The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-02-12
| TERRIBLE MISSILE.
49,, Pc Used When Arbitration
Fails.
TERRIFIC WAR PROJECTME.

,,r0eaoe. That Would Rend Gibraltar and
No., IN War Vessel Like Feather.
49,, GatnmSu7 Shell Has Produced
sensation
,,ycrox FED "a Special -
,,,,,,sters OF foreign affairs and sen
"h''' liking about general arbitration
s'o' .Sa oreachers and good people are look
ah' "" no early coming OF the day Of uni
me .oace The inventors and hard head
"a perhaps hard hearted men OF al
e' ar preparing for war as 1! war
'"" .ha oh,es end OF man Al ingenious
WIZ VIZ var named Gathmann has JUST
Sh'' ,ested AT Indian Head CT the Poto
ha- ,n,y miles below the national capt
ma' new projectile which promises 90
"a. ',.,on,ze naval warfare and coast &c
to-. The navy department. people are
ga ,v,,t delight over &C. and the naval at
"sos ~ foreign governments are IN Hut
ee" excitement. each being anxious TO
w. ,he earliest report TO his government
l.a" this wonderful! American in
yep.ion
Lowing out lot OF technicalities which
tdo not understand very well, and which
~, sure nv readers would not wish TO be
sD,sered with. this new projectile is a thin
III of steel which contains a charge OF
,oO nounds of wet gun cotton. The wonder
a. tbat so thin a shell of steel, amounting
80 No more than two or three inches in
.S,otness will hold such an enormous
ouantity of the high explosive. But care
TlIv note the description and you will see
,rhy First. there is fuse, which is so ar
,orcod that it burns slowly and at given
mowent explodes shell of powder and
eliminate of mercury. The gases produced
thereby surround the shell and protect 1t
The EXPLOSION of this shell gives motion to
the proiectile without exploding the gun
cotton with which the latter Is loaded. In
fact the gun cotton cannot be exploded
I'M the proiectile strikes A long as IL Is
In the gun or flying through space, with
no greater resistance than that furnished
by the atmosphere, 1t cannot explode. Wet
gun cotton, you may or may not know
can be handled with impunity 1t can only
be exploded by very sharp detonation
Common powder does not explode quickly
enough to set it off. At the mills where il
ismade the workmen saw it up into sec
~
they throw into the fire and burn. Yet the
explosion of couple of ounces of 1t woule
send the whole factory to kingdom come.
The momentum given to the unexplo,ied
proiecte is sufficient to carry 1T six OF
eight miles. Whenever it strikes an ob
iect. no matter what that object is-be II
ship q spar, fort or the water-the ex
plosion comes This is brought about 10y
secondary she'll, which Is attached to the
rear end of the projectile. 1t contains gun
cotton and other explosives, The impact
Of striking causes all the explosives in this
secondary she'll to rush to the forward end
much as all the people in railway car arr
thrown 10 the front door when there is a
collision e explosion of the secondary
shell sets he 100 pounds of gun cotton
10 ,he max projectile. Then what hap
1ens,
terriac Conclusion.
Naval ers say the effect of one OF
these exp Ons would be total annihila.
ton Of ship struck by the projectile
II one OF u &c shells strikes the side of the
largest warship afloat, the vessel will be
lifted right out of the water and thrown
back into the sea broken all TO pieces. II
It alights upon the deck, it would break
the ship into fragments If il hits so much
as mast, or spar, or bowsprit, or anchor
chain it would mean the same Ii 1t
strikes the water within goo or 800 feet OF
a ship every life on board would be lost il
the conclusion If the ship We're not tori
topieces all the castings in her would b,
broken all her machinery rendered use
less
fl,.N, II, oh. G,a. fr.r nrtl
IL and l3 inch rifled guns are supposed Il
have range of six or eight miles, actuall,
their effective range is much less If fire.
at an enemy's vessel, mile is as great
distance as would be economical Any
thing beyond this would be simple vast
Oh ammunition. The vulnerable part of |
modern war vessel is about 80 feet perpen
dlcularly and 100 feet in length, where tn
machinery Is This Is the target at which
asolid shot must be fired, the target which
must hit If anything is to be accom-
plshed.
The Gathmann shell, on the other hand
an aerial torpedo, and 1t Is deadly II
strikes any part of the ship. any of its rig
eihg or the water anywhere near. There
lore the target is many times greater an
'ne range Is thereby Increased from mil
enectlyely to three or perhaps four miles
a natboat loaded with two or three @
Mese torpedo throwing guns could defcn
any harbor in the world No feet woul
aare come near them 1t would be certai
instruction as soon as they came With
range Naval officers say this shell thi
u ~rpedo thrown through the air from an
mouern gun OF sufficient size. will revolt
uohize warfare both upon the sea and d
The coast line.
A Novel Sensation.
uiDraltar could not withstand an OF
."ught from such torpedoes. Cronstad
,uo citadel of the Russians, would fall b.
.o.e the terribly destructive power of gu
.v'.on 1t is calculated that a half doze
vi 'nese guns, carried In submerging {
oaolharine ships, each equipped with ju'
uough motive power to enable 1t
Twp around harbor or roadstead, woul
sunicient to defend any city The
w, %ouiu be equipped with a gun platform
~, " the surface for firing. then sui
oosI out of harms way. The epem
s uu,u not reach them. At each shot II
co',,,y might get the range, but before
w~n n send shot the torpedo throws
cann pe under water again. When
a, up ior the next attack, IL would