80 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
muzzle velocity of a shell, GR that of the velocity of recoil; completing 
the parallelogram GRV'V ’ and drawing the diagonal GV', then G7' 
represents the actual rate and direction of the muzzle velocity, tending 
to throw the shell higher than the gun is laid. This is on the supposi¬ 
tion that the recoil commences before the shell is clear of the muzzle. 
Again, if the recoil is checked, the gun and carriage have a tendency 
to rotate on the trail, tending also to increase the elevation. In both 
these cases the gun which had the liveliest recoil would actually throw 
the highest. A difference in the preponderance of guns, the carriages 
on which they are mounted, as well as the nature of the ground on 
which they are fired, would probably exert some influence on the actual 
line of fire. 
It is probably owing to some of the above reasons that the 3*6-in. 
gun, when laid at 5° and 10° respectively (the same as the 3’3-in. gun), 
threw higher than the latter, as the respective times of flight for that 
elevation clearly indicate (see Table I.) The recoil of the 3*3-in. gun 
was sensibly less than that of the 3‘6-in .; and since the recoil was 
checked in both cases at 5° and 10° elevation, the S’G-in. gun had a 
greater tendency to rotate round the trail than the 3’3-in., and conse¬ 
quently threw higher and ranged farther. If it had been possible to 
ensure both guns being fired at 5°, the 3‘3-in. gun would have ranged 
the farthest. 
I have drawn up a Table of Remaining Velocities, calculated by the 
law of the resistance of the air approved by the late Ordnance Select 
Committee—starting with the actual muzzle velocities taken during 
the experimental trials—by which it appears that, in spite of the 
3‘3-in. shell starting with 51 f.s. less velocity than that of the 3*6-in., 
yet at 724 yds. it has actually caught up its rival in velocity, and at 
1000 yds. it is travelling lift, per second faster; at 2000 yds., 25 ft. 
per second faster ; at 3000 yds., 34 ft. per second faster ; and so on 
increasingly as the range increases. 
Table II. 
Remaining Velocities of the 3 "6-in. and 3*3 -in. 16-pr. Guns » 
• 
RatLge. 
3‘0-in. 
velocity. 
3-3-in. 
velocity. 
Difference | 
in velocity, j 
3-6-in. 
energy. 
3-3-in. 
energy. 
Comparative | 
per-centage j 
of energy. 
yds. 
0 
ft. secs. 
1358 
ft. secs. 
1307 
ft. secs. 
-51 
ft. tons. 
205 
ft. tons. 
190 
per cent. 
-7-3 
724 
1087 
1088 
+ 1 
132 
132 
0 
1000 
1020 
1031 
+ 11 
115 
118 
+ 2-6 
1500 
939 
958 
+ 19 
98 
102 
+ 4-1 
2000 
877 
902 
+ 25 
86 
91 
+ 5 ; 8 
3000 
779 
813 
+ 34 
67 
73 
+ 9-0 
4000 
701 
741 
+ 40 
54 
60 
+ 11-1 
5000 
638 
682 
+ 44 
45 
51 
+ 13-3 
