The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-23

~EC~
when she made havoc Of the Santiago
harbor Notifications Monday night,
June IS, with three Of her giant shells.
Army and navy men talked about her
recently as re%verently as II she were
something supernatural. Citizens gen.
orally compared her with Ericsson's
Monitor and said she Is a hundred times
more destructive.
De Borden Wilmot Is the representa-
tive of the Pneumatic Torpedo and Con-
struction Company Of New York, which
designed and built the cruiser Vesuvius
and sold her to the United States gov
ernmcnt after she had undergone q series
Of severe tests. The ship is 252 feet
long. 20 feet 6 inches beam, 10 feet 1
inch draft and has a speed of 21.4 knots.
1.-THE Vesuvius," said Mr.. Wilmot,
"has o battery of three pneumatic guns,
mounted in the bow at a fixed angle of
Is degrees. The guns are % feet long.
Is inches bore and built rigidly into the
vessel. From all / have read about
Monday nights trial with three shells
! am convinced that she has not shown
half of her ability.
What can she do? She can drop 500
pounds Of nitrogelatin nearly two
miles away with accuracy. She can re-
peat this feat 10 times in ten minutes.
That means 81 tons Of high explosive
thrown upon the enemy's ships or forts
or whatever the object Of attack may
be. The destructive power Of such a
broadside is almost beyond computa-
tion. It is enough to destroy a city. to
wipe it of the face of the earth and
eliminate every trace Of its existence.
The nitrogelatin is half as strong again
as dynamite. Imagine the effect Of 81
tons Of it
1.-THE Vesuvius has not one small dy-
Mantle gun, but she has three big ones
Their caliber is 10 inches. / can give
you q suggestion Of their force. There
are three 10 inch dynamite guns at the
Preside, near San Francisco. AS o test
one Of these guns sent q p~rojectile con-
tanning 200 pounds Of nitrogelatin across
the Golden Gate into one Of the noun
tains one mile away. The explosion Of
this shell dug q crater in the solid rock
85 feet deep and SO feet in diameter.
OF course Ii must not be forgotten that
the vesuvius is using gun cotton in her
projectiles Gun cotton 10 only one-ffth
as strong as nitrogelatin.
where q shell strikes from one Of
the guns Of the Vesuvius the havoc is
awful. One Of her ~projeotiles dropped
in the midst Of a regiment would elm
mate it from the war. II any man in
the regiment was not torn to bits, he
would not be fit for fighting. Against a
ship the vesuvius will be deadly. One
Of her big shells dropping on the deck
would crush through the armor, and
exploding in a vital part shatter the
ship. If one Of these shells explodes in
the air or In the water within 90 feet
Of a ship Of war, it will crush her side
or bottom and sink her. II one Of these
shells explodes within 30 yards Of a
modern man of war. it viii render her
useless for fighting, for the defamation
will throw the bearings Of her engines
out Of line, dislocate the shaft or jam
the neatly fitted parts. Thus the ship
will become a mere helpless target.
Many leading artillerists In the army
arc greatly in favor Of the use Of high
explosives, ard in their official oommu-
nications to the war department. have
advocated its more extensive use. The
only thing that has worried them is the
absence of a convenient as we'll as q fit.
ting means of firing it. The great dyna-
mite guns at Fort Hancock and at the
Preside, San Francisco, are to q GER
tain extent regarded in the light Of ex.
periments. In the last report Of the
board Of ordnance to tho war depart
mcnt suggestions were made for further
experiments with tho old style smooth
bore guns IA projectors of dynamite by
means of moderate powder charges. OF
lato n number Of experiments along
these lines have besn conducted nc SAIL
dy Hook with some measure of success.
The following extract from tho last re-
port Of the board of ordnance covers this
point:
Experiments nre now il progress
under the auspices Of this beard with n
view to ~discharging high explosives
from powder guns. Tho batteries OF
these guns that have bon erected at
Fort Hancock and at Fort Scott, San
Francisco, have shown that these gins
nrc capable of throwing 100 sounds Of
nitrogclatin a distance of 4,60o Yards,
200 pounds 8, 500 yards aud 300 pound,
z, 900 yards with great accuracy. The
board. however, has not abandoned the
expectation of seine time being able TO
discharge aorial torpedoes OF great ca
pacity from powder guns, and expert
mcnts with that end in view will be
continued.
believing that tho action Of these
Substances Cred from ~ inch Shells
stocl mcrtars, with q 1000 pound tor
pcdo shell. holding large charges would
10 even moro conclusive than results o.
s-s--I - a. II Ali 49,. -