The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-06-26
Inventors of Offense.

The principal inventions OF defense are
rapid firing guns. or-pIercing she'll,
emokeloss powder and the automobile tor
pcdo.
OF the great guns, ranging in calibor from
10 10 inch. tho modern system OF built-up
construction. T. e.. a series OF steel tubes
Of various elastic qualities being shrunlt on
successfully over single inner tube OF
greatest strength Is one of general adop-
ticn; and our own guns offer from those
of other powers only In the processes ana
skill Of manufacture. 1t Is the breech
mechanism guns being otherwise equal,
| that makes or mars modern ordnance; and
the faculty aud rapidty with which the
breech can be opened and safely closed is.
today, the most vital essential to effective
working al ordnance. For guns of high
power. ranging from the i-inch to the g.
: inch rifle. Assistant Naval Constructor
/ Dashiel has done more than any other man
| in America TO provide us with a rapid-hre
| breoch mechanism OF proved efficiency and
today he has completed a modification OF
! his earlier design which will place us ahead
of the world In this particular.
In these automatic guns. designed by HI
ram S. Maxim, the reeoil of the first shot
Is turned to account in discharging the
empty cartridge, case reloading. aud re-
turning the gun to firing readiness; and
By the continued pressure upon the trig-
ger the guns continue firing TIL its am
munitioh supply becomes exhausted. The
cartridges are strung on u belt contain
ing a hundred or morc-depending upou
the size of the gun--and are fed into tho
breeeh OF the gun right from the ammuni-
lion box. There are two callbers, enc OF
the ordinary rifle Size which weighs but
few pounds. and which man may hold
out at arms length, and another which
llres a one pound shot. II is this latter
which forms the most destructive part Of
the Spanish torpedo boat destroyer's bat
teries, and against which no torpedo boat
could hope to live. Either OF these gpns
VIII IRE several hundred shots a minute
! the smaller gun us many ~ 200 So IL Is
said, and all the gunner has to do IS "a
point the piece and keep his finger press.
Ing against the trigger; the gun does the
rest, white line OF spray will tell
. where the shot strikes. and n slight shift
! ing in accordance with that ripping line
OF water VIII tell just how TO lead II up 10
the zoe No alteration of sights Is nee
Z ossary merely a following instead az
, that visual thread of flying particles We
, now have these guns Ia our service. thanks
to the present emergency.
ARMoR-PIERCING SHELL,
= To go through nineteen inches 81 Har
veyized steel, dlstan, $500 yards, is tn,
function required of a l3-inch armor u &c.
! ing projectile for the United Stat navy.
! That much hardened steel has the d fea-
sive equivalent of quite tweuty-elght
r inches of plain steel, and in turn twenty.
eight inches of plain steel has q resisting
force equal to that presented lengthwise
/, by four of five squares Of ordinary brick
: houses.
, The armor piercing shell Is the natuta
answer 10 the Harveyi1.d arinor and
. those OF the Wheeler Stir,ils make are ths
0 best The projectue Is manufactured by q
4 secret process, but In principle II Is or
Q the order Of Haryeylzed armor. Iha sh Il
0 is gradually hardened FROM the base up
I ward Till the climax is reached at the point
. aud az a result the rest OF the sh Il TAX
a up the strala Of impact and helps to suD'
: port the super hardened pont In It's pes
! sage through the opposing armor. To make
the chances Of penetration greater CAP
the design OF Mr.. Johnson. is fitted over
the point. This cap IL made either OF sor
steel or composition. Its object is to sup,
. port the point squarey al the moment 81
/, entrance, and, in fusing away under tht
Intense heat then generated to form
: lubricant for the easier passage OF tn,
) projeetiie. II is interesting to know thai
this device is the diree, result OF accident
Mr.. johnson having discovered ii in driyina
, nails IN hard wood. Usually the mai
doubled UP and refused 10 be driven In,