1880.] Sequel to the ' Thunderer' Gun Explosion. 309 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, February 27th, 1880. 



Sir W. Frederick Pollock, Bart. M.A. Vice-President, in the Chair. 



F. J. Bramwell, F.K.S. M. Inst. C.E. MM.L 

 Past President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 



Sequel to the ' Thunderer ' Gun Explosion. 



It will probably be in the recollection of most of my hearers of to- 

 night that in January, 1879, actually on the 2nd of that month, one 

 of the 38-ton guns in the fore turret of the ' Thunderer ' burst explo- 

 sively, resulting unhappily in the death of many of those engaged in 

 the working of the guns ; and that, upon intelligence of this disaster 

 being received in England, a Committee was appointed to inquire 

 into the cause of the explosion. 



That Committee, of which I was Assessor, met at Malta (where 

 the ' Thunderer ' was then lying), and reported. After the report 

 was published, I, with the full assent of the Admiralty, delivered in 

 this Institution, on the 13th of June last, a lecture, the title of which 

 was " The ' Thunderer ' Gun Explosion," while that of the present 

 lecture is the " Sequel to the ' Thunderer ' Gun Explosion." 



I will call your attention to the diagram model (1) I exhibited 

 at the last lecture, showing the gun in its turret, and will just re- 

 state that the bore was 12 inches, the length of the tube 16.V feet, 

 or 198 inches ; that the gun was made of an internal steel tube, sur- 

 rounded by four wrought-iron coils ; that the powder used in it was 

 known as P or Pebble powder, of which samples are on the table ; of 

 this powder two differing quantities are employed in the cartridges, 

 the one, the " full charge," weighs 85 lbs., with this is used a common 

 shell, which when empty weighs with its gas-check 690 lbs. ; the 

 other quantity, 110 lbs., is the "battering charge," and this is used 

 with a Palliscr chilled shell, which when empty weighs with its gas- 

 check 700 lbs. 



Diagrams (2) and (3) show the cartridges, with their projectiles 

 and gas-checks. 



The two guns in the after turret of the ' Thunderer ' were also of 

 12 inches bore, but were only 35 tons in weight, the difference of 

 3 tons being due to the fact that the after turret guns were 3 feet 

 shorter than the guns of the fore turret. This extra length of the 



