War Science'.' 



[January, 



and gun being moved in a half circle so as to sweep 

 the horizon for a considerable distance — and located so 

 far below the level of the ground that, when " run down," 

 the gun is hidden altogether from view. While in this posi- 

 tion the operation of loading is completed, the machine being 

 afterwards " run up " by means of a counterweight, which 

 swings the gun aloft until the same is raised some inches 

 above the earth level, when the sighting and laying of the 

 weapon are proceeded with by the aid of a mirror fixed on 

 the forepart of the carriage. On the gun being fired, the 

 recoil is sufficient to send the arm down again under cover, 

 to the loading position, not, however, by a sharp irregular 

 jerk, as might be supposed, but in an exceedingly firm and 

 gentle manner. The advantages of such a system must be 



Fig. 9. 



Moncrieff Gun-Carriage " run up " ready for nrin 



at once obvious to all; the solid earth itself is made to take 

 the place of the fortifications or parapet, and forms in this 

 way the best protection possible, for, excepting just at the 

 moment of firing, there is positively no portion of the 

 armament capable of being hit or damaged by an enemy. 

 Indeed, so promising has the Moncrieff invention appeared to 

 Government, that a large number of the carriages are already 

 in course of construction, and the possibility has, moreover, 

 been suggested of employing the same in turret vessels with 



