106 
MINUTES of proceedings of 
respecting the English artillery on so important a point be so limited and 
incorrect as would appear from this statement, we cannot be surprised at 
the opinions which he has formed ; we can only be surprised that he has 
ventured on such data to form an opinion at all. Eor what are the facts? 
"Without insisting too emphatically on the circumstance that over six 
thousand guns have been made for the English service on the system which 
Captain von Doppelmair so strenuously condemns, without a single explosive 
burst after the guns have been admitted into the service, notwithstanding 
that they have all been fired with the severe English powder which a Prussian 
officer declares no gun can resist for many rounds, 1 we would pass at once 
and confidently to the performances of the heavy rifled guns. 
Of these guns, we find that the following had been made and passed into 
the service up to October 31, 1870 2 
13-inch 23 tons. 2 
12 „ 25 and 23 tons . 19 
10 w 18 tons. 60 
9 // 12 a . 494 
8 „ 9 w . 119 
7 n 7 // 113 
7 a 6£ „ . 676 
1383 
And what have been the results obtained with these weapons ? There is, 
in the first place, the important result which we have already mentioned, 
that no single instance has occurred of a gun bursting after its admission 
into the service; and, with regard to the number of rounds which have been 
fired, while it is of course impossible for us to give the exact endurance of 
each of the 1383 guns, the following table will furnish a sufficient contra¬ 
diction of Captain von DoppelmaiPs statement that only two English heavy 
rifled guns have exhibited a satisfactory endurance. 
Number of Rounds fired by Woolwich Guns of different calibres . 
Muzzle-loading Guns* 
Nature 
of gun. 
12-inch 
11-inch 
10-inch 
9-inch 
C 1 gun has fired 262 
(1 w n 200 
(1 „ // 119 
1 1» „ ,i 304 
(1 ,i ,i 534 
(.1 n n 163 
f 1 // // 1107 
1 /, // 1070 
I 1 n i, 1049 
1 1 . // // 945 
1 " „ 600 
U /, /, 500 
rounds. 
// 
n 
a 
n 
n 
n 
n 
n 
a 
n 
n 
Nature 
of gun. 
9-inch 
8-inch 
7-inch 
ji 
{i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
i 
1 gun has fired 500 rounds. 
500 
370 
433 
408 
1729 
1061 
1009 
986 
637 
636 
1 See ante, p. 96. 
2 In addition to these, there have keen made 457 64«prs., which are hardly entitled to rank as 
e( heavy rifled guns.” 
9 A 1 Of-inch gun, 
