Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-06
NAVAL GUNS At LADYsMrrR.
What Ia Implied in Land Service for
Sea ARTILLERY.

What Ia Implied in Land Service for
Sea Artillery.
From the London Telegraph.
Has the ingenuity Of q handfM of naval
officers given US a field gun Of unequaIed
| power. and how have they effected the
transformation? These two questions, and
other subsidiary ones, have been much dis
| cussed since the news Of the effective as
| sistance of the naval brigade at Ladysmith
reached this country. and curiosity was
further piqued by the intelligence that some
4.7-inch guns from ore or other of the
warships off the South African coast have
been landed at Simonstown and success
fully mounted for use as field guns. In
some quarters the achievement was regard
ed rs an impossibility, but those best able
to Judge-naval officers who are qualified
in gunnery and almost every warship has
such an officer appointed to iler-look upon
the conversion OF the 4.7-inch quick-firer--
practically gun Of position-into field
weapon as a triumph of ingenuity and re-
sourcefulness, but by no means as an inn
Possibility. 1t is. of course, the subject of
gcod-natured banter that the navy should
nave thus come to the rescue of the army
and supplemented the weapons at the dis
posal Of the military leaders. and it is also
a subject for hearty congratulation. 1t is
not the first time big naval guns have been
used effectively in the field. In the Indian
mutiny Capt. Peel of the Shannon and his
brigade. with which Admiral Sir NOVEL;
Salmon served (winning the Victoria cross
by bis gallantry). took from the coast to
Aiiahabsd no less than six heavy eight-incf1
gtns-huge weapons. quite a ton heavier
than the modern 4.7-inch gun, though far
less effective This was merely one of many
occasions on which naval officers have in
geniousiy made the best use on land of the
weapons at their command for service at
sea.
The 47-inch gun is one of the most beau
tiful In the world II lrS
with ease that is marvellous. 1t forms
the main armament of all except the largest
cruisers. and. though not one of the biggest
weapons, as naval guns go. is most effective
and reliable. 1t Is instructive to watch the
eese with which 1t Is deft1y handled by a
guns crew. The seaman gunner known as
No l. leans his left shoulder against the
padded shoulder piece, thus training the
gun on the target without any effort, so
smoothly does it work: while his left hand
elevates the gun by turning a small wheel.
ia on the trigger Near by are the four
other men of the guns crew, opening and
closing the breech. putting in the projectile
and charge and a! proceeding at the rate
or about twelve rounds minute. Every
shot is aimed. and there Is no waste of am
munitiou. Such celebrity and accuracy of
IRE come from frequent drill, good organ
izatfon and discipline. This is the weapon
now being used for field service in South
Africa and this is the type of men who are
now. 50 far we know. keeping down the
enemy's heavy fire at Ladysmith and pro-
Ceeding. to the Orange Free State border
from Cape Town. It Is a gun of many parts,
and the weights are as follows: Gun POT
tons: cradle. 1875 cwt.: carriage 27 cwt:
shield q cwt: breast plate and rollers.
tons length of gun. 16 feet 2 inches: cor
d.te charge. lbs. 7 or: project'le. 45 lbs:
sighted to 5000 yards: total weight of gun
mounting. etc. 723 tons.
1t Is an emnently adaptable weapon since
it can fire either lyddite. common she'll with
base fuse, or shrapnel shell with time
fuse. 1t fires direct at the target at an
elevation Of only fifteen degrees. where
from a curve from high" In other
words. the army gun fires at great eleva-
ton. 1t has beer already stated that the
gun can be sighted to 5000 yards or over
four and a half miles. but 1t carries, of
course much further, and is effective at six
to seven miles, where, as at Ladysmith,
NO T. may be in telephone commupca-
ton with a balloon taking observations of
the effect OF the firing on the enemy'S po-
sition.
To the highly scientific but also highly
practical gunnery officers of the navy of to-
day the mounting as a field weapon of
4.T-inch guns does not present the diff
cuties which seem insurmountable to civil
iaus and officers whose acquaintance with
the service IS not of recent date. The gun
to be mounted can be readily hoisted out
OF cruiser, almost certainly with the gun
metal cradle giving a total weight of about
two tons fourteen hundredweight- 1t is
hHC"H tudl ldd been maze
ashore at Durham and at Cape Town by
parties of blue jackets, who had apparently
rleged up a suitable gun carriage from de-
signs by Capt. Percy Scott. From old an
Choir iron 1t would not have been difficult
10 build UP carriage. probably, for screw
ing down into a stoutly built railway truck.
Before sending the weapon forward by
train. large, stout wheels, to substitute for
the small railway wheels, were probably
provided. On the carriage reaching its des-
t;nation these big wheels would be quickly
fitted to facilitate transport, and probably
fitted at the rear of the carriage would be
attached two spades" to check the recoiL
This is merely a theory to the means
which have been adopted by Capt. Percy
Scott, but it has the virtue of not being the
idea of mere armchair theorist. It may
however, be found that the carriage of the
gun was removed from the ship and utilized
In some way; but this is less likely, and
expert naval opinion inclines to the belief
that the blacksmith's shop, with the reserve
of mountings and other material that would
be available at Durham and Simonstown,
backed up by the ingenuity Of Capt Scott
and the undaunted labor of blue jackets
and artiheers worked the miracle Of fitting
these powerful naval weapons to impro-
vised carriages for service at the front.
And when mounted how would these
heavy guns be taken to the scene of action?
Those who have seen blue jackets at the
military tournament, or at gun drill ashore
at one of the naval ports, will readily be-
lieve that they are not easily beaten where
there is anything to be drawn over the
country at a smart pace. Every Jack Tar
Is a muscular giant. and Is proud of his
strength. 1t is a satisfactory fact that
additional guns of this -five-pounder
type are available at Durham. and others
have been sent from England, with q GUAM
tity of lyddite shells, so that If Sir Redvers
Butler deems the use of these weapons
necessary, they will be at hand. Meantime
the efficiency of the ships at Durham and
Simon's bay, from which the guns have
been taken. will be secured by mounting
reserve weapons. Apart from the guns Of
the regular navy. at all such bases as ST.
nonstown, and probably also at Durham
there are always many quick-fring guns
and mountings in store, in readiness for
placing on board the liners. for which the
admiralty pay an annual subvention to the
owners.
BOstOn's Crooked Streets.