The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-26
INVENTIONS BY NAVAL MEN.
Millions Saved to the Government BY Their Inventions and
Devices.
Devices.

cry, but Fletcher's device enabled this
to be done by hand power by one man.
So successful was the device that one
man, with his left hand turning a
crank, can unlock from the breech of
the gun its plug, weighing 1.150 pounds,
withdraw it to the rear, and swing it
clear in seven seconds.
Finally, Mr. f1eIcher is the inventor
Of raoid-fire gun which is now the
standard Of the navy. His device is
being used on all the 3-jnch, 4-inch.
5-inch and 6-inch guns in the service.
Just before the war with Spain began,
Secretary Long recommended to con-
gress an appropriation to build a big
powder factory for making Smokeless
/ powder. At the same time he an
nounced that a satisfactory smokeless
powder had been made, after mary
years of experiment, and that this pow
der was superior 10 the snlokeless pow
der made abroad. Lieutenant j. 3.
Bernadou showed special aptitude for
this work and capacity for the solution
OF the problems involved in the prose-
: cUtion of experimental work Of this ma
ture," said the report of the inspector
in charge of the torpedo station at
Newport. This Lieutenant Bernadou is
now at Ke-- West. recovering trom
I wounds received while in command of
the Wiaslow at Cardenas- 1t was, in
fact, Lieutenant Bernadou and Com
mander c. A. Converse, now in. COM
niand of the Montgomery, who Invent
ed the smokeless powder just adopted
by the navy department. The navy is
particularly proud of this achievement.
Foreign governments possess smokeless
power but it contains nitro glycerire,
Which makes ii unreliable ana danger
Gus, and, besides, dsvelGpes high heat,
which soon ruins the gun. All coun-
tries have been working for the ideal
smokeless powder containing no nitro
glycerine, and we are the first to get
it. AS in many other matters. our navy
department stayed behind Europe in
the adoption of a SmokeleSS powder un-
til we had one that was perfect.
Lieutenant 3. A FiSke, a prolific III
ventor in electric devices, made, some
years ago, range finder for automat-
ically finding distances at sea- 1t is one
of the most useful cOntrivances on ship
hc ard. ana is worth an immense sum to
the navy. Another of L lieutenant Fiske's
inventions was the StadimeteT-a very
clever modification of the seXtant, by
hich it is possible to measure the dis
lance OF a ship from the height Of its
mast or smokestack. Still another was
a range indicatOr-an electrical device
for signaling from the coming. tower
To the gun captain the direction and
QlSJEilCt VI lllS cl.0lliy L Ills 10 llltNN Sii
nearly all our ships.
SIGSBEE AN INVENTOR.
Captain Sigsbee of the st. Paul is an
inventor Tho navy now uses a deep
sea sounding apparatus and parallel
rulers for navigation of his invention.
Lieutenant Dashiell invented breech
mechanism which was a great improve
nlent on all that had preceded it, 1t
was adopted by the navy department
IN 1892, and was, introduced on many
rapid-fre guns This device enabled
the man at the breech of the gun to do
with one motion what had always
taken two. In the old breech mechan-
ism, the plug had to be turned with
one motion until it unlocked, and then
withdrawn with another motion. But
by an arrange ment of cogs. Lieutenant
Dashiell made the pull of lever turn
the plug until it was unlocked and then
withdraw it. The reverse motion of the
lever drove the plug home, and then
turned it until it locked. The Dashieil
mechanism has been supplanted by the
Fletcher mechanism, but it is still TO
be found on some rapid fire guns.
Lieutenant W. H. briggs and Lieu
tenant Seaton Schroeder are the in