412 Mr. Mallet on the Physical Conditions 



Extracts from the Report of the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom were referred certain 

 communications from the War and Navy Department, on the subject of large Wrought- 

 Iron Guns ; and, in pursuance of the duty assigned them by the House of Representatives, 

 submit the following Report: — 



" Ordnance Office, Washington, April 5th, 1844. 



" SiRj — In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives, calling for infor- 

 mation as to what experiments have been made by officers of the War Department, for the 

 purpose of testing the strength and utility of cannon manufactured from vrrought-iron ; 

 specifying such particulars as may tend to show the relative strength and utility of 

 wrought and cast-iron cannon, together with copies of all Reports from ordnance or other 

 officers on this subject, and such otlier information connected therewith as may be con- 

 sidered useful ; as also the experience of European powers on this subject; and particularly 

 the largest size to which wrought-iron cannon for solid shot have been carried with 

 success ; and likewise the expenses of the experiments, and to whom the money was paid : 

 I have the honour to report — That the only experiments for the purpose of testing wrought- 

 iron guns recorded as having been made by this Department, are, the trial of two G-pou7ider 

 guns at Washington and Watervleit Arsenals, in 1832, and the experiments now in progress, 

 but not completed, at Fort Monroe Arsenal, with some guns of the same caliber. 



" In the experiment at Watervleit Arsenal, the gun was fired twice with a proof charge, 

 and forty times with service charges. 



" The band which held the trunnions slipped off at the eighteenth round, and the firing 

 had to be stopped to replace it. After firing the forty-two rounds, the gun remained ser- 

 viceable, but the enlargement of the bore was found to be as much as -04 inch, which is 

 more than double that of the bronze guns now made. This enlargement of the bore is the 

 greatest objection to bronze artillery, and would soon render a gun unserviceable; and, so 

 far as this experiment goes, it tends to prove that wrought-iron has no advantage over 

 bronze in this respect, and, consequently, no greater durability. The particulars of this 

 experiment, and of the mode of manufacture pursued in this instance, will be found in the 

 Report of Major Talcott, and the accompanying statement of the manufacturer, copies of 

 which are enclosed herewith. 



" The trial at Washington Arsenal consisted only in firing proof charges, which left 

 the bore of the piece in a condition unfit for service, by opening the seams, or welds. 



" By direction of the Secretary of War, some 6-pounder guns have been manufactured, 

 in 1843, according to a new method, which is not divulged, at the same price as bronze 

 guns, and promising to unite the advantages of wrought with those of cast-iron. These 

 guns are now at Fort Monroe Arsenal, where experiments to test their strength and dura- 

 bility are now in progress. They are not, however, completed ; and, although of those 



