The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-07-30
ABOUT "RAPID FIRE" GUNS.
Not All Of Small Sizes Nor on the
Revolver Pattern.
From the independent.

Inc new weapon about which one hears
the most during the present war is the So
called ''rapid" or quick firing gun. This
is especially the gun of to-day, since its
chief development has taken place within
the last ten years, Of course all guns
which throw projectiles in rapid succession
are quick firing; but distinction is made
between the machine guns and the rapid
firing guns, the former being literally ma
chimes having many moving parts, which
cooperate to throw a great many small
shells in very brief period OF time, and
the latter being simply single-shot guns,
which use what is termed ''fixed' ammu
milton; that is to say, instead of their be-
ing loaded at the breech successfully with
shell and then one or more cartridges,
and finally provided with primer, which
is ignited when struck by the hammer of
the lock, they have their projectile, charge
and primer all combined just as in the
ordinary revolver or sporting small arm,
and hence but one operation is necessary
in loading But as compared with the
little metallic cartridge of one g pistol, the
load of big quick fire gun is rather gi-
gantic For a gun of calibre Of five
inches, the combined proiectile and case
measure nearly four feet in length and
weigh about ninety five pounds, while for
the 6-lnch guns the total weight Of the
complete cartridge is about 1875 pounds.
Fixed ammunition saves time in loading,
and still more time is saved in arranging
the door in the breech of the gun, which
is closed after the charge is put in, so that
it can be very rapidly opened and shut by
means of hand levers; and, lastly, the gun
itself is SO supported that it can be trained
quickly upon its target So that the
''quickness' depends first upon the fact
that you put in the whole chargeat once,
instead of in separate parts; second, upon
the celebrity with which the breech can be
opened and closed, and, third, upon the
ease in pointing; and, as consequence OF
all this, two shots can be fired in much
less time than it would otherwise take to
fire one; and for war purposes the man
who does that is more useful, even, than
the much-vaunted hero who coaxes two
blades of grass out of the reluctant earth
which ordinarily yields but a solitary stalk.
From what has been said it will be evi-
dent that the rapid fire gun is by no means
necessarily small affair True, there are
little rapid fires which throw projectiles
ranging in weight from one to six pounds;
but the big snes of calibers of four, five
and six inches are powerful enough to arm
the lighter cruisers and gunboats all by
themselves The six-inch gun is over
twenty feet long, and weighs six tons,
With the so-called Dashiell breech mech
anism this gun has been fired ten times in
two minutes and fifty six seconds, or in
about half the time required to deliver the
same number of shots when the ordinary
breech closing devices were employed.
But, of course, speed of shooting will
depend upon many factors With such
great cartridges as are required by the six
inch gun, the supply Of ammunition is
necessarily much slower than when the
light charges of the one FOUNDER pieces
are handled, and the thorough drilling of
the men in the operations of loading also
increases the rapidity of fire.
On board ship the quick fire guns form
the principal part of what is known as the
secondary battery. Thus the Iowa in her
main battery carries four twelve-inch, eight
eight-inch and six four-inch guns, and in
her secondary battery twenty six FOUNDER
and four one FOUNDER quick fires. They
are used to destroy the ends of vessels
which are protected only over their boilers
and engines, to disable unshielded guns and
gun machinery, and, with the machine
guns, they are the great safe guard against
attacks of torpedo boats; for it is we'll
demonstrated that these light craft are
powerless when confronted with concen-
trated hail of quick fire projectiles. The
two Spanish boats which rushed upon Ad-
miral Dewey's squadron at Manila were
literally torn to pieces, and even the much
larger and faster torpedo destroyers which
attacked the Texas off Santiago de Cuba
were driven back almost as soon as the
searchlight revealed them.