The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-06
FOR COAST DEFENSE
ST. PAUL FIRM COMPLETES A CON-
TRACT FOR THIRTY-FIVE MON
sTER GUN CARRIAGES
MOST FORMIDABLE WEAPONS

Work ON Them Was Begun With
the Opening of the Spanish War.
and Is just COmpleted-The Com
tract Price Was %42,SOo and Is
the First of the Kind Filled by
American Hoist and Derrick Go.
The last Of the thirty-ave monster coast
defense rife mortar camiages being
built by the American Hoist and Derrick
company will be finished and turned over
to the government before the end of the
week. This completes q contract aggre-
eating $42,SO0, the first of its kind ever
filled by a firm in the Northwest. The
firm began work on the contract May /,
1897, just at the opening of the Spanish
American war, and Will complete 1t ex-
actly on the date set, Aug. 8.
The last of the monster carriages IS
now set up in the foundry Of the COM
pany, at the end OF the Robert street
bridge. The rified mortar with which the
carriage Is to be fitted is mounted, and
the gun and it's equipment is complete in
every detail. With the rife. the carriage
weighs fifty tons, and In its construc-
ton are the largest castings ever made In
the Northwest. The racers" on which
the gun platform works, which weigh
fifteen tons, have been successfully made
and used. The gun, as 1t stands in the
shops. is formidable weapon. The rifle
measures fourteen feet in length and has
g caliber of twelve inches. The inside of
the gun barrel is large enough for a man
to crawl through. and at the breach the
gun measures thirty-eight inches in d.
ameter. At the muzzle the diameter Is
reduced to twenty-one inches, while near
the center, where the trunnions are join
ed to the barrel, the diameter Is greatest.
The following figures were given yester-
day by Foreman Frank Lilligreen, under
whose supervision the gun carriage con-
tract has been filed:
Weight Of the gun and carriage, 80
tons; heaviest castings, the racers" 15
tons each; rifle itself, 141s tons; length of
rifle, IA feet; caliber, II inches; weight of
shell, LOO and 800 pounds, according to
style used; range at greatest elevation,
3 miles; charge. brown prismatic powder
100 pounds; recoil taken up by oil cylin-
ders, ~ by 4S inches.
When the contract was first placed with
IAO SOlApdAy TIE proximity OF q COnf11Ct
with foreign power made it imperative
for the guns to be fitted out as soon as
possible Night shifts were put on. and
until May of this year men were work.
Ing constantly to finish the carriages and
turn them over. Since that time the force
has been working eleven hours q dav.
and during the year and a half occupied
with the work has turned out on an aver
age three month. Foreman Lilligreen
explained the workings of the monster
rifle and carefully explained the mechan-
ism OF the carriage. So perfectly is 1t
ADJUSTED that one man can turn the gun
platform, raise or depress the weapon
load and fire it. The gun rests on a mas
slVe steel platform, circular in shane. at
the edge Of which is circle an inch wide
made OF q continuous strip of brass. This
Is divided into thirty-siX equal spaces
each indicating a degree of the circle. and
1t is by this azimuth that the eunners
olrect the fire of the gun. The racer
which surrounds the gun platform. is
stationary, while the platform itself is
turned with a cog and ratchet system
WMch one man can operate by means of
q lever. A system of screws also elevates
and depresses the gun,and these are work
ed by a wheel placed near the levers
which control the movement of the gun
platform. The lightest touch Is sufficient
to move the immense rifle, and Its move
ment can be governed to the smallest
fraction Of an inch
These mortars are intended to be used
In protected positions, each gun being
placed behind parapet. By means Of