THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
195 
reserve,, and were, we are told, received with much satisfaction by the 
men; of these a few were employed during the war of 1870-71.* * * § 
During this war however,, the steel field pieces acquitted themselves 
so well, that the artillery regained their confidence in that metal, 
which has consequently triumphed in Prussia, the bronze guns upon 
further trial having shown themselves very inferior to what was 
expected from the behaviour of the experimental guns. 
We ourselves also reintroduced the employment of bronze for a short 
period, though for reasons differing from those of the Prussian 
authorities. It was not that confidence had been lost in the materials 
of which our field pieces were made, but that the Armstrong system of 
breech-loading, upon which these guns were constructed, had exhibited 
many defects when exposed to the test of war in China and elsewhere. 
As it was plain that a new mode of construction had to be decided 
upon and f various committees of distinguished artillery officers having 
reported in favour of adopting muzzleloading guns, both on account of 
their simplicity and freedom from the faults inherent to all B.L. guns 
and also from the possibility of employing with them an efficient time 
fuze ; it was urged by some that bronze should be employed as a material 
for these pieces, not only on economical grounds, but especially for 
Indian service, so that guns might be made in that great dependency 
without the necessity for sending out expensive plant. 
It would of course be advantageous that our Indian arsenals should 
be in a position to manufacture their own guns in case of urgent necessity 
when cut off by any exigency from free communication with England. 
These reasons were deemed so cogent that a committee of artillery 
officers was assembled to carry out experiments, with a view to making 
R. M.L. bronze guns for India service. They first attempted to utilize 
S. B. 9-pr. guns, but had to abandon the idea,J and subsequently 9-pr. 
R.M.L. cast at Woolwich gave such satisfactory results upon trial at 
Shoeburyness,§ that in 1870 9-pr. bronze guns were definitely 
adopted for Indian service, || while some were also issued to batteries 
at home.^f 
* Thirty or forty of these bronze 8c guns accompanied the 3rd army. 
f A detailed account of the committees and their opinions is to be found in pages 2-8-11 
“ Textbook of Rifled Ordnance.” By Major Stoney and Captain Jones, Royal Artillery. 
X The least weight of shell of suitable form which could be fired from such guns would 
have 20 lbs. Further, the great preponderance of the 9-pr. S.B. and the position of their 
trunnions, below the axis of the piece, presented obstacles to their conversion, while the 
metal of many of these guns was comparatively soft, and therefore less adapted for 
rifled guns. 
§ These experimental guns were subjected to very severe trials. They were fired at 
the rate of 50 rounds in 7 minutes for rapidity • 5 rounds in 13 minutes at 9-ft. square 
target, at 1000 yards off, for rapidity and accuracy, giving 27 hits ; and on one occasion 
140 rounds were fired from one gun, without stopping, at the rate of 3 rounds per minute, 
the metal becoming so hot as to boil water placed in the bore. In all cases the results 
were satisfactory, and one of the guns in question actually fired 2,732 rounds without 
destructive injury. 
|| In 1865 some mountain guns being suddenly required for Bhootan, a few old bronze 
S.B. 3-prs. were converted into 7-pr. R. guns, and since then a few more have been made, 
but their manufacture ceased in 1870. 
IT It must not be supposed, however, that this committee was altogether satisfied with 
ordinary bronze; on the contrary, they mentioned several methods by which it might be 
probably much improved, as mentioned in Note I. at the end of this paper. 
26 
