The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-03-27
THE COST OF NAVAL
ENGAGEMENTS.
Expense OF Sea Battles So Great
That Only Richest Nations Can
Afford to Fight Now.


Roughly speaking, a naval gun
will do. effective shooting at range
IN miles equal to its calibre in
inches. For example, twelve-inch
gun would be effective at twelve
miles; a six-inch gun at six miles, and
so on. This does not mean the ex-
IRENE range of the gun, for at the ex-
IRENE elevation of about forty-five
degrees, the gun will really carry
farther, but this extreme elevation,
besides making good craftsmanship
out of the question, would create too
much strain on carriage and deck,
owing to the recoil at discharge, to
be practicable on board ship.
The question regarding the cost of
firing the great guns of a battleship
can only be answered in generalities
and averages. The cost is great, and
varies with the kind of ammunition
used. Armor-piercing shell. made of
highly tempered steel of finest quail
ity, is more expensive than the COM
mon shell, made of lower-grade
steel. The prices of various kinds of
powder also vary. However, as in
the case of the range of a gun, a
fairly good rough rule for estimating
the average cost of a shot from a
naval gun is to place it at one dollar
for every pound in the shells weight.
A thirteen-inch shell weighs 100
pounds, and its average cost, includ-
ing powder charge, is little over
$1100. A twelve-inch shell weighs
$50 pounds, and usually costs about
5000 Following this rough rule, a
shot from ten-inch gun costs about
$500; from an eight-inch, $3.50; from
a seven-inch, 5000; from a six-inch,
500; from a fiye-inch, $685. from q
four-inch, $25; from a three-inch,
S14, and from a six-pounder, some
where betweeTf5 and 81, according
to make.
With these data, which are accu-
rate enough for practical purposes, it
may readily be seen that a naval en-
gagement, from the standpoint of
ammunition used alone, is a decided
ly expensive affair. Modern guns are
fired with great rapidity, even with
careful aim. The rapidity varies
with the character of the shooting.
the finding of the range, and the
proximity of the enemy. 1t is safe
to assume that in naval engage
ment under ordinary circumstances.
a twelve-inch gun would be fred
about twice minute an eight-inch
gun, four times a minute; a seven
inch, six times minute, three-inch
(not frequently used between large
ships), an average of six minute.
These calibres are selected as repre-
senting the guns of which the bat
teries of such battleships as the Con-
necticut and the Louisiana are COM
posed. q
Assuming the costs and the ra-
pidity of fire stated. and remembering
that the Connecticut carries four
twelve-inch, eight eight-inch, twelve
seven-inch and twenty three-inch
not to mention her secondary bat
terry of smaller guns, it requires but
a simple arithmetical computation to
discover that to keep all of these
guns on the Connecticut going at the
rapidity of fire named, for one min
ute will cost S30,SS0. To be con-
sentative, let it be assumed that only
sixty per cent. of this battery is MAIN
tanning the fire. The cost then be-
comes reduced to $1S,52S for one
minute, or $1S5,2S0 for ten minutes