The age-herald., 1898-05-21
THE INDTANA'S
 THIRTEEN INCH GUN
How the Monster Is Served and SomeInformation Con-
 corning It.
From Leslie.s Weekly.


 q am told.' said Captain Higginson of the battleship Massachusetts. now of the flying squadron, that the Indiana put a shell from her 1s-inch gun through target at 2,00O yards, and then went through the same hole with second shell. Pretty good work for one of these fellows" and the mucular little captain stroked the muzzle of one of the four 13-inch guns that make up the main battery of the big ship of the line.
 Don't get out a tape measure or a foot rule and measure off thirteen inches and wonder to what proportion of the gun that refers, because it would avail you little, but rather listen to the account of the stupendousness of this greatest engine of destruction of modern days. A "13-inch breech-loading rifie,' as the biggest gun used in the navy Is technically described, is piece of metal weighing 136 900 pounds, a few inches over s9 feet in length and with powder space of 15.5 inches in diam- eter and sos inches long,
 The only reference to thirteen inches is in the diameter of the steel projectile fired. This monstrous gun throws pro- jectie that weighs HOO pounds, and the amount of powder consumed for each shot so fired is 520 pounds. The explosion of this powder sends this weight of 100 pounds of
  feet per second and with an energy of 33,627 tons-enough to send it through H inches of steel at 1,000 yards, and 21 inches at a mile distant; and while the mechanism of this gun Is complicated, and while every part after every shot must be cleaned, so complete is the discipline aboard that 1t may be fired once every three minutes. And there ar four of these terrible engines.
 It is a bright, clear day. and the Massa- chusetts has sighted an enemys warsh,p The preliminary work of clearing for action has been aceompllshed ralllngs, ladders and boats are down and have been slowed away, and everything moveable in the big ship fastened. The glass port lights have been replaced with steel, the water-tight compartments closed the electric plants for lighting the ship, turning the turrets and working the ammunition lifts started; the ammunition magazines opened, and lastly the sick bay prepared
 In the forward turret with the great pair of 19-inch rifles stand crew of twelve men, six to each gun. In the hood of the turret just above the men, sits a senior officer and a junior officer. "Silence" is the first com mand, and grimly the half-naked men of the gun crew stand behind the guns. Cast loose and provide" sharply rings the or- der, and every man is instantly working.
 The gun captain and numbers two, three and four, who are the practical gunners unshackle the great monster from it's peace fastenngs; one sees that repair tools and cleaners are placed, gets water and hose ready; another opens the safety valves and exhaust pipes, starts the smoke fan and shifts the sight; and another provides drinking water and does dozen other things. But all Is done within space of four minutes, and again each man in his place stands like statue of bronze.
 The ammunition has come up prepared with fuses. and then come the orders. in uttia alx ccfa hr~oa land she'll" The great hydraulic rammer pushes in the big 1,100-pound steel projec;re. e. Load first cartridge" and the brown pow der, one-half the quantity necessary, goes In. Load second cartridge" and in goes the second. Down lift" and the ammuni- ton carriage goes down for more. "Close breech." comes the order quickly, and fol- lowed in an instant by Prime" when the captain puts in the electric primer.
 Then the captain of the gun. seeing every body clear says Ready" and the officer in the hood above responds with, Point" Slowly both turret and gun are moved until the range finder indicates that the muzzle is pointing al the enemy. Then, quick as a flash, the officer in the turret hood closes the electric circuit and the big projectile goes on its path of destruction. So every one of the twenty-six rfed guns begins to speak, and Hell has indeed broken loose."
 The Eight-Inch Gun
 Some naval experts believe that in any engagement at sea between modern ships of war the S-inch rifle will prove of more eff fective service than any other type of gun. The reason behind this opinion is that the explosive force of the S-inch shell is approx imately as great as that of one of a larger calibre, while the smaller gun is more easily worked and is capable of greater endur- ance At long ranges, of course, the 8-inch gun cannot compete with those of larger size. The radius of effectiveness increases with the calber owing to the higher power that accompanies the increased bore. But the set battle is not likely to be fought at such distances, and the S-inch gun cannot hit the target as often as the larger weap- ons. Hence it is anticipated that in any forthcoming fighting at sea these medium sized rifles will accomplish more destruction than their larger associates in the ships battery and at lower cost in ammunition and human services. If this be true, the American fleets now in Caribbean waters have marked advantage over the Spanish vessels. The latter do not mount a single S-inch gun, while there are twenty-two in the ships under Sampson and seventeen in those under Schley total of thirty-nine of these effective rifles. In long-range fighting, too, the Spaniard Is at disad- vantage according to the caliber calcula- ton. The largest guns in the enemy's fleet known to be In these waters are SIX H. inch rifles. while Sampson's ships carry four 13-inch and eight Pinch guns, and Schley's ships mount four 13-inch and two 12-inch guns. Indeed, in every comparison, save that of speed, the Spaniard Is sur passed by both of the American forces. It seems to be conceded that the American vessels are under-manned, their crews be- ing short of the theoretical eomplements called for by their designs and equipments. At the same time, the Spanish vessels are understood to be over-manned. On the-. oretical basis the American fleets would carry more men, but 1t may be that In fact the enemy has a slightly larger crew than either of the opposing American fleets. Of course, the American belief is that this discrepancy if it exists Is more than coun- terbalanced by the superior character and discipline of the men on the warships under Sampson and Schley.