The Holbrook news., 1912-03-15

dl ulSCdHce or nVe miles, could ul-
 erally annihilate a battleship less for
 idable than herself inside of ten min
 utes. Such a "salvo" Gas it is now
 called in naval parlance) would de
 liver enough striking energy to lift
 10000 tons 50 feet in the air-and
 this, be 1t noticed. twice every min
 ute.
 The up-to-date method of sea fight
 ing is to concentrate simultaneously
 all the guns of a number of warships
 upon a single vessel of the enemy,
 thus rendering her quickly hors de
 combat. and then to turn the attack
 in similar fashion upon another mem
 Der of the hostile fleet. Suppose that
 four such vessels as the new Texas
 (we shall start building two more like
 her next year) were to concentrate their gun fire in this way upon an
 enemy's battleship. how long could the latter. even though herself form idable craft. withstand the assault?
 For many years there was great rivalry between armor and guns, and 1t was a question which would win out But. as things stand today, the gun seems to be far and away the winner sOfense has become stronger. apparently. than defense can ever hope to be. How are human hands to fashion any hoating object that will resist the impact of a projectile cap able of piercing 2e inches of solid steel-A pfo5ectile that strikes with an energy eQuEl to that of a ton of steel dropped fromqs height of IF miles?
 Such a projectile. in striking a bat tIeship fairly. may not penetrate. but 1t Is likely to dish the armor plate 1t hits and to start leaks. This is what Is technically known as "racking ef- feet"
 The big naval guns of today are strikingly different in shape from those of few years ago. The latter were strengthened by enormous steep hoops at the breech. to withstand the sudden explosion of the old-fashioned less powder burns very slowly. and in consequence the rifed cannon of late | pattern have "spindled out" in a sur prising way. becoming very long. and | thus giving the powder plenty of time to resolve Itself into gases before the | projectile leaves the muzzle. When | one comes to think of the matter. 1t | seems surprising that the world | should have been satisfied to get | along with substantially the same kind Of gunpowder from Biblical times <when the Chinese used it) up to the twentieth century. or very nearly. Then came the smokeless powder, which made necessary a change in guns.
 A projectile fired from the fourteen Inch gun has a muzzle velocity of ? 300 feet a second. The shell fired from a twelve-inch gun leaves the at 2,90O feet per second. But It weighs only s70 pounds. as against 1 400 pounds. This difference in weight signifies that much less energy Is delivered in striking the target Greater energy means more penetra- jon. Furthermore. the heavy shell ignores wind and variable air densi- les.
 These great guns which will com pose the formidable armament of the Texas and the New York are deemed 1y the navy department the most ef icient weapons ever made. They can lit harder blows. and strike with reater accuracy. than any other rif1ed cannon now existing in the world If t be asked how the ships carrying hem will be able to with stand the , Ihock of their own gun fire. the an- Iwer is the explanation lies in their luge size and in the enormous weight ,f the gun mounts. These twin yes Iels will each have displacement of v .00O tons. and. of course. the chief dea held in view in their construc- ion is that they shall serve as gun platforms.