The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1914-08-21
BIC Gun CHARGES
Handling Shells and Powder at a
Naval Ammunition Base.
SAFETY FIRST IS THE RULE.

All Workmen on Iona Island, Uncle
Sans Station In the Hudson River.
Wear White Serge Suits and Moe
eastns, and Copper Tools Are Used,
Iona island. the United States naval
ammunition base in the Hudson river
covers ll6 acres Within its limits are
stored about 100000 pounds of
smokeless powdec and over 100000
pounds of black powder besides many
thousands of shells This war ma.
teriaI is kept in large brick and stone
powder magazines and shell houses.
The. powder magazines all have four
separate ireproof walls and are divid
ed up into compartments in order to
prevent q fire or an explosion from
reaching or destroying the entire con
tents The loaded shells are kept sep
arate!y from the empty projectiIes and
are stored In two fixed ammunition
magazines. Each shell is weighed and
nuHIbered' before being put away The
she'll
$Alagazine attendants inspect the shell
bouses and powder magazines many
times during the day and night At
night each visit is recorded on the disk
OF the magnetic clock in the admins.
Aauon building. The temperature In
the Shell houses and powder magazines
Is kept between 81 and 90 degrees.
Just how many shells for the big
batueships are stored away at Iona
tsiaAd is a secret, but there are lots of
them. They are expensive Thus the
fourteen inch shells. weighing 1000
pounds and requiring charge of near
" 4oB pounds OF powder, cost about
$500 each
0ne OF the principal activities at
Iona island is the manipulation of
smokeless powder for charges for the
large and small guns of the navy and
of black powder tor bursting charges
for the shells. The powder filling
houses are situated at widely separat.
ed points. They are small one story
wooden structures. isolated owing to
the possibility Of an explosion The
men working in them are required to
wear white serge suits and moccasins;
no metal or other articles are allowed
In their pockets which might in any
way cause II spark.
All the tools. tunnels. measuring
cups, scales and other appliances used
are made Of copper Here the delicate
and somewhat dangerous business Of
weighing out the various smokeIess
powder Sharges Is carried on. The
weighing has to be done very carefully
AT the Indian Head proving grounds
the naval ordnance experts by tests
determine the powder charges best
adapted for the various guns and at
the annual target practice the results
as to range and velocities of the vari.
GUS charges are recorded. Then slight
changes IN tsc composition of the pow.
der lead TO changes in the weight of
the charges.
Each morning the days supply of
powder is brought from the magazine
TO the filling houses in lead colored
wooden boxes. These are zinc lined
and air tight. The boxes Of powder
are emptied into aalong wooden trough
and with copper scoep~the powder is
dipped out. accurately weighed and
tied up in quarter. half and full charges
in bags Of white muslin.
These bags have several wide stream.
ers for fastening them. and each is
tagged with the date of filing and the
of powder 1t contains. A small
ignition charge Of quick burning black
powder, TO set off the smokeless, is
in the bottom Of each bag. The
bags are then placed in large copper
sass and returned to the magazines,
where they are held in readiness to go
aboard the slips
The big ch3rges OF 400 pounds for the |
aOurtsen inch guns are arranged In |
four charges of 100 pounds each. The
bags when piled on top of one another
reach toitbe top of mans head and .
present a formidable sight OF bottled
Up destruction
One of the important operations per.
formed in the magazine houses is load.
ng the projecties with their bursting |,
'harge For the fourteen inch shells
lily pounds Of blackSpowder Is used
Ind about thirty pounds for twelve
neh shells. To hold the shell steady
md to get at the base of these huge
teef 'nissiles-some of them weighing
600 pounds-they are roped in q sling
md hOisted clear of the floor by pull
ey and chain. The point is then low.
red foot or so into a stout wooden
Nine with an opening trifie larger
han the shell Then long mar
ow bag is inserted in the shell cavity
nd the measured amount of black
owder. is poured through funnel into
he. she'll Some fifty of these huge
can be loaded in a day.
Several of the smaller filling houses
Fe used to assemble the cartridge
asses and the bursting charges of the
sveeinch rapid fire shells.-New York
uH