l5o Mounting of Naval Ordnance, 



tion of this invention into our naval service, and that is, the 

 improvement of our ships in sailing qualities. The naval con- 

 structor, who, in preparing the design for a seventy-four gun 

 ship, has only to provide provision and store-room for 500 

 men, may indeed be said to work with a great advantage 

 over him who has to provide for a crew of 600 men. But 

 even a great amelioration of qualities would be immediately 

 derivable in the ships we have already by us, though con- 

 siderably less than that which would result from a construc- 

 tion de novo, made, under such favourable circumstances, 

 by those who know how to profit by them. 



The fifth section of his work our author has chiefly de- 

 voted to a number of official reports of experiments made 

 on board his Majesty's ships the Regent, of 120 guns; Isis, 

 of 50 guns ; and Galatea, of 42 guns ; all of which are con- 

 firmatory, in the highest degree, of the truth of the inventor's 

 proposition,which appears, from the hint in the Introduction of 

 the book, to have made its way against the prejudices always 

 attendant on the introduction of novel plans, literally by the 

 force of conviction, and by that alone. This has, indeed, 

 operated so powerfully as to induce the Admiralty to order 

 one broadside of the upper deck of the Donegal, of 74 guns, 

 to be entirely armed with guns mounted on the proposed 

 system. At the conclusion of this part of the book the fol- 

 lowing parallel is drawn between the properties of the two 

 modes of mounting ; — properties which are incontrovertibly 

 confirmed by experiment. 



Properties of the New Carriage. Properties of the Old Carriage. 



" It allows the gun to be pointed at *' Prevents its gun training through a 

 the greatest angle across its port, which greater arc than about 68° under general 

 the width of the port or the length of the circumstances ; in upright sides, with 

 gun will admit, that is, through an arc broad waterways, a smaller angle of 

 of from 90° to 100°, upright sides, with training can only be obtained, 

 broad waterways, &c., present no obsta- 

 cles to the training of the guns. 



" It enables a ship powerfully to defend " Does not enable a ship to defend her 

 her quarters by the fire of her stern and quarters by the fire of her stern or broad- 

 broadside guns, and thus to command side, an arc of about 20° on the quarter 

 every point of attack from the stern to being left unprotected, 

 the bow. 



" A great portion of the broadside guns 

 may be brought to bear on what is 

 termed the point of impunity; and a 

 vessel in chase may so place herself on the 

 quarter of her enemy within point blank 

 range, as to get all her broadside guns 

 to bear, without those of the enemy, on 

 the old carriages, being able to return 

 the fire, the ships continuing on parallel 

 lines of sailing. 



*' A gun trained to its greatest angle " The continued fire of a gun is very 

 may be fired repeatedly in that direction much retarded by the difficulties which 

 \^iththe same expedition as in any other, attcAd its being trained when engaged 



