208 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
THE WOOLWICH GUNS: 
THEIR PROJECTILES, CHARGES, ft* 
BY 
CAPTAIN E. A. SLESSOR, K.A. 
ASSISTANT CAPTAIN INSTRUCTOR, ROYAL LABORATORY. 
As some of the guns, rifled on what is called the “ Woolwich system,” are 
now approved for service, a short account of them, and of the projectiles and 
charges used with them, may be acceptable to officers at out-stations who 
have no means of seeing them. Some of the information contained in the 
following paper has been taken from the reports of experiments carried on 
by the 0. S. Committee, and from a pamphlet by Major Palliser, and for 
some I am indebted to Captain Molony, R.A., Captain Instructor, Royal 
Gun Eactories. 
The natures of guns at present, made on the “ Woolwich system,” are the 
7-in. and 9-in., and 7-pr. mountain gun. 
The first two are wrought-iron muzzle-loading guns, made on Sir William 
Armstrong's coil system. The 7-pr. will be described afterwards. 
The 7-in. M.L. wrought-iron 
gun is made of two sizes, one 
of 7 tons for land service, and 
one of 6J tons for sea service. 
They are rifled with three lg * 
grooves the form of groove 
being a modification of the ; ig . 
Erench, with a uniform spiral 11 
of one turn in 35 calibres. 
Eig. 1 gives all the particulars 
as to the shape, size, &c. of the 
grooves. 
Some 8-in. guns have been 
made, but the rifling to be ap¬ 
plied to them has not yet been 
settled, so they cannot be included in the list of cc Woolwich” guns. They 
will only be used for sea service. They weigh 9 tons. 
The 9-in. M.L. wrought-iron gun weighs 12J tons, and is rifled with 
six grooves of the same shape as those of the 7-in,, but with a spiral 
increasing from 0 at the breech to 1 turn in 45 calibres at the muzzle. 
