Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-05-04

i uc lt-pOunuoi3 dioiouSh ho. iieio
ded in the navy armament, is given
for the purpose Of comparison, since
| it is with guns of this calibre that some
of the Spanish torpedo boat destroyers
are armed. The largest gun as yet
mounted on our largest torpedo boats
is the 6-pounder, while single l.
FOUNDER is the gun armament of the
ordinary torpedo boat. The Hotchkiss
revolver cannon is not given in the
table, because its calibre, etc., is the
same as that of the 1-pounder, and, in
fact, the latter has superseded it in
the latest ornaments, so that it is now
found only on the older ships of the
modern fleet. The machine guns are
not given, because their effective work
is practically the same. The Gatling
is of 45-calibre, and uses the govern
ment ammunition for the Springfield
rifle.
A look over the table shows some
general principles in the matter of
powder and shells used. The powder
charge is about half the weight of the
shell, while the length of the shell is q
little over three times its diameter.
To attain its extreme range gun
must be given an elevation of about
Is degrees. The greatest elevation
given any of the guns on shipboard is
about six degrees. The limit is made
by two factors-the size of the port
holes or opening in the turrets for the
larger guns, and the danger of driving
the gun backward and downward
through the deck by any greater ele-
walton. The practical range of the
great guns of ship, the 10, II and
13.inch, is not, therefore, believed to
be over FIVE or six six miles, and even
at that range the chances of hitting
given object would be very small. A
city could, of course, be bombarded
with effect at such a range, since a
shell would do tremendous damage
wherever it might strike, but city at
which a ship could approach no nearer
than say seven miles would be safe
from bombardment.
The muzzle velocities given the
shells from the guns of the navy are
something tremendous, while the muz-
zle energy is simply appalling. The
shell from the 13.inch gun leaves the
muzzle at a velocity of 2,lO0 feet
second, and with an energy of 33,627-
foot tons, or the power required to lift
one ton one foot. From this velocity
the range is to 1900 feet a second in
the 1-pounder, although from the
3-pounder at 1850 feet, it averages
about the same as the 13-inch. The
5-inch rapid-fire gun has the greatest
muzzle velocity at $3.50 feet. The
muzzle energy is, of course, small in
the smaller guns, being only 25-foot
tons in the 1-pounder and 500 tons in
the 14-pounder.
The power of penetration has al
ready been given in general way !;
but the power of penetration of steel
is much greater. At its muzzle velocl-
ty the 13.inch shell will penetrate
2G. .G6 iuches of steel, the twelve-inch
24.1G, the ten-inch 20 inches, and the
five-inch 8 inches. The 1.pounder
shell bursts in piercing one.fourth aud
nine.sixteenths-inch plates, scattering
its fragments behind the target.
Although not strictly pertinent to
the story, it may be interesting to note
that the cost of one discharge Of u
13-inch gun is $500, and that when a
battleship like the Massachusetts lets
loose her entire battery, both main and
secondary, the cost of a single dis
charge is $4,000.