The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-07-08
Description of the So-Called Dyna-
mite Cruiser, Which Tore Up
the Earth at Santiago.
COMPRESSED
Two Hundred Pound Charges of High Explosives are
Thrown Three Miles From Guns
Fifty-Fve Feet Long;

use as an ex pLosiNe a nitTo-gelatine that
can be classeou as dynamite. This expla-
sive consists of 81 per cent nitro-gIy-
cerine per cent dry gun cotton, 8 per
cent camphor and per cent carbona te
| of magnesia. JEha- is the explosive tina.
we use at San dy Hook and at the Pre-
sdio. The guns that form these batter
les are fifty feets from breech TO muzzle
The shell oft he gun is inches in thick
ness, AZ inches i'm diameter at the breech
and about 20 at the ruzzle. This is the
diameter Of the shell Of the gun and not
/ the bore.
''In these guns mpeTuse two sizes of pro-
| jectiles, I5-lnch ;ynd S-inch as a rule
though at Sandy rLook we use sizes that
vary from TO IS irtches. We are enabled
to do this by means ef what are popularity
known as wooden slsoes, a sort of interior
hcasing Of the gun which is fastened to the
! projectAe, this latter resting directly on
these wooden shoes, which lessen the bore
| of the gun in size So that projectile and
bore fit. After the projectile has left the
| gun, these wooden shoes fall away from It.
! but it has lost nothing in force and has
| gained just as Inunh power if it had
been fired from a gun whose original
calibre fitted it.
1T seems to me sthat our gun must be
classed among the highest developments
OF modern science None can deny that
gunnery is a sciepce, and therefore the
man who solves the problem of gunnery
finding a solution that brings increased
power and added knowledge, cOntributs
more than mite tto the scientific world.
1 think that when tyou take your gun IN
its entirety and lolki at its effect, and then
follow it through, detail by detail, you
will find awonderful object lesson.
4 have told how the projectiles are made
and the details regarding the barrel OF
the gun, but the way to thoroughly under
stand what the gunsreally is is to go down
in the bowels Of the vessel to the steam en-
CINE that our air compressor AS fast as
the air is compressed it is stored in
wrought iron or steel reservoirs located in
chambers under the gun platform. The
air is conducted from these reservoirs by
means OF pipes UP through the carriage
and thence through a large facing that
completely covers the barrel of the gun
from the breeding. about one-third thine
length of the weapon.
of the gun and this controls the admission
OF air into the barrel The opening and
closing of this valve is entirely automatic
and under control of the gunner. who
stands on platform at the left side of the
carriage. Pulling a lever causes the valve
to open and the gun to be discharged.
very interesting fact in this connection
is that the range of the gun is changed
not by altering the elevation, as in case
Of all other guns. but by controlling the
amount Of compressed air that escapes at
each discharge.
'When the discarging lever is pulled
the large valve a the breecch of the gun
opens automatically and remains open a
definite but sufficient length of time to
allow a certain fixed quantity of air to
escape into the barrel
Then the valve closes before the pro-
jectle has left the muzze of the gun. This
cuts off the escape of air and retains in
the reservoir all that was not needed in
propelling the projectile. Thus we may
use ten or twenty or any number of cubis
feet of air at each discharge. The time
that the valve remains open IS under per-
feet control of the gunner, and he adjusts
it by turning a small graduating wheel
within reach froom the platform where he
stands. BY regulating the time that the
valve remains open he regulates the
amount OF air that enters the barrel. In
other words, to be a little technical, he
regulates the amount of energy emparted
TO the projectile.
Since the muzzle velocity and range
depended upon thtis energy. it will be
able to change his range without chang
ing the elevation of his gun, by simply
turning the graduating wheel We call
this the cutoff of the valve because Il !
is very Ike the cutoff OF a steam engine
At eac discharge of the guns the air pres
sure in the reservoir falls according 10
the adjustment of the valve. If before
dicharging the air pressure in the reser- |
voir was 1000 pounds per square inch. then
after a single discharge It may he 600
pounds or $50 pounds, but after each dis |
charge the normal pressure is restored to |
1000 pounds by drawing air from a storage !
reservoir that contains air at a much |
higher pressure say 1000 pouns per
square inch. or by pumping air directly F.
into the gun reservoir.
50 much for the power that impels the /
projectile. The guner stands on a plat /
snip. q course. that gun does not reyolve. /
but o. land il does. In one respect each /
OF the Vesuvius' guns is Ike big revolt (
Yer. for down by The breech here are (
eight chambers, each Of these chambers (
containing a shell. When the gunner /
rushes back the lever and the Drojectfe +
leaves The gun the chamber turns auto +
ma,ically, presenting fresh projectle. /
81 that in reality the gun has 10 be loaded /
bUt once out Of eight shots.
The loading : accomplished by means (
q a barrel about -he same length and !.
much resembling the upper part OF the i
regulation gun barrel The loading pro- +
cess is exactly ss would b. the case II /
you attempted % load revolver by slip
ping each cartridge down Through the /
barrel and thence into the chamber. CIV /
ing me chamber an eighth turn and thus 1
presenting a fresa hiding place for a I
oat-.dge. Eight shots can De fred from 4
one % these guns IN four minutes.
CAS- IL - RIA.
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