Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-09
BUILDING A GREAT GUN
BIG 16-INCH WEAPON AT THE
WATERVLEIT ARSENAL.
1t is the Most Powerful Cannon Ever
Made-COmpnrisOn With Some
of It's Rivals.

| The New York Herald TODAY saws: The
| authorities at the Watervliet arsenal sue
ceeded Saturday in shrinking the jacket on
| the new sixteen-inch breech-loading rife
| which, when completed, will be the most
| powerful piece of ordnance in the world.
| The gun. partially complete rests on
| specially built lathe near the shrinking pit
| in the main shops at the Waterviiet gun
| factory. and near 1t lies the great steel
| cylinder that is to be shrunk upon the
breech.
Without its jacket and A and b hoops
| (outer hoops that are shrunk on over the
| Jacket the gun weighs between sixty and
| seventy tons. The jacket itself weighs
about thirty tons. When it is understood
| that the difference between the outside
| radius of the gun itself and the inside
| radius of the Jacket is only six-one-hun-
dredths of an inch after the jacket has been
| heated, the delicate nature of the opera
| ton is comprehensive to the lay mind
| To lift this mass of thirty tons of hot
| steel out of the furnace, swing it up over
the gun and lower it safely into position
without hitch is not an operation to be
attempted by novices. The slightest in
equality in the heating. an error of the
smallest fraction of an inch in any of the
preparation will have been wasted. for
| once that jacket sticks that ends the
work.
Cannot Be Heated Again.
1t cannot be heated again and taken off.
1t must be cut off. Then the work must
be done all over again. A sixteen-inch
gun consists of a forged steel tube forty
| nine feet six inches long 1t looks more
like hollow post or water main without
its hub than like cannon. On this are
first shrunk what are known as the C
lODnS hollow Of oil f;tri -bo
tube and extending from the muzzle nearly
back to the trunnions. on which the gun is
supported on its carriage.
Back of the c hoops comes the locking
ring. or ID hoop, and back of that trunnion
band carriage gears. Back of these. ex-
tending clear to the breech. is the jacket
the largest hoop of all. and outside of this
two more sets of bands or hoops desig-
mated A and B hoops Thus, from the
muZZle back to the trunnions the gun con-
sists of two thicknesses-the tube and
the hoons-and back of the trunnions it
consists of four thfcknesses-the tube
jacket and A and B hoops.
For the accommodation of this gun the
shrinking pit has been deepened and a new
furnace prepared for heating the jacket
This pit is cut out of the solid rock and its
depth exceeds the height of three-story
house. Iron stairs lead down into it. and
there are landings at intervals for the con-
venience of the workmen
In one corner of the pit is the furnace.
cylindrical In form, built of brick and rein
forced with iron bands. 1t is surmounted
with an iron cap. in which are doors Oil
and steam furnish the fuel, instead of coal.
and there is shield to protect the jacket
from the direct rays of the heat.
When the time came for shrinking on the
jacket the big gun was picked up by a giant
crane, carried to the pit and lowered into
It, muZZle down. Once in place it will be
shored up until it is in exactly vertical
position. The thtrty-ton Jacket will be sim
iiarly picked up and lowered into the fur
mace, where it will be left until it reaches
temperature of about 700 degrees.
If all goes well the jacket will slide into
position as smoothly as glove and shrink
there with a grip on the tube of 1000
pounds or more a square inch. From the
moment that the jacket left thu furnace
until it was safely in place was an anxious
period for the officials in charge. since in
spite of all care and precautions. the mag
nitude and delicacy of the operations are
such that one could with certainty pre-
dict success.
What Statistics Show.
There have been guns of larger caliber
made in other countries. but a comparison
of statistics shows the decided superiority
of the American gun over all of these. The
largest caliber gun made italian
gun, which had a caliber of 1134 inches;
France had a gun of 16H-inch caliber ana
England a gun Of 16lf-inch caliber. Not
one of them compared with the present IT,
inch gun.
The new gun will be able to throw a pro-
jectile weighing 2.370 pounds with a muzzle
velocity of 1900 feet second and will have
a total muZZe energy of 5000 foot tons.
The Italian gun threw projec;ile weighing
20O pounds with muzZle velocity of LOO
feet a second and had a total muZZle en-
ergy of 10000 foot tons.
The French gun threw proiectle weigh
ing LOO pounds, with muZzle velocity of
LOO feet a second. and had a total muzzle
energy of $4,000 foot tons.
The English threw a nrnientile
ing 1,S00 pounds, with muZZe velocity Of
200 feet second, and had total muzzle
energy of 81 600 foot tons. The muZZle en-
ergy of the Italian gun is. therefore. only
45 per cent of that of the Waterviet gun,
the French gun Al per cent and the Eng
lish gun 65 par cent.
In point of effectiveness the English gun
came nearest TO the Watervlet gun but
even this fell far short of the American
rifle. The weight of the Watervliet gun
without the carriage will be 12j tons, or
about 80 0O0 pounds. Its length will be 40
feet inches, the diameter of the breech
feet inches, the size of the bore 16 inches
theoretical range 2076 miles. weight of pro-
jectile . $40 pounds length OF proiect:le ca
inches (about the height of an average
mani. powder charge 1,O60 pounds cost Of
powder 500, cost of projectile S100-total
cost to fire gun $3.50.
The projectile. with Its initial velocity of
1890 feet per second. will penetrate wrought
iron to the depth of 41.6 inches. To attain
its maximum range the projectile will al
tdiii oh SiSNdlioii VI hNe lie press |
ure on the gun at the time of its discharge
will be $4,000 pounds to the square inch.
Required New Machinery.
1t was necessary to construct new ma
chinery to make this gun. One lathe in par |
ticular Is 135 feet long, with a swing of 0 |
feet. 1t weighs go tons, and required six |
teen cars for its transportation. Near the |
lathe which the 16-inch gun rests a |
model Of it has been set up to illustrate its |
operation.
To the breech of this model is fitted the |
complete breech mechanism of the new gun
that all the working parts of the gun can |
he studied