The St. Johns herald., 1897-12-04
OUR GREAT GUN FACTORY.
The Washington Foundry, Where
 Heavy Ordnance Is Made.

The Washington Foundry, Where
 Heavy Ordnance Is Made.
 The Washington gun foundry is one of the landmarks of the national cap- ital. Inasmuch as it is there that all the high-pOwered guns and their mounts for the equipment of our mod ern ships of war are manufactured, it is place of special interest to visitors in these days of wars and rumors of war. Originally established as a navy yard for the construction and repair of warShipS, it was long since abandoned as such, and is now devoted almost ex- ciusively to the manufacture of guns and ordnace materials. The entire gun plant and appurtenances have cost about $2,000,OOO and are believed to be. fully equal to the demand of the times in supplying the new navy with guns equal in power and efficiency to those supplied to the leading navies of for eign powers.
 The gun shop is filled with the most powerful and approved machinery for turning, boring, rif1ing, jacketing and otherwise finishing the immense rifles required for modern battleships, as well as the smaller rapid-fire guns, which form such an important part of the secondary batteries of the cruiser gunboats, and, in fact, all vessels of war. The largest lathe in the shop, commonly called the sixteen lathe," fIYV c;x- teen inches in diameter of barrel, forty eight feet seven inches long, and weigh ing no tons. This size has been found too large for practical use, however and the largest guns made for the navy are of but thirteen-inch caliber.
 The lathe which is used for boring the interior of these guns is about 115 feet long and cost nearly $100,00O. Smaller lathes are used in the case of the smaller guns. Travelling over these lathes, forty feet from the ground, is an immense crane, capable of raising and carrying from one lathe to another a dead weight of 125 tons. Tn the cen ter of this building is the shrinking pit, in which are located furnaces for heat ing the jackets and hoops for use in shrinking the gun tubes. These fur naces are heated to between 600 and 700 degrees, the heating power being naphtha oil with an air blast.
 A separate building is devoted to the manufacture of gun mounts and car riages and is provided with the latest and most approved machinery, as is also the projectile shop nearby, in which shells are made and finished.
 There are many historic relics in the museum and other buildings at the yard which the watchman in charge will show with an ill-concealed display of pride and patriotism. The two old fashioned cannon mounted on either side of the avenue near the entrance were captured from the Tripolitans by Capt. Stephen Decatur In 1894.
 Near the east door of the gunshop is the original Long Tom," used with such success by Capt. Samuel C.. Reid on the brig Gen. Armstrong in his ney- CT to be forgotten engagement with the British fleet at Fayal on Sept. 26, 1914. This gun was presented to the United States by the Portuguese Government a few years ago, and formed a part of the naval exhibit at the Worlds Colum- bian Exposition. In the rear of the cOmmandant's office Is a gun park, where are displayed trophies captured during the war of the revolution, the war Of 1912, the Mexican war, and war or the rebellion.-New York Commer- cial Advertiser.