194 
MINUTES OF PEOCEEDINGS OF 
To reap the full advantages of rifling, it became evident that some 
better material than bronze would have to be employed in the con¬ 
struction of field guns.* Various attempts have been made to discover 
a modification of bronze, or some analogous alloy, sufficiently hard, 
elastic, and strong for the purpose required, but as yet, unless bronze 
steel be a success, all these attempts have failed.f 
Prance, Italy, Spain and Austria are therefore turning their attention 
to steel as a metal for their field armament while Russia has already 
supplied herself with many steel field pieces. Switzerland retains 
bronze for her new 8c guns, pattern 1871; apparently for reasons of 
economy: the great objection to steel on the part of the first- 
mentioned powers is that their native industry cannot as yet supply 
them with this metal of the quality needed, in the required quantity, 
nor with sufficient rapidity. 
France has consequently adopted the new Reffye B.L. bronze gun, 
using a metallic cartridge, in hopes that her steel manufacturers will be 
able to supply her wants when she has finally settled upon the nature 
of her future field pieces. 
It seemed certain, however, a short time ago, that both Italy and 
Austria would be obliged to have recourse to Messrs. Krupp, who 
possess a gigantic monopoly of steel gun manufacture on the Continent. J 
Italy proposes to spend the sum of 4,500,000 francs in purchasing 
8.7° steel Krupp’s guns to replace her 12c R.M.L. of bronze, while 
Austria has been experimenting with the same nature of gun, and found 
it so superior to her 8-pr. rifled muzzle-loader, that she too was unwil¬ 
lingly preparing for the enormous outlay of 3 or 4 million pounds for a 
similar purpose, when the researches of General Von Uchatius held out 
hopes that an improved description of bronze and native manufacture 
might yet be employed to provide her with efficient rifled field armament. 
Although, as we have seen the tendency of those European powers 
which have hitherto used bronze for field pieces, is to replace that 
material by steel, yet in both England and Prussia a return has been 
at times made to bronze rifled field guns. 
Thus in Prussia in 1866, several 8c steel guns burst at practice, and 
this, together with the reports of Artillery Officers, regarding the uncer¬ 
tainty of Krupp’s steel, engendered so much distrust as to that metal, 
that further experiments were carried out with bronze guns of 8c and 
9c in 1866-67, when they stood the tests of trial very satisfactorily,* 
and were not so much damaged by case shot as was expected. 
A number of bronze 8° were consequently made for, batteries of the 
* All these defects of bronze for the bore of a gun, irrespective of strength,—viz., 
inelting of the tin, change of figure, the conversion* abrasion and compression—obviously 
aggravate each other ; and when taken in connection with rifling and excessive pressures, 
are conclusive evidence as to the unfitness of the material to meet the conditions of 
greatest effect. “ Holley—Construction of Artillery.” 
f Vide pp. 196 and 197. 
X Messrs. Krupp, it is stated can deliver over 200 field guns a month. 
