Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-10
Lathe Work on a Monster Gun

Lathe W. rk on monster 0uo
At Naval Ordnance Shops. Washington.
get. The katahdin, which has been for
some time past out Of commission at the
League Island navy yard. at Philadelphia.
has been ordered to Washington. and will
be made ready at the Washington navy
yard to serve as Uncle Sans most inter
esting and most costly naval target. Aft
er all the machinery and other useful ma
terial have been removed from the ship at
the navy yard and the historic ironclad
has been given the greatest possible
buoyancy by means of a filling of cork
and sawdust she will be lowed down the
Potomac. where the crucial tests lately
planned will take place. These tests with
the Katahdin, ii may be added. will con-
stitute an important feature Of that pro-
gram of investigation and experiment in
modern ordnance work for which an ap-
preparation of 100000 was made at the
last session of Congress.
4 Il
The use of costly war vessel tar
get for heavy guns is not an absolute in
novation but the performance with the
Katahdin will probably be the most nota
BILE experiment to date. The British navy
started the practice and has had many
followers. including the United States.
Some time ago the monitor Florida had
13-inch guns turned upon her. i'm order to
test the first peach basket" mastS or
new fire control towers which had been
erected on the monitor as an experiment.
More recently our battleship fleet in tar
get practice on the southern drillgroundS
made use Of the torpedo boats Nicholson
and O'Brien as targets for the big guns.
Now the katahdin, which cost more than
a million dollars. Is to serve similar
purpose.
The Katahdin which was built at Bath
Me-. in the years intervening between 1901
and 1893, is $50 feet in length and 43 feet
breadth. having a displacement of 2,15O
tons. Her heaviest weapons were six
FOUNDER rapid-fire guns for the purpose
of the Katahdin was not SO much to hurl
shot and Shell as to carry destruction to
hostile craft by ramning her with her
long pointed prov. in accordance with an
idea that first became popular in naval
circles at the time of the civil war. How
ever, in actual practice this scheme did
not seem to work out quite as had been
anticipated, and consequently the Katah-
din was put in reserve IN much the same
manner that was followed in the case OF
that other novelty Of the American navy,
the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius.
4 X
For the forthcoming target practice the
Katahdin will be given a new Goa ing Of
armor. Her original armor is but six
inches in thickness, and would. of course,
not long withstand the blows that will be
rained upon her from the modern batter
les. However, the structure Of the Ka-
tahdin, as became her original function,
is very stanch and well qualified to with
stand heavy shots Accordingly the heav-
lest grade Of modern arrnor will be at
tached to her sides. The ordnance test
will take place at the Indian Head prov
ing grounds. on the lower Potomac river
a practice range for heavy ordnance that
is TO the navy what the Sandy Hook prov
ing ground is to the army. The Katahdin
will be anchored in the Potomac in line
with the Maryland shore and guns locat-
ed on the proving ground will be aimed at
the floating target. 1t is expected that
these tests. like other similar experiments
in the past. will be conducted in secret.
Rear Admiral Mason. chief of ordnance
of the navy, will be in personal charge Of
the experiments, which will be witnessed
by the leading naval officers who special
lie on ordnance.