The Washington times., 1901-09-15
TIE WORLDS LARGEST GUN
Great 16 inch Rifle Completed at
Watervliet.
Planned Decade Ago and Has Been
Over Five Years In Process of Con-
structiOn-A Single Firing Costs
Over Fifteen Hundred Dollars.

The biggest gun in the world is now
practically completed, and awaiting its
carriage in the shops of the Army Gun
Factory at Watervliet, N. Y. 1t was
planned ten years ago. and has been over
fiye years in process of construction Ii
is the most powerful engine OF destruc-
tion known. When compared to it the
largest gun built in civiI-war times looks
like toy cannon. This new weapon is
known as 16-inch breech-foadlng
rife, and it is intended for harhor de-
fence. Forty of these monsters we're
recommended by the Endicott board for
the harbors OF New York, Boston, San
Francisco, and Hampton Roads New
York was to have eighteen, Boston eight,
San Francisco ten, and Hampton Roads
-FOUR According to present intentions
this number will be somewhat reduced.
Some idea of the size and power of this
gun may be had from the fact that it
throws projectile weighing $50 pounds.
1t requires 1,176 pounds of ordinary pow
der to do this, or 57s pounds of the new
smokeless powder. The cost OF d single
firing of the gun is over $1.5oo, of which
the proJectile alone costs 1000 The gun
has range of twenty-one miles, 1t has
penetrating power that will, it is esti-
mated bore 42.3 inches into hardened
steel. The missile which 1t hurts is nearly
as long as man. five feet and four
inches. 1t will throw this projectiIe, IL
aimed at an angle of 45 degrees to a
height In the projectory of over five miles.
If Mount Blanc were set on top of Pixies
Peak, this gun would shoot over them,
clearing the top, it is computed, by 900
feet. The time between the shells leay-
Ing the gun and its striking earth will be
a minute and a quarter.
The best performance of any gun up to
this time is credited TO a sis calibre
krupp gun. In 1892 an exhibition was
given before the German Emperor on the
Meppen range. The greatest height
reached by the Krupp shell in its fight
was 2l.45G feet. and the measured range
was found TO be 22.120 yards, or twelve
and one-half miles.
This 16-inch breech-ioading gun is fifty
feet in length, five in diameter at the
breech, tapering to little over two feet
at the muzzle. 1t weighs. exclusive of
carriage, l30 tons. 1t is interesting To
compare these figures with the largest
gun built in 1864, namely, the Rodman
snlooth-bore 20-inch. This gun is now at
Fort Hamilton. N Y, where il was
placed nearly forty years ago 1t was
never in practical use, the largest gun
seeing actual service in the war teing
1o-inch Parrott. Several of these were
used at the siege of Charleston, where
they were known as swamp angels"
The ''20-inch" Rodman gun is 20 feet
long. and is made in a single casting. i
weighs 5S tons. shoots a round ball weigh
ing about ]. GOO pounds. with charge of
powder weighing 80 pounds. Its range is
about S,090 yards, or AZ miles: and it will
penetrate about inches in wrought iron
at short range. Only guns of this type
were ever made. They were cast at
Pittsburg in 1864. During the war the
10-inch Parrott guns were regarded as
monsters" They are small, even as
with the Rodman.
Major Charles 5. Smith. of the Army
bureau of Ordnance, says the new gun
will be ready for the official tests as soon
as the carriage mounts are completed.