The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-23
NEW FoURTEEN-INCH GUN
1t Will Fire a ProIectiIe Weighing
1000 Pounds.

l,OOO rOQUOSs
washington Cor. Boston Transcript
Brigadier General william Crozier,
chief Of ordnance. u S. A. has written
a description of the new fourteen-inch
coast defense gun as follows:
There will be a vast difference be-
tween the present standard twelve-inch
gun and the new fourteen-inch gun.
The twelve-inch gun fires a projectle
of 1000 pounds weight, with velocity
OF 1850 feet per second, using 800
pounds of powder, and only has life
of between sixty and seventy rounds,
before it has to be refined. This neces-
states dismantling and Shipping back
to the factory for that purpose. The
new gun, which is much shorter iii
length than the twelve-inch gun, will
fire a 1.6O0- pound projectile. use nearly
100 pounds of powder less than the
twelve-inch gun, and only gives a muz-
zle velocity of 2.150 feet per second.
while its life will be nearly four times
that of the present standard. By rea-
son of the lower velocity required and
the consequent smaller charge it Is
possible to make the fourteen-inch gun
propOrtionately shorter than the
twelve-inch gun, and the smaller
charge of powder also involves less
diameter of powder chamber and,
therefore, with the same thickness of
wall of the chamber in caliber, a less
exterior diameter of the gun over the
breach These elements of saving are
so considerable that the weight of the
fourteen-inch gun becomes actually less
than that of the twelve-inch; and as
lower maximum pressure is needed, it
is possible to attain all the strength
which will be used without employing
the most expensive steel.
'"The muzzle energy of the fourteen
inch projectile will be about Is per cent
greater than that of the twelve-inch;
and because of its lower velocity and
its greater weight. the retarding inffu-
ence of the air will be much less upon
this proJectile, so that the gain of en-
ergy will be in greater proportion with
each increment of range. Because of
its lighter weight and of the cheaper
material of construction. the cost of the
new gun will be less than that of the
twelve-inch gun, while the cost of pow
der will also be less than that of the
twelVe-inch by about $40. The cost of
the fourteen-inch aFmor-piercing shot
viii be about 800 more than that of
the twelve-inch shot, so that the total
cost of a single round will be about $50
greater. Taking into consideration,
however, the rapid deterioration of the
tWelye-inch gun, and adding the cost
of refining to that of the ammunition,
which would correspond to the num-
Der of rounds making refining neces-
sary, the cost per pound, including the
deterioration, for the fourteen-inch is
only about IS per cent of that for the
twelve-inch gun The penetration of
the fourteen-inch projectile through
Krupp armOr at 10000 yards is about
eleven inches, while that of the twelve
inch is about ten and a half inches,
while the range at which the fourteen
inch projectile will penetrate twelve
inch Krupp armOr is about $500 yards,
as against $500 yards for the twelve
inch projectile. To sum up, then, it ap-
pears that i'm situations requiring the
greatest power a fourteen-inch gun,
with 2,150 feet per second muzzle We
locity of projectile, instead of the
twelve-inch gun with 1850 feet per sec
ond initial velocity, gives us a lighter
gun, cheaper gun, a heavier projec-
tile, greater muzzle energy, a still
greater proportion of energy at each
distance beyond the muzZle and life
four times as long"