The Lemmon herald. (Lemmon, Perkins County, S.D.) 1912-1917, 1913-01-17
LOADING BIG GUNS
They Get Quick Action on the
Modern Monster Warship.
STORY OF A PRACTICE DRILL.
What Happened After the Order 70
"Fire!" Was Very Different From
What Would Have Occurred Had
Cordite and Projsetilss Been used,


The "rdrr is given to iosd Some one
touches ii lever, and with a hiss a mass
Of bright steel turns and twists back.
and the breech of the gun gares open
Another touch on the lever and from
beside YOU hydraulic ram shoots out
like a golden tongue into the breech
and Immediately shoots back again.
All il clear. Now. ut your very feat.
a hole gnpes in the door OF the turret,
there Is slat and crash Of metal, and
IA you look down into the hole you see
small lift travelling Up with incred-
iblc rapidity and internal clatter bear
ing on II The immense rrojectile, weigh.
Ing more than seven hundredweight.
and in another compartment, the two
cartridges Of cordte.
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
Ing itself apparently indefinitely until
the proiectle has disappeared, The
lift shifts little, bringing into liue
with the gun its other compartment,
which contains the two half charges.
each cylinder holding 130 pounds Of
cor,litc, Out shoots tho ram again.
with no more respect for them than II
they had been sponges. and pushes
them steadily home behind the projec
tile. and, having done It's deadly bust
ness. rctires again out OF the way to be
ready for another cycle OF the same op
eratioDs
Half turn OF the wheel and the
brccch block swings home with sigh
and click. Right gun loaded. sir"
Now you wait in suspense, and voice
! In tho 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 be turns
| another. and with little hiss and Sigh
| Of imprisoned water the whole mighty
tonnage Of the gun. swsetly balanced
on its trunnions, rises and THIS itself
to the push OF the hydraulic press.
The range Is decreasing by some thir
ty yards second. since the target is
a ship approaching us at speed equal
to our own-flfteen knots-snd az the
falling ranges are given the gun metal
wheel is turned an eighth or quarter
Of an inch. and the mu3xle Of the gun
sinks down little az gently "a fall
ing leaf The sights are reported 'on," ;"
the gun laid, aud the word we hare all
been waiting for is sharply given
Fire The gun layer pulls q trigger
no bigger than that Of a pistol and
The projectle wss q dummy one
made OF wood covered with leather
and there was no cordite In the car
tridges II 1t had been otherwise the
pictures that adorned the comma nder's
room, the mirrors and toilet aecpsso
rtes on the cabin tables and the va
rious elegan ut adoruments Of the cap
tain's suit would unless they bad been
previously packed away have come
crashing down from their places, and
pened at the time to be explaining to
an unwilling ilstener on the quarter
deck by what skill ana foresight he
had avoided setting tho ships stern on
TO the breHkwater at Portland. would
have been blown of the deck
These things were unnecessary, for
l quite understood The click and 81
lence that followed the word "Fire."
were quite eloquent enough to me or
all the shattering damnation they rep
resented--a projectils weighing so
pounds hurtling to Its mark at the
rate Of almost Thousand yards sec
ond
But we Ia the turret would have
known nothing. for before It had reach
ed the target the breech block would
have opened to the screech OF the air
blast which cleans out the burning
fragments OF cordite In the brcech the
ram,ner would have shot In with 'ts
mon and out again. the ammunition
hoist would have come Gathering aud
screaming up. another projectile would
have rolled into the tray with another
two hundred weight Of death packed
behind 1t. the rammer would have
pushed II home with n kick the block
would have swung to again. the great
gun would have been sighted and
swung in the air. again the word would
have been given. and again the frag
ment OF concentrated power that men
had toiIed In factories and drawing OF
fees. in laboratories and fonndries IA
perfect would have been sent wipgfna
through the sea air to spend itself In
destruction.
And only one man In the turret would
have seen its fate: only he With ht.
eye to the telescope. who bad seen the
hull OF that ship In the distance cover
ing the threadlike cross on bis glass
rs he pulled the trigger. would see hnf
guess when the distant target would
burst into yellow smoke what wori
bad been done. london Standard
Not at Al Essy.