New-York tribune., 1901-11-17
TESTING GREAT GUNS.
,,r,~c, TO THE MEN WHO CONDUCT
THE TESTS BECAUSE OF THE
DANGER INVOLVED.

-.-.t.. If big guns at the Government Proving
~a,',,5 az indy Hook, is yearly becoming more
fraouent reIiei from the tedlum o1 army life Some
- - tests ecently conducted there under the
o,ara1 direction of the Board OF ordnance and
Eortifcations were exciting and were fraught
i+b -ercb an element of danger to those engaged
in the work that the most placid temperament
rose TO the occasion and felt genuine thrill OF
anxiety when the supreme moment approacheu'
The tests of modern rifles with solid shot or with
sbe11s loaded with the ordinary explosives are
dertaken with confidence and conducted without
nervousness however large the calibre, but when
new forms of artillery and missiles charged with
euncotton or dynamite to be hurled from the
cannon's mouth the officers and men approach
their task with just enough fear of the result OF
the experiment to cause a deep sigh OF relef When
the projectile has left the muZze without resolving
both gun and target into hail of iron from which
safety, even in the bombprcof, is problematical-
The test of the Gathmann torpedo shell of 1S-inch
calibre and the gun constructed especially
for the experiment of hurting two thousand POUNDS
against plate of u-inch face-hardened kruPp
process arrnor and by the impact exploding nearly
quarter OF a ton of guncotton was attended WIN
something more than scientific interest The mlxeo
board of army and navy officers IN iinlieuie
charge of the test approach their TASK win
natural msgivings to what Will hdppeii
when the gun is fired. They apply the current anu
watch the result bombproof about nVe
hundred feet from the gun, and altnougn tdise'
and backing that known to be sun1clehl 10
stop any shot before fired ndd Deen ploNlueu'
the board postponed the trial on the nrst Gay
rather than to risk sending the first missile of
known power against the obstacle while a heel OF
ships rode at anchor within range TO escape fne
fury Of bowling westerly gale under the lee of the
Highlands of NavesInk.
The target used on this occasion was in itself
triumph OF engineering design and construction.
1t consisted of plate of Krupp process armor IL
inches thick and 16 feet wide by is feet high. This
formidable barrier braced from behind by
| steel framework at least strong that of the
| most sturdy battleship and this backing rein
| forced by bed OF sand high the target at
front and AZ feet wide at the rear. by 26 feet
( long at the base. 1t believed by the inventor
| Of the proiecte that the target backing were
sufficient stop the shot and break the force of
| the explosion of the bursting charge.
The officers in charge Of the test hoped his idea
was correct. but their grave doubts were strongly
indicated by the postponement of the test. A shot
fired short range sometimes cuts strange capers.
| The shell. falling to explode on impact with the
| target, may be DETECTED upward after passing
| through and go. nobody knows where, possibly
podiug a long way from the place intended. Shots
| have been known. ii is said TO be turned upward
| and backward by the target and its sand backing
| and fall in the Of the gun from which they
! were fired. 1t is always possible that shell
| charged with large quantity of high explosive
may burst in the gun and scatter death and de-
| struction all about 1t. The breechblock OF gun
may blow out. and 1t is not considered safe TO be
directly in line with big gun. even behind it,
| when is discharged OF heavy load Every pre-
| caution adopted to prevent fatal accidents or
| the sort and no unnecessary risks are taken
The devices employed in determining the velocity
| OF projectie ingenious and their operation IS
| highly interesting Frames erected In front Of
the gun directly in the line OF its fire. one. say
N feet from the muzzle Of the piece and the otner
| 100 feet byoHd. A wire charged with an electric
is carried back and forth across the frame
| 4 BoulanEer ChronOgraph. lnStru-
| ment for accurately measuring brief intervals of
| time. The ChTonograph carries a magnet which
remains in contact with It's armatUre unt the cur
rent IS broken when the armature falls by gravity
| and marks 4 recording disk the exact time or
| the cessation the electric influence When the
prOjectile passes through me frame 1t breaks one
or of the crossings of the wire and the exact
/, by the chronograph The operation is repeated at
| the second frame. and the difference OF time De
tween the two breaks and the distance between the
frames afford the basis for the mathematical rech
| pressure within the gun indicated by inStrl-
Inents too complicated and too intricate in their
| mathematics for lay description.
One of the claims of Mr.. Gathmann for his shell
| high explosive is that impact, for
| instance with the arnor of a turret above deck
bursting will crush the deck plates beneath the
i point where II expodes. In the test OF that gun
| therefore, piece OF 3-inch armor representing a
| deck plate laid the ground In front OF the
target the level OF its lower edge. This plate
| by 10 feet.
| 4 1000 pound she'll $50 pounds Of which is wet
| guncottOn Is not Il mere toy. II Is taller. when
| stood end than the average man. and almost
| as large around salt barrel IL Is Of highly
| DOliShed steel the exterior. and is placed
| OF the gun. The shell rests on a wooden bed at
the exact height of the bore of the gum so II can
| he pushed into the breech. but ton IS not easily
| moved and even wet guncotton IS handled with be-
| The concusslon Of a discharge of the 1S-nch gun