their heavy burdens, giant cranes F.
travelling back and forth IN overhead
railways. while long shafts and ire
mendouS Dulleys revnlve 1T high SPEED
against the west wall, ana hundreds o.
heavy belts turn and twis, rs they
transmit the power thar turns many
large and wonderful machines.
The sight is an impressive one. even
to a person who is accustomed TO see
ing large guns. for. while he may have
seen the largest machine shops, many
times larger than this one. containing
a greater number of machines. employ
and rpn1lirinor
many times the power to run the ma
chimes. he has never seen such large
machines. such heavy masses of steel
being operated upon. such huge travel
ing cranes while guns of all sizes are
bout him. In the presence Of 1S-
inch modern rife the tendency is to
keep silent In the presence of SO
many such monster guns. which shine
like glass and are far larger than the
finished cannon. one is inspired with .
awe. The atmosphere Of the place is
in keeping with the feeling of the
for scarcely any noise is
heard. very few men are seen. and the
large and powerful machines seem to
run themselves.
110-TON TRAVELLING CRANE.
The north end of the shop is by far
the most interesting. and to this every ,
visitor to the works will turn. In this
part of the shop is the l10-ton travelling {
crane. than which there is none more ,
powerful in the country: eight massive I
lathes and an enormous rihing ma j
chine. all Amerncon creations. one Of ]
the latbes is 100 feet long. and is de-
signed To take a 16-inch gun. which is
the largest and heaviest in existence,
being 30 feet long and weighing 10 |
tons. Four others are capable of taking !
guns up to a inches calibre. and differ ,
from each other only in detail. In any ,
One of them the gun can he bored or ;
turned. In fact. they are 50 constructed =
and arranged that both operations can :
be carried on at the same time. All of :
them carry tool carriages and clamps :
For cutting tools. each operating indie :
pendently. The other three lathes are c
large. and are S. feet long. but are not :
for boring, While each has suf-
7cient capacity 20 turn the exterior of ,
he largest gun adopted by the navy :
The 1S-inch.
BY far the most interesting machines
n this interesting lot is the riiing ma !
thine. which is used to cut the spiral 7
grooves in the interior Of the bore that :
mpart to the proiectiIe a rotary mo- :
ion. 1t can be operated on the heaviest =
run made, while there are features :
about its construction as accurate as
In astronomical instrument. The rifiing \
read. the creation of naval officers. is ,
marvel in design and workmanship. ;
md carries four cutters. each the I
of the other and operating 4
This was a great ad- .
-ance in the operation of rifling big :
-uns. for previously the ri1ing head 7
lad worked on one groove at a time. ;
turning from this wonderful group of I