592 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF AEMOUE. 
U.S. Q.F. 
guns. 
German 
Q.F. guns. 
British and 
foreign Q.F 
gun 
positions. 
In the United States, the manufacture of 6-in. Q.F. guns with the 
Fletcher breech mechanism progresses, and a system of conversion of 
existing 6-in. pieces into quick-firers was approved and applied, and 
all lighter guns carried on United States vessels are now to be quick- 
firers. 
For the German navy it has long been decided that guns up to, and 
including 24 c.m. (9*45-in.) calibre shall be quick-fire pieces. The 
Krupp table of Q.F. guns in last year's Annual , indeed contained these 
pieces. The term quick-fire applies in a more limited sense as the 
calibre and weight of ammunition increases. In a certain measure, 
the British 12-in. gun has long been a quick-firer. The substantial 
fact is the recognition of the advantage of increased rate in discharge 
in greater or less degree, and the decision to make considerable 
sacrifice to obtain it. 
To pass from main features to details of construction ; the Q.F. 
batteries having been spoken of may be dealt first. As already said 
the British secondary armaments are chiefly mounted in armoured case¬ 
mates. The tendency of constructors of foreign ships is in the same 
direction. The more recent French, American and German vessels 
frequently have their Q.F. guns in separate protected position. In 
some cases the opening exists for shell attack beneath them where 
there is no armour. The British ships scarcely ever give such an 
opening and the Russian gun positions are also well protected beneath, 
but in some cases the Q.F. guns are all enclosed in the same wall so 
that a single shell which is powerful enough to enter might work 
wholesale destruction. In such vessels as the Sissoi Veliky and Tria 
Sviatitelia which have very thick steel belts from 16 to 18 inches 
thick, it might be well to divert the fire of primary guns from the 
belt to the Q.F. battery and attack with common shells which would 
easily get through the 5 inches of steel, and a single powerful shell 
thus fired might go far to silence the Q.F. armament. The United 
States constructors have made an interesting variation to the case¬ 
mate by substituting a thin double wall inboard for the thick single 
one of the British ships. These double walls are connected with cross 
plates radiating from the centre of the casemate and both walls and 
cross plates are pierced with openings in no case opposite to one 
another but leaving zig zag paths open at all times from casemate 
to deck to any one by running through as it were in knights moves." 
The advantages claimed are, equal immunity against fragments of 
shell flying straight, unbroken communication to all parts of the ship 
and better control of fire. The disadvantage is that products of 
explosion of shells which are specially destructive to life in the case of 
high explosives have much freer passage than in the British casemate. 
An important change has been made in the British belt armour 
commencing with the Majestic class. For the 18-in. compound belt of 
the Ramilles class is substituted 9 inches of Harveyed armour, behind 
which a second protection is formed by curving down the deck armour 
to the lower edge of the belt instead of carrying horizontally to the 
