The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-05-02

Proving Grounds Compact Method of
heTpinE Field Piece In Line for Rapid
firiuE-hr. Bcvans Wen known for Pre-.
Nioas Valuable Invention. 10 ARTILLERY.
When the papers announced some weeks
ago the death o. Lieut. r. b DasaleH. Of
ias navy whose contributions to science
S~+s-sa ihe medium Of practical improve
mems ana designs Of Held. fertilization. !
ana naval artillery have gone far toward
masking the American guns, a. we'll a. the Z
American summers famous throughout the I
"'u-, % was stated that long time
would probably s,lpse before another .
american gun designer would take his I.
place ID his own peculiar field. 10 must I
% understood that while the field o. d.
sign and Improvement Of heavy guns ana /
'Hrlr HoGutHgs is open 10 ali who wish /
10 compete, % b. almost by the very nat |
sFe % things restricted within the mar
EC"est bounds. In the first place those 1
who would attempt invention and design 4
}" ths direction must be practical me- /
CHaulcs and gun men. Then. again. d /
knowledge OF the peculiar and intricate /
mathematical methods by which computa-
Lths often involving months OF labor are 4
worked out and applied 10 gun C0nstruc-
ton Is essential And last, but by no 1
means least, "a man who would try IN this 1
as in any other field Tor successful inveu-
ton must have the GOd-giver faculty Of /
geIius-that power o. seeing things that
oiEfFs DO not see, and Of doing things /
That others either cannot OF do not do
owing TO the interest that the Ameri- !
can people nave taken within the pas; |
eighteen months in things military. il is
pretty weA known throughout the coun-
Try that the United States government
intends 10 suIpiOnt It's present rather
aEtiquated stock Of field artillery with
guns Of new design. The contract for
these new guns will involve the COnstruC- |
ton OF about thousand pieces OF field |
artillery of the design accepted. The |
money involved VIII amount 10 hun
Crtds OF thousands Of dollars. 1t is also
Known that the Car Of Russia will short
~ be IN the market for 400 pieces OF
field artillery Of the most improved pat-lI
tern 10 aid him in the eventuation of his
universal peace proposition.
4 Washington Inventor.
II was with a view Of designing n gun
which would meet the requirements OF a
modern army that a young man. then
thirty years Of age and a native Wash
iagtOnian. set himself 10 work a little
over TWO years ago lie looked over the
designs and models Of the various neld
guns IN use throughout the world. None |
Of them suited his ideas Of what a gun
should be- The chief objections that he
found were their great weight. their I'M
wieldiness in handling and working and
their liability 10 be disabled by a we'll
directed shot from an enemys gun or
from the effect Of The fearful recOil fol-
lowing the firing Of their own shells. Two |
Years of nceSsant labor in experimenting |
ana designing and of unceasing applica-
ton have resulted in the completion of a |
gun which, according To the expressed be
lief Of all artillery experts who have ex-
"Hlhcd the model and who have followed /
the series Cf elaborate tests which il has |
undergone at the proving grounds Of the
american Ordnance Company of Bridge |
pert Conn, is the finest and most CON-
Iletc held gun in The world, involving m |
its construction a principle radically diff
ierent from any now in use in artillery !
and one which they believe is destined |
10 IevolutOnize artillery construction
throughout the world.
TIE name of the inventor and patentef !
OF this improvement in heavy gun con-
SjFu"uon Is William II. Bevans who re-
Sues at l55 + street southeast. this civ. ! {
The system Is known as the rotary Re- |
coil system. and substitutes for the old
long, cumbersome, ana weighty cylindri- |
cal or spring recoil small wheel which | =
with the other mechanical apparatus at
taehe1, weighs for the three-inch field !
gun little over a hundred pounds, and
which is placed under the gun and well 10 |
he rear Of the gun carriage This re- !
ceives and utilities, by means of q groove (
ARRANGEMENT through ~ | Z
prepared liquid mixture of water and !
EiyceTlne, the entire recoil Of the gun. :
Inventors Own Explanation. 0
Perhaps its workings are best described :
in Mr.. Bevans' own words In an inter /
View WITH Post reporter during the past b
week, and just before he was leaving Q
Washington for Bridgeport. where he was d
going 10 look after the construction Of :
The gun which is being prepared for the I
United States test OF Held guns ilr Bev-
ans said:
In appearance the rotary recoiI re- !
semb!es "a cheese-boN. This box revolves | :
on shaft. which is enlarged on its CEN \
tral portion into a paddle. This remains L
fixed on the outside Of the cheese-box v
or hollow cylinder. there are gear teeth e
when engage with similar teeth under the q
side OF the gun body. The backward | Z
I
inder 10 revOve and causes the LIQUID | a
within 10 pass from one side Of the MS ! +
ton 10 the other and through grooves OF &
varying area cut in the walls o. the cyl
inIer. i
Al the beginning OF recol the LIQUID b
passes through the largest part of the | 3
groove at the time that the gun Is moving
fastest. As this groove grows smaller, | 1
l'ss A4ald can pass through it and the 7
gun gradually stops. Then by means OF {
springs, shaped after the fashion Of clock | :
springs and attached 10 the side Of the a
cylinder. and which revolye II in the oppo- 4
site direction. the gun is returned 10 its q
normal position and is ready for another y
shot The entire movement Of tae gun | n
BACK and forth Is 50 quick that d cannot Il
De followed with the eve II is possible 10 II
OBTAIN with O. wheel built upon the rotary =
principle a reCon Of three feet such a "
feeoi under the old system would prob n
ably require cylinder longer than the o
gun itself a recoil Of fifteen or eighteen r
inches has been found sufficient howev- NJ
er. Tor al practical purposes. IL
New TraiainE Gear. s.
One OF the great advantages that the TO- n
tay Tseca gives iu the construction Of | =
guns Will be- perhaps better appreciated ! So
- tae officers and men Of Samuson's | r.
.'N.F VIZ WE COM f-if. IN SLtllIlg ~
l.so lo tilt their vessels 10 the seward |
Jy removing ballast coal &c. from the
l-n-Earl side Of their ships I'm order 10 | "
elevate their suns sufficiently 10 fire shells |
over the halls lying between themselves | "
aud the doomed town. The artillery now
!H Use jon field work is dangerous enough |
when one gets .u front OF il, but IL h. r,
gets was uI ID the air overhead or almost !
-ie,l.s he.o" IL ne is comparatively safe. Fe
a- Sac Eaus cannot be- well elevated 10
b Root upward ur depressed 20 shoot down
ward. Moreover. bat little lateral move
-rfl Do possible without moving the en-
'is carriage. When the present field | ~
guns ere aimed they are moved with a
-sH3spl~e arrangement and much time is
thereby lost III
Ia the Erysus gun these difficulties are
'1'ialed, AS Jts reeOu gear Is well 10 The ",
rear and cut Of the way " Ire move
HeAi " the gun II can be- arranged 10 I