Daily camera., 1898-05-06
FIRING GREAT GUNS.
Science Takes the Place of the Old
Style Of Aiming.
A Modern Gunner Must BE . verftsble
Soientist-How the Huge Weap.
ons Are Tested at Sandy
Hook, N, J.

There was time not long age when
artillerists actually aimed their huge
weapons, took careful sight, etc., and
discharged them by "yanking" tho Ian
yard when tho proper order was re-
ceived. That was gunnery. Under the
conditions of modern warfare few if
any of the simple processes which in
the wars of the past were found eff
cacious can be used. In these days the
officer who handles the modern high
velocity rifle must be scientist learned
in chemistry, geometry, electricity,
physics, metallurgy and explosives or
he will mess things. In olden times
many chance was taken. Half dozen
shots might be needed to get range.
Now not shot must be wasted. 1t
costs too much in actual money, and,
besides, the piece with its delicate mech
anism undergoes such fearful strain
each time it is discharged that every
thing must be settled in advance.
Then when the time comes to explode
the charge button is pressed by some
body remote from the rife and the
trouble breaks out right there.
To reduce the firing of the great
guns as nearly as possible to an exact
science an elaborate and systematic
series of experiments has been going on
ever since the first modern breech
loading rifle was turned over to the gov
ernment several years ago. Every shot
tnat has been fired at the testing
grounds has been recorded in an Off
cial 'log," which tells absolutely every
thing that happened at every dis
charge.
The United States army ordnance
proving grounds at Sandy Hook, N. j.,
is the scene of all the important testing
and proving of the coast defense and
other army ordnance. There are two
distinct branches of work there-test-
ing and proving. Testing is the longer
and more involved Of the two. 1t is
done with type" gun furnished by
the makers. After the type" gun has
been tested and pronounced satisfac-
tory the other guns of the same type
are proved. Proving is simply less
involved test.
The officers who test great guns are
engaged in service that is distinctly
dangerous all the time, although they
would be the frat to denyit. Weakness
in gun can be discovered only by ac-
tual trial, and it announces itself by an
explosion. Every now and then when
gun explodes at the Hook the public
gets an idea that it was due to careless
ness, when, as matter of fact, the re-
suit was one to be expected. The men
at the proving grounds who discover
a weakness in gun forestall possi-
BILE big accident at fort.
The test of type gun in the case of
huge weapons like the eight, ten and
twelve-inch steel rifles extends over a
period of many months. Such a can
non is fred as quickly as possible to
test its behavior under great continu-
GUS strain; quick-iring powder is used
to test it's capability to Withstand sud
den and enormous shocks; many kinds
of projectiles are fired to try its rigidi-
ty and the quality of it's rif1ing; it is
elevated OF UcpTcSSSo W luO SAti SiAS W
test it's behavior under all conditions;
its action in recoil is studied; its cX-
terror and interior are watched con-
tinually to note the effect On the mate
rial of which it is made, and every shot
is recorded by electrical instruments of
wonderful accuracy, and often by pho.
tographs.
The speed of the projectile at the
breech at the very moment of getting
it's start is known as the initial veloci-
ty. It is ascertained by means of little
copper instruments known as pressure
gauges. They are screwed into the
breech and the explosion congresses
them so that the force exerted by the
powder charge can be determined accu-
rately. The force of the explosion and
the weights Of the powder and pro-
jectile to the very ounce being known,
the initial velocity is ascertained readi-
ly.
At the moment of firing an indescrib-
ably delicate electrical instrument far
back in the recording Office, where the
terrific shock of the discharge cannot
affect it, registers the time to the ten
thousandth part of second. So deli