THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
467 
still coiled wrought-iron guns, with steel tubes and with rifle grooves, 
adapted to receive soft metal studs attached to the projectile, as 
originally proposed by Sir W. Armstrong. 
Our experience, then, of the Armstrong gun dates from July, 1855, 
when the first of six guns ordered by the Government was delivered. 
(See se Ordnance Blue-Book ” of 1863, p. iii.) 
At that time, and for several years later, it may be said that Sir W. 
Armstrong had no competitor as a manufacturer of rifled guns. It 
was not till 1859 that Sir J. Whitworth manufactured a gun, so far as 
the Government has any experience, nor till 1863 that he made even 
a 70-pr. strong enough for the requirements of the service.* 
In 1863 a committee of the House of Commons reported:— a Your 
committee have no practical evidence before them that even at this 
moment any other method of constructing rifled ordnance exists which 
can be compared to that of Mr. Armstrong.” (Report, p. iv.) 
Thus it came to pass that in 1863, before a single heavy Whitworth 
gun had been produced, the Government possessed as many as 800 
Armstrong breech-loading 100-prs. of about 4 tons weight, and more 
than 1400 of the smaller natures, down to 12-prs. 
They also possessed at least eleven muzzle-loading rifled guns built 
on the same plan, and weighing from 4 tons up to 22 tons, besides 
others not rifled. 
Many thousands of rounds had been fired from the breech-loaders^ 
with results which gave every confidence in their strength. 
In the 100-prs., however, the original charge of 141b. of powder and 
1101b. shot was reduced to 12 lb. and 100 lb. on account of the insuffi¬ 
ciency of the vent-pieces to stand the heavier charge.f The trials of 
the muzzle-loaders were equally satisfactory as far as they went, and 
showed that the extension of the coil principle of construction to guns 
heavier than any that had been hitherto known, was a perfectly safe step. 
Since that date we have continued to advance in this direction, and 
the number of our heavy muzzle-loading rifled guns is now nearly as 
follows:— 
7-inch gun of 6 \ tons .. 576 
7 ii 7 » 113 
8 9 „ . 119 
9 „ 12 „ 465 
10 * 18 „ . 26 
12 „ 25 „ 25 
12 „ 30 „ 11 
18 „ 23 „ 3 
Total. 1338 
* See “ Return of all Whitworth Guns, &c.” ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 
10th August, 1866. 
f The weakness of the vent-piece is no argument against the strength of the body of the gun* 
One of these 100-prs. of 4 tons weight withstood perhaps the most extraordinary test of endurance 
ever applied, viz. one hundred rounds with 141b. powder; the first ten rounds with shot of 1001b., 
the second ten with shot of 200 lb., and so on until the last ten, when shot of 1000 lb. were 
employed. These 10001b. projectiles were 8 ft. 8 in. long, and projected 2 ft. beyond the muzzle 
of the gun.—See “ Ordnance Blue-Book” of 1863, p. 214, question 4438. 
