The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-02-09
Rv William E. Curtis.

nance of the United States army, told
me the other day that our big twelve
inch guns which carry projectile
weighing a thousand pounds. with a
velocity of $500 feet a second, for sew
eral miles, can be fired only 60 or IS
times. After that number of rounds
the rifling in the bore of the gun will
become obliterated. There is a diff
ference of opinion as to what causes
this; whether the contact with the pro-
iectile wears it out, or whether the in
tense heat, caused by the combustion
of a large charge of powder, brings the
skin of the metal nearly to the melting
point, and, being in that state, the riff
ling in the gun unless a larger band
of copper than usual is placed around
it, The prOjectile is made of steel and
is embraced by a copper band which,
fitting into the rifling in the bore of
the gun. causes its revolution. By en-
larging this band the gun may be made
to last a little longer. 1t can be fired
perhaps q dozen t!IlleS
mo, the quality of the steel in the
gun is not impaired by its discharge,
continued Gen Crozier. 1T does not
disintegrate and the tension is not af-
fected. AS a gun is capable OF being
fired at the rate of As rounds an hour.
YOU will see that the limit Of it's life
could be reached in a battle OF less than
a hour and half. According to our
fleet would require to pass the fortifi-
cations guarding the entrance OF har-
Dor. from the instant the first vessel
would come within range, would be
about two hours. 1t is, therefore. evil
dent that a new 12-inch gun, If utll-
lied to it's capacity upon that fleet,
would not last through the engagement,
and the same may be said with regard
to guns of smaller caliber, although, as
the caliber diminishes, the admissible
velocity increases. siX-inch gun,
firing projectile weighing 100 pounds
with a velocity Of 5000 feet a second,
can be fred twice as many times AS a
l2-inch gun, and if utilized to its full
capacity during the attack of fleet. it
would last about an hour and quarter.
This, you must appreciate. is very
serious problem and has attracted a
great deal of attention among all milit-
airy nations.
PROGRESS of Gun Construction.
Since the beginning of gun construc-
ton the art has at various times en-
countered elements of doubt which, for
the time being, have placed limit up
on it's advance For a long time the
element of doubt was the strength OF
the guns to resist bursting, the powder
in use being capable of developing
higher pressure than the guns could be
made to withstand, and the charges
therefore being necessarily kept within
small limits and giving correspondingly
low yelocitieS to comparatively light
projectiles There was gradual i'm
provement in the methods of construc-
ton by the use of better materials, by
improved methods of casting iron guns
by reinforcement with WrOughtiro
Jackets, and. finally, by introduction of
the present high class of steel forg-
ings and the system of building up OF
concrete cylinders under shrinkage
These advances were accompanied by
improvements in the powder whereby
its rate of burning was better control
led and larger charges We're employed
which, giving off their gases more grad
ually, would sustain for longer per-
iod the pressures which the guns would
endure and would thus continue the
accelerating action upon the projectile
THE Improvement in powders nat
urally brought about both the carrying
forward toward the muZZle of the
strong section of the gun and the
lengthening of it so as to hold the pro
jectiIe longer subject to the accelerat'
ing force. These advances brought
about temporary check in regard t.
the projectiles. perhaps more feared
than realized, these being apparent!
unable to withstand the impact prOduc
ed by their high velocities agains
first class armor. But such improve
ment of them was speedily made as t.
remove this limit upon the power o
guns"
Lowering the Velocity.
by lowering the velocity of a gul
its life may be extended. The remed.
is to use smaller charge and to com
down from $500 feet per second t
$500 or 1000 feet. BY that means tn
life of the gun may be prolonged a
least $50 per cent. That is. by using
smaller charge a 12-inch gun can b
fired $50 times and a 6-inch gun As
times.
The ability to penetrate the armor o
the enemy's vessels is, of course, reduc
ed by this process. A projectile weigh
ing 1000 pounds should pierce 101
inches of armor at a range of 1000
Yards or between five and six miles
fred at velocity of $500 feet per sec
ond. If this velocity is reduced t
1000 feet the projectile would not g
through more than nine inches of armol
All this has to be considered and tn
question of economy comes in also. 1