The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-11-28
LOADING BIC GUNS
They Get Quick Action on the
Modern Monster Warship.
STORY OF A PRACTICE DRILL.

4
Mat Happened After the Order to
| "Firsl# Was Very Different From
What Would Have Occurred Had
| cordits and Proieetilss Been Used.
| The order IS given TO load. Some one
! eonrbss lever. and with a hiss a mass
n bright steel turns and twists back,
and the breech OF the gun gapes open.
| Another touch on the lever, and from
beside you hydraulic ram shoots out
: ike a golden tongue into the breech
and Immediately shoots back again.
Ian is clear. Now, at your very feet,
hole gapes in the floor Of the turret,
/ lbere is a slat and crash Of metal, and
as sou look down into the hole you see
small lift travelling up with incred-
Ible rapidlty and Internal clatter bear
ing on It the immense projectile, weigh
ing more than seven hundredweight'
and. in another compartment the two
cartridges Of COrdite.
Up comes the lift, locks Itself with a
crash and spills out the projectile on
metal tray In line with the open breech
The golden tongue Of the rammer
shoots out again and pushes the pro
jectlle into the gaping breech, extend
ling itself apparently indefinitely until
the projectlle has disappeared. The
lift shifts a little, bringing into line
with the gun its other compartment
which contains the two half charges,
each a cylinder holding 1870 pounds OF
eordlte. Out shoots the ram again,
with no more respect for them than If
they had been sponges, and pushes
them steadily home behind the projec-
tile. and having done its deadly busi-
ness. retires again out Of the way to be
ready for another cycle Of the same op-
eratiOns
Half a turn of the wheel, and the
breech block swings home with sigh
and click. Right gun loaded, sir"
Now you wait in suspense, and a voice
In the coming tower gives the range
$500 yards The gun layer in his quiet
corner has all this time never taken his
eye from the glass. He turns one
wheel. and the whole turret swings
round over the ships quarter; he turns
another, and with a little hiss and sigh
Of imprisoned water the whole mighty
tonnage of the gun, sweetly balanced
on its trunnons, rises and tilts itself
to the push of the hydraulic press.
The range is decreasing by some thir-
ty yards a second, since the target is
a ship approaching US at speed equal
to our own-ffteen knots-and as the
falling ranges are given the gun metal
wheel is turned an eighth or quarter
of an inch, and the muzzle Of the gun
sinks down a little as gently as fall
ing leaf The sights are reported "on,"
the gun laid, and the word we have all
been waiting for is sharply given
"Firep The gun layer pulls a trigger
no bigger than that of pistol and
The projectile was dummy one
made of wood covered with leather,
and there was no cordlte In the car
tridges. If it had been otherwise the
pictures that adorned the commanders
room. the mirrors and toilet accesso-
ries on the cabin tables and the va
rious elegant adornments Of the cap
tain's suit would unless they had been
previously packed away have come
crashing down from their places, and
the navigating commander, who hap
pened at the time to be explaining to
an unwilling listener on the quarter
deck by what skill and foresight be
had avoided setting the ships stern on
to the breakwater at Portland, would
have been blown off the deck
These things were unnecessary, for
quite understood. The click and ST.
lence that followed the word "FlreW
were quite eloquent enough TO me of
! all the shattering damnatlon they rep.
resented-a proJectile weighing $50
4 pounds hurtiing to its mark at the
rate of almost thousand yards a sec
l ond.
Il But we In the turret would have
II known nothing, for before 1t had reach
II ed the target the breech block would
have opened to the screech Of the air
II blast which cleans out the burning
II fragments Of cordite in the breech. the
III rammer would have shot in with its
II mop and out again, the ammunition
II hoist would have come Gathering aud
II screaming up another projectlle would
II have rolled into the tray with another
III two hundredWeight Of death packed
U behind 1t, the rammer would have
= pushed It home with q kick, the block
II would have swung TO again. the great
III gun would have been sighted and
swung In the air. again the word would
have been given, and again the frag
II ment Of concentrated power that men
| had tolled in factories and drawing Of
fees, IN laboratories and foundrles tc
II perfect would have been sent winginQ
II through the sea air to spend itself IN
Ill destruction.
HI And only one man In the tul.ct would
II have seen It's fate; oLly he with bl,
II eye to the telescope, who had seen the
Il hull Of thGt ship In the distance cover
II ing the threldllkc cross on his glas,
i as he pulled the higger, would see and
n guess when the distant target womb
Ill burst into yellow smoke what work
lll had been dOne-LOnd8D STANDARD