504 



NA TURE 



[September i8, 1890 



but in 1877 my firm, acting on independent researches on the 

 action of gunpowder made by myself in conjunction with Sir F. 

 Abel, constructed 6-inch and 8-inch guns which advanced the 

 velocities from 1600 to 2100 f.s., and this great advance was 

 everywhere followed by a reconstruction of rifled artillery. 



With the present powder the velocities of the powerful armour- 

 piercing guns, firing projectiles considerably increased in weight, 

 may be taken at from 2000 to 2100 f.s. The distance of 3000 

 yards, which I said practically represented the extreme range of 

 smooth-bored guns, is attained with an elevation of only 2° in 

 the case of the 68-ton gun, and of 3^° in the 4'7-inch quick- 

 firing gun, while at 10° the ranges are 9800 and 5900 yards re- 

 spectively, and, as an instance of extreme range, I may mention 

 that with a 9 •2-inch gun a distance of over 13 miles has actually 

 been reached. 



Nor is the accuracy less remarkable. Bearing in mind the 

 mode of comparison which I have already explained, at 3000 

 yards range the 68-ton gun would put half its shot within a plot 

 of ground 7*2 yards long by 0*3 broad, and the 47-inch gun 

 within a plot 19 yards long by i "3 broad ; or, to put it in another 

 form, would put half their rounds in vertical targets respectively 

 0*92 yards broad by 0*34 yards high and i '3 yards broad by i '6 

 yards high. 



But it cannot be assumed that we are at the end of progress. 

 Already, with the amide powder we have obtained nearly 2500 f s. 

 in a 6-inch gun with moderate chamber pressures, and with the 

 cordite originated by the Committee on Explosives, of which Sir 

 F. Abel is president, considerably better results have been 

 obtained. I have elsewhere pointed out that one of the causes 

 which has made gunpowder so successful an agent for the purposes 

 of the artillerist is that it is a mixture, not a definite chemical 

 combination ; that it is not possible to detonate it ; that it is free, 

 or nearly so, from that intense rapidity of action and waves of 

 violent pressure which are so marked with nitro- glycerine and 

 other kindred explosives. 



We are as yet hardly able to say that cordite in very large 

 charges is free from this tendency to detonation, but I think I 

 may say that up to the 6- inch gun we are tolerably safe ; at least, 

 so far, I have been unable, even with charges of fulminate of 

 mercury, to produce detonation. I need not remind you that 

 cordite is smokeless, and that smokeless powder is almost an 

 essential for quick-firing guns, the larger natures of which are 

 day by day rising in importance. 



I now come to the third part of my subject — the modes which 

 are now adopted of mounting and working the ordnance I have 

 described. I have alluded to the carriages, which, at the begin- 

 ning of the century, were made of wood, and were worked solely 

 by handspikes. Thirty-five years ago they were but little changed, 

 although in the case of pivot guns screws for giving elevation, 

 and blocks and tackle for training had been introduced, but 

 timber was still the material employed. A strong prejudice long 

 existed in both services against iron for gun carriages, as it was 

 believed that iron carriages would be more difficult to repair, and 

 that the effect on the crew of splinters would be much more 

 serious. 



But when the experiment of firing at both natures was made 

 at Shoeburyness, with dummies to represent the crews, it was 

 found both that the wooden carriage was far more easily disabled 

 than the wrought iron, and that the splinters from the wooden 

 carriages were far more destructive. 



In all other respects, the superiority of wrought iron as regards 

 unchangeability, durability, and strength, was so apparent, that 

 iron, and later steel, rapidly displaced wood. No gun carriages, 

 not even field, are now made of that material. It is impossible, 

 v^ithin moderate limits, to give even a sketch of the various 

 forms of mountings that have, as the science of artillery has 

 progressed, been designed to meet the constantly changing 

 conditions of warfare. I shall confine myself to the description 

 of certain types of carriages, dividing these generally into three 

 classes, viz., those for guns of the largest class, which require 

 power to woi-k them ; those for guns of medium size, in which, 

 by special arrangements, power is dispensed with ; and those 

 for guns of a smaller class, which are particularly arranged for 

 extremely rapid fire. 



With respect to the first class. On the adoption of heavily 

 armed, revolving turrets of the Cowper-Coles type, in which the 

 guns are trained for direction by revolving the turret, the first idea 

 which naturally presented itself was to utilize steam power for 

 this heavy work. It was, however, soon recognized that, on 

 account of its elasticity steam did not give the necessary steadi- 



NO. 1090, VOL. 42] 



ness and control of movement essential for accuracy of aim, and 

 water under pressure was employed as the means of transmitting 

 the power from the steam-engine to the machinery for rotating 

 the turret and working the guns. 



On land, where an accumulator can be employed, a small 

 steam-engine kept constantly at work is used ; but at sea, where 

 accumulators, whether made to act by the pressure of steam, 

 air, or springs, are inadmissible, a very much larger engine is 

 employed sufficiently powerful to supply water to perform all the 

 operations ever carried on together. When little or no work is 

 required, the engine automatically reduces its speed till it merely 

 creeps, so that little or no power is consumed. 



The mode of mounting the guns differs somewhat according as 

 they are intended to be placed in a barbette or in a turret. Our 

 guns have gradually been increased in length, and are now so 

 long (our largest has a length of nearly 45 feet) that it is im- 

 possible to provide an armoured turret of sufficient size to 

 protect the forward part of the gun, and under these circum- 

 stances it is a grave question whether it is worth while to devote 

 so much armour to the protection of what is after all the 

 strongest part of the gun. 



Of the eight new battle-ships now building, seven are to have 

 their guns mounted en barbette, and one is to be provided with 

 armoured turrets. In either case the guns and their machinery 

 are carried on revolving turntables of practically the same form. 

 These turntables are placed in an armoured redoubt, and the 

 guns, when horizontal, are entirely above the armour, but in the 

 case of the ship provided with turrets the breech ends of the 

 guns are covered in, with the turrets placed as an addition on 

 the turntables. 



The extra weight required thus to protect the breech ends of 

 the guns is for this ship about 550 tons. 



As the hydraulic machinery for these new ships differs but 

 slightly from that fitted on ships of the Rodney and Nile classes, 

 the same description will cover all these vessels. The armoured 

 barbette battery at each end of the ship is made of a pear shape, 

 in order to provide for a pair of ammunition hoists and 

 hydraulic rammers at its narrower end. 



These ammunition hoists come right up into the armoured 

 barbette and descend to the shell-room and magazine decks, 

 forming the channel by which the projectiles and charges are 

 rapidly supplied to the guns ; and it must be remembered that 

 the weight to be lifted for a single round, including powder and 

 projectile, with the necessary cases, considerably exceeds a ton. 

 The cage in each hoist is worked by hydraulic cylinders with 

 double wire-ropes, and in case of breakage, automatic safety 

 gear is fitted to arrest and lock the cage. 



While on the ammunition deck the cages are charged simul- 

 taneously from either side, and when hoisted to the battery-deck 

 are automatically slowed, and then stopped at the proper posi- 

 tion for loading the guns, much depends upon the service of 

 ammunition by these hoists being protected from interruption, 

 and in the event of derangement of the cage, independent 

 tackle, worked by an hydraulic capstan, is provided to take its 

 place, and a few rounds can also be stowed within the battery. 



Jn intimate connection with the ammunition hoists are the 

 hydraulic rammers on the ammunition deck for charging the 

 cages, and in the battery for loading the guns. To reduce their 

 length within reasonable limits they are made telescopic, and 

 they are fitted with indicators to show when the charges are 

 home. 



In the shell-rooms hydraulic cranes and traversing bogies are 

 fitted to convey the shell to the base of the ammunition hoist, 

 so that a projectile is transported from the place where it is 

 stowed to the shot-chamber of the gun without manual labour 

 of any sort except that of moving the various levers to set the 

 hydraulic machinery in motion. In the magazines hydraulic 

 bollards are provided for hoisting and transporting the powder- 

 cases by means of overhead runners. Hand-gear is provided 

 as an alternative in both magazine and shell-rooms. 



Each turntable carrying the guns and their fittings is rotated 

 by a pair of entirely independent three-cylindered engines, each 

 engine being of sufficient power to rotate the turntable at the 

 speed of one revolution per minute. The gear for controlling 

 them is worked from two or three look-out stations, at either or 

 any of which the officer has to his hand the means of elevating, 

 training, sighting, and firing either one or both guns. The turning- 

 engines are fitted with a powerful spring break, which will hold 

 in a seaway, but which is taken off automatically when the water 

 is admitted to start the engines. Easy control is obtained by 



