The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-06-04
8-INCH GUNS
VERY FORMIDABLE PIECES OF A
SHIPS ORDINANCE.
The Guns of the Olympia Proved to be too
Much for the Spanish Admirals Flag
Ship, Reins Christina, at Manila and
Tore Out III Vitais,

The S-lnch guns on the Olympia, ono
shot from which bored through the stern
of the Spanish adnirars flagship, Reina
Cristina. at Manila and tore her vitals
clear up to the forward amidships Sec
ton, are nearly. twenty-eight feet long.
The "projectile they dispatch weighs $50
pounds, and lis pounds of powder arc
used to expel it. When the projectile
leaves the gun, says the New York
Journal, it travels at the rate Of 1000
feet second AS the average distance
be tween the Olympia. (Deweys fasship)
and the Reina Cristina. was $50 yards,
only about five seconds were necessary
for the missile to traverse the distance
and accomplish its mission. When it sped
from the muzzle of the S-inch tube it
| had an energy equivalent to S,O11-foot
| tons, and at that point<it would have
penetrated zig inches Of iron. The gun
| itself weighed 1872 tons. .-~.a.a. -.
! Altogether it is estimated DeWey'S
squadron threw hundred tons of metal
| from their iron threats. The S-inch mon
gard. Eight projectiles of this sort weigh
a ton, and, as Dewey was determined to
do his job thoroughly he utilized his
heavier calibre weapons oftenest. Conse-
luentiy the most striking blows were de-
livered by the S-nch guns. They not only
crippled the Reina Cristina but also set
fire to the Castillo, on which the Spanish
admiral took refuge when compelled to
abandon his flagship
The Reina Cristina, Don Sebastian and
Don Juan de Ulloa had armored belts
| varying from half an inch to an inch and
a half in thickness. At the range the
Olympia maintained each time she swung
round the ellipse and brought her broad
side to bear on the Spanish fleet her s.
inch guns could perforate the protective
deck and the plates on her sides with
facility and gertrude. Indeed naval ex-
1rp%1 %l,0k s,,11 h.
most serviceable weapons for a cruisers
| main battery. They are easier to rlanipu-
late than the Founders 10, II and 13-inch
| rifles, and for all purposes of attack are
quite as valuable. If S-inch shells ram
| an adversarys hull why sweat and strug-
gle to eject 12-inch projectiles? is the
query of constructors and tacticians Bat
t]eships will continue to carry several Of
! the very heaviest persuaders for lombard
ment purposes, but the lesson of Manila
seems to be that S-inch guns are quite
sufficient for all ordinary purposes.
The new Armstrong-built cruiser the
New Orleans, recently purchased in Eng
land from Brazil, is armed with 6-inch
guns in her main battery, but they are
as long as the regular United States g.
inch Guns and have almost precisely the
game boring power. This is another indi-
cation that S-inch high-power rifles are
to be the limit hereafter supplemented by
fairly numerous secondary battery Of
81 and rapid-fire arms for short range
work and to stave off torpedo craft
The 5-inch guns On the Olympia and
several others of the squadron weigh 28
tons apiece, and are thirteen and a half
feet long, outside measurement The muz-
zle velocity Of the 5-illch gun is 1000 feet
per second-the same as that of the s.
inch guns-but the muZzle energy, ex-
pressed in foot tons, is only 1.66. The
projectile weighs only sixty pounds, how
ever, and the service of powder is only
twenty-nine pounds The projectile can
pierce n arly twelve inches of armor
plate if the target is right up to the
| muzz!e. The 5-inch guns weigh less than
| the 6-inch Hontoriu guns, which the Span
ish fleet had for the most part but the
| weight Of metal they threw was 25 per-
cent greater and the range and penetra-
| ton nearly double that of the forts at
Cavite and the ships huddled beneath,
them
It was the 5-inch guns Of the Boston
| that silenced the batteries on Corregidor
| island, at the entrance to Manila bay
when Deweys squadron was discovered
| just before dawn. The hastily and rather
insecurity mounted Krupp guns at that
point were rather, inseeurely mounted or
| else the gunners were decimated by the
explosion. of:"-the.- 5-lneh shells: in such
| hurried fashion that only T, If shots were
| fired at the disappearing American vesI
sells When 5-inch shell bursts the area
| Of destruction is a circle of about 100 feet
| diameter so that two or three guns, once
| getting the range. and firing simultan-
! eouslY. can devastate any ordinary bat
| terry not protected by 4 concrete and loose
| sand parapet of modern construction.