Evening star., 1936-01-19
Fifty Years Ago
in The Star

An implement Of war which failed to
fulfill the expectations evoked by the
announcement Of its in
ouDmarlne vention fifty years ago, is
Cannon. thus described in The Star
of January l6, 1886, quoted
from the London Daily News:
The special wonder at the royal
arsenal at Woolwich is just now mon
ster weapon intended to fire projectiles
or torpedoes under water. 1t is the In
vention of Capt. Ericsson, the weli-known
scientific American, and it was made In
the United States, partly under the Su-
pervision of Lieut.. Gladstone of Her
Majesty's Navy, who was sent over for
the gun and has now brought it to Eng
land. 1t reached the arsenal only this
week and now lies at the inspection
branch of the royal gun factories, whence,
after some preliminary tests. it will be
sent on board ship, probably at Ports
mouth. for trial at sea. The cannon and
the projectile are almost Of equal length,
and as they lie side by side, painted a
bright red, are formidable objects to look
at. No fewer than 40 tons of steel are
used in the construction of the gun,
which is 30 feet long and has bore Of
1913 ulCilCS. IL 10 O UlCCNIhOdNCA dAio
closes at the stern by an arrangement
of very simple and effectual character
much resembling that of the great guns
that we're displayed at the inventions
exhibition The vent, which is aXial, is
sealed and said to be effectual in pre-
venting the escape of powder gases.
"The projectile measures Is feet and
is gauged to pass freely along the bore,
which is unrified. 1t is hollow and, not
withstanding its great length, weighs
only ton. The proposal is to flt the
gun in the bow of ship feet under
the water line so as to fire straight ahead
from the cutwater. A diaphragm OF India
rubber is fxeG over the muzzle to exclude
the water. but is blown away at the first
puff of the discharge. The projectile is
inserted from the rear and is stopped
by a pir few inches short OF the
diaphragm, for it has a short rod pro-
iecting from it's nose, which is to act by
percussion on the charge within and
must be protected from all risks of pre-
mature explosion. Its safety at this
stage is, however, to some extent guar
anteed by the action of strong spring
which prevents the rod from being driven
back by any force short Of a thousand
pounds. A charge of twenty pounds OF
powder is all that is thought necessary
for propulsion, and, this being placed
behind the projectile, the breech is closed
and the gun is ready for firing.
The only other requisite is something
to aim at, and when a hostile ship can
be got within convenient distance the
monster gun lets fly. 1t is asserted that
a range Of 300 yards under water may
be relied upon, but it is considered doubt
full whether the shot can overcome the
resistance OF the water and retain an
effective striking power for half the dis
tance. The inventor, however, has trled
his device, and he says he ought to know.
To preserve the lateral position and uni
form depth of his submarine missile ne
has weighted it to the gravity OF water,
and while he keeps one side under py
the preponderance Of weight he has
steering plate on the upper side, which
opens only after leaving the mouth of
the gun and acts as a rudder.
Until the gun is tried the authorities
are loathe to express an opinion upon 1t,
but it is regarded as at least an honest
attempt to establish new principle IN
gunnery, in which it is quite unlike the
wonderful breech- -loaderS which were OBJ
tanned from America during the Crimean
war. which were contracted for at SO
much per pound and sent in with such
a mass of metal piled upon them that
they were too heavy to be moved or to
work, and have never been fired to this
day"