Charlevoix county herald., 1912-06-08
TWENTY fourteen-inch guns, the
largest naval guns In the
world, are being constructed
at the Washington navy yard
for the New York and the

world, are being constructed
at the Washington navy yard
for the New York and the
Texas first-class battleships or the
dreadnought type. which are expected
TO be ready for launching about
year hence. Later on twenty or more
OF the great bores are to be built for
the Nevada and the Oklahoma dread
noughts to be completed in 1914, and
the United States will then have four
war ships armed with larger guns
than any other navy possesses, each
OF the four battleships capable of
hurting seven tons OF projectiie dis
tance of thirteen miles with each dis
charge of its batteries, writes Arthur
NJ. Evans in the Chicago Record-Her-
aid.
Two or three larger guns, fifteen
and sixteen inch bores, IL is true, nave
been built by other naval powers. but
they have either been smoothbore or
have had faults in mechanism that
have made them unsuccessful OF oper-
alton, and they are not listed In the
battleship armament OF the great
powers.
The fourteen-inch monsters In the
shops at the navy yard are rivals OF
the Washington monument, the capt.
tol, the White House and the congress
sional library In attracting the inter
est of visitors in Washington, and
continuous procession OF sightseers
streams through the factory to watch
the manufacturer of the giant roar
ers. The navy yard is an ordnance
factory. and its machine shop Is one
OF the wonders of Washington. Up to
two years ago the thirteen-inch gun
was the largest manufacturedS but
since then the fourteen-inch monster
has been the pet product of the plant,
great black bore, fifty feet long,
that stretches almost to the width OF
the shop when it is in the lathe and
that weighs more than sixty-three
tons without its mount.
What They Cost.
The guns are forged at Bethlehem,
pa and are finished here. They are
made In sections, with successive
Jackets and hoops shrunk upon the
CeUlIdl luDtt Juol do a III
shrinks a tire upon a wagon wheel.
The jacket is heated in an electric
furnace that produces a temperature
OF 400 to 500 degrees. the core Is In
serted and the jacket is then cooled
off shrinking until it encases the tube
almost as closely as ii both We're one
niece OF metal. The gun made up
OF layers OF steel in this way is much
stronger than one formed OF one piece
of metal.
Travelling cranes pick up the gun as
n II were a toothpick, and place ii
in the barrel-boring lathe, where pow
erful machines bore out the barrel
and chamber. after which the riiling
lathe cuts grooves on the inside OF
the bore to give the projectile a ro-
tary movement. In the lathe the i'm
mense gun itself is rotated upon the
\ cutting instruments.
= By the time the fourteen-inch gun
Is finished It has cost $52,20S. The
mount costs $4,000 more The life OF
the gun before lining is necessary is
225 rounds, and the cost OF each round
OF ammunition in warfare is somewhat
in excess of $500, of which the pro
iectile itself costs $500. In target
practice the cost of each shot is about
5000. The fourteen-inch gun throws
a shell weighing 1.400 pounds a dis
tance OF nearly thirteen miles with
such accuracy that the expert gun
ners can land the projectile some
where within rectangle with twenty
foot sides. The shell leaves the muz-
zIe of the gun travelling at a velocity
of nearly half mile second and at
a distance OF 10000 yards II is capable
OF penetrating 15.9 inches of face
hardened armor. The twelve-inch
guns penetrate 1876 inches OF similar
armor at the same distance.
In the yard is display OF trophies
ttat illustrates vividly the great
progress made in the machinery OF
warfare. The CORVALLIS battery,
captured at Yorktown, is arranged In
a circle on concrete stand. Com
pared with the immense fourteenipch
guns in the shop, with their length
OF ffty-fve feet and their weight OF
sixty-three tons, the cannon OF Corn
wallis look almost like watch charms
Each is about the size OF length OF
drain tile. Some OF them have handles
on their tops like satchels. They