Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-04-28
EFFECT OF pRoJEcTIIEs FIRED FROM TORPEDO GUM

- It can be completed will be followed
18th great interest. The gun Is the IN
<9ention Of Rear Admiral ]. A. Howell
"A the United States navy. whose auto
nobile torIedo was so effective ana
IFS name in conjunction with 1t GER
ainly insures n measure of success.
Rear Admiral Howell has been con-
]nctlng experiments for several years
~ improve the Vesuvius' guns and OBJ
v1ate the difficulties which they pre-
annt.. He believes that the only means
which n safe, accurate and ehee'iVe
I'm can be secured is by embodying IN
the projectile the two-fold character
Of piece and projectile: that Is, to nave
It receive Impulse from forces residing
within itself. Upon these lines he mas
worked until he has evolved gun
which will speed rocket containing
the explosive with the accuracy oil q
rife ball. He believed the rocket must
be made to revolve with the same ro-
tary motion of steel projccti!e huFieu
from an ordinary gun. To do this the
enormous pressure OF twenty tons to a
SQUARE inch would be required In an
ordinary gun. Such force would de-
tomato any mass of high explosive at
the instant of discharge. He therefore
conceived the idea OF revolving both
the gun and the charge. The projectiic,
consisting. In the 10-inch caliser. OF
one hundred pounds of gun cotton. IS
incnsed in n thin metal envelope. the
roar and of which contains rockies COM
Al, a 4 tN,,
which Is set in action by the force OF
impact. This is placed in the gun, anu
when. by a mechanical contrivance. IT
has been spun up to twenty-five hum
dred revolutions per minute, friction
cap ignites the rocket composition,
and the banked up pressure at the base
starts the rocket. This. then, begins
Its flight with n rotary motion corre-
spending to that of the gun. The fact
that this motion is due TO neither the
resistance of the atmosphere against
yanes nor to the escape of n psrt OF the
propelling gas from n number OF vents.
gives It great range, velocity. and,
above all, perfect accuracy-while the
absence of any initial shock Of dis
charge renders 1t absolutely safe.
The heaviest war rocket fired from
tho new Howell gun will weigh three
hundred pounds. the range will lie
about three thousand yards, and S ac-
curacy almost equal to that of a rifle
pre1ectile. The piece. though It. can
not be called high angle fire gun. nor
one Of point-blank range. is between
the mortar and the rife. The new gun
can be used in both offensive and de-
fensive operations. ashore or afioat-in
fact. the Illustration represents a bat
tleship attacked by several of these
guns and the effect of detonation
against her armored sides.
The enemy is supposed to have been
one of n large fleet that has engaged
tho Sandy Hook batteries. and. either
through the smo:e and confusion of
battle. or scmc other chance OF war.
has succeeded in passing the fort.
clearing the .channcl of torpedoes by
countermining, end is speeding for the
Narrows. from which point she ex-
poets to make of New York mass of
smoking ruins. She has not reckoned
we'll, however. for. owing to great
drnught of water. the hattleship is
compelled to follow the tortuous main
ship channel. which brings her within
range of the new weapons of destruc-
tiou mounted on the point at Coney
island.