Evening star., 1898-10-19

GUNS FOR THE NAVY
TwelVe-1nch the Highest Caliber
Favored.
POWDER FACTORY AT INDIAN HEAD
High Praise for the Work at the
Navy Yard
SMALL ARM CARTRIDGES
SMALL ARM CARTRIDGES


and Immediately preceding the recent war.
as shown by the annual report Of Capt.
Chas O'Neil. chief OF ordnance, to the Sec
retary of the Navy. He shows thar so far
ne Washington gun factory has turned OUT
"-o main battery guns while during the
past year liz guns Of calibers from four
10 lhlrtecn inches have been comple,ed
Ne" designs have been prepared for the
guns OF the future, and they will afford a
much higher velocity than the present
'EP's. Inc hrst of these guns Will be
placed on the battle ships Maine. Ohio and
Missouri, and on the four harbor defense
monitors to be built
CAPT o Neil says the guns and mounts
III service nave been severely tested during
me war, and it is gratifying 10 note tb.t
heir performance has been satlsfac,nr,,
Inat suoh should be the case in so commit
Ndteu a structure battle shin is COR
lily lily eTaulylng, but improvements are
constantly being made and each vessel is
| superior TO her predecessor in the matter
OF armament.
The Preparations made for the war are
descrlbed by the chief beginning with The
period when war was regarded as trornir.,,,,
oruers were given for large amounts OF
poWuer, proJecttlcS Of all kinds small arms
~ ., small uhs Tor secondary batteries and
contractors W. re required to carry on their
"ofh without intermission and Increase Tho
.dPdCIly OF their plants. All vessels of The
haNy were hlled up with ammunition, even
lhose on foreign stations and supnIy pas
seis Laden with reserve supply were ka,,,
N readiness to supply the fleets Gun cot
>oh mines and launching outfits were pre-
pared IN large numbers and h. government
SHOPS We're worked continuously Batteries
were placed on 1u1 auxiliary vessels r.
iulrlnS of6 guns, while 80 guns were placed
on Il regular naval vessels yet more could
been required. '
IL ls said in the report that electricity has
demonstrated its superiority to every other
iorm OF power for the manipulation of mr.
ittH' hoiStihS ammunition and operating
gun ma chinery
The bureau does not consider the one
pouhder gun as of any appreciable value in
ne economy of battle ship or large cr1Iis-
er ana Will substitute for them on tornedo
BOATS about to be built the three-pounder
senl-dutomatic guns.
CARTRIDGES for Small Arms
Inc bureau is of opinion that a uniform
caioer and standard smalI-arm cartridge
should be adopted for the army. navy and
marine corps and also the militia.
AS one OF the lessons of the war. Cant
oNeil says: While heavy guns in turrets
must be regarded as one of The chief char
acteristics Of modern battle shins tbe l.
sons of the day Indicate that the greatesr
execution of the day texcept against no
heaviest armorl may be expected from a
number of quick-firing guns Of smaller cal
.ber mounted separately in armored case
mates or in redoubt''
he recites the weight Of the big guns. MAX
.ng Them slow 10 fire and aim The heat nd
restricted quarters in turrets and the lack
OF ventilation as arguments in favor OF The
smaller gun mounted he suggests and
says:
Notwithstanding these drawbacks hoa,,,
guns in turrets must be regarded as ne
cessitS, but the question as TO the maximum
callber to be employed is subject for seri-
Gus consideration and one upon which m.
bureau mas bestowed much tbpnpht
The TweIve-fnch Gums.
He says that up to this time the 13-inch
guns, such as are mounted on the Oregon
class, have been regarded as the hest tyne
for battle ship, but the DEVELOPMENT of
he 12-inch gun has been so great and its
power so much increased that The bureau
IS OF The opinion that hereafter il will he
me maximum caliber, supplemented by an
auxiliary battery of 6-inch quick firing guns
IN classmates, with a secondary battery of
SIX and twelve FOUNDERS
The reduction of weight in the 12-inch
guns as compared with the l3-inch guns is
not great being but seven and one-half
tons, but the reduction in size and conse-
quently in the weight of the turrets bar
bettes and ammunition is very great
The thickness of armor is also under CON
deratlon. Heretofore he battle ships have
carried very heavy belt, diagonal turret
ana barbette armor, more so than now APP
pears necessary or desirable I'm considera-
tlon or the improvements recently made in
the quality of armor and of the necessity
OF distributing the protection over a greater
area Of the ships side than has been the
case. The bureau is Of opinion that twely,,
inches will be the maximum thickness of
armor in the future.
After many difficulties the bureau has at
iast succeeded in securing purely smoke
less powder, and II is proposed to supply
every one of the ships using the brown
powder for target practice only until it is
used up.
ha irpa. ~
S6,4lo.35S the most important items being
81 1,Sf5,ooo for fuel, tools, reserve ammuni-
uon, proving ground, conversion of 6-inch
guns and smokeless powder; $3.50 600 for re-
serve guns for auxiliary cruisers, and
A,0oo,oO0 for armor and armament for YES
sells authorized
The report contains the following chap
ters on subjects OF special local interest:
Powder Factory.
Congress at its last session having ap-
propriated a sum Of money for the erection
of a government factory for The manufac-
ture OF smokeiess powder. a parcel of iani
the Indian Head reservation has been
cleared for the purpose. An electric rail-
read is being built TO connect the site with
the proving ground, and plans have been
prepared and building operations are now
in progress. The establishment wIn con-
sist Of a laboratory and Office building
boiler house, electric power station and
buildings for the storage of cotton, pick
ing and drying OF cotton, nitrating house
pulping and poachirg house alcohol dehy-
drafting and rectifying, mixing, pressing
and cutting powder, manufacture of ether,
drying houses for powder and packing
house. powder magazines. acid mixing and
storehouse, nitric-acid factory and dwell
ings for principal employees. The works
will be operated by electric power and viii
embrace the most approved types of pow
der making machinery. standpipe of
30o,0o0 gallons capacity. supplied from ar
tesian wells will furnish the water supply
The land Is well situated on Mattawoman
creek, an estuary of the Potomac, being
quite remote from any popuous districts
and can be approached by land or by water.
Naval Proving Ground.
This establishment is still In charge Of
A. r. Couden. u. s. N, whose
excellent services entitie him to the bu-
reaus commendation. With but little CT
fetal assistance at any time and with
none whatever at times he has carried on
the exacting and varied duties devolvtng
i'm, with