THE EQUIPMENT OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
553 
We will, therefore, conclude this portion of our subject by stating 
that the heavy or position batteries should consist of 50-pr. B.L. 
guns, but we will refrain from entering into any details with respect 
to the weight of their equipment, as we are without any data to 
guide us. 
8. The guns for the 3 equipments would therefore be as follows ;—- 
Horse Batteries ... ... .* ... 12-pr. of 8 cwt. 
Field „ . 20-pr. of 12 cwt. 
Position I, ... ... ... 50-pr. 
We now proceed to the discussion of the'general equipment in detail. 
9. In the manufacture of the gun there appears to be no great The gun. 
difficulty, as the various methods employed by different manufacturers 
give satisfactory results, strength to fire a heavy projectile with a heavy 
charge being obtained. within a reasonable weight; but, as is well 
known, a light gun entails a heavy carriage, and vice versa (i,e., the 
system must possess a certain weight), and as weight in the gun is use¬ 
ful weight, enabling a heavy charge of powder to be employed, and 
weight in the carriage useless weight when once a sufficient strength 
has been obtained, it seems desirable only to decrease the weight of 
the gun to that point which will leave the carriage weight enough to 
properly fulfil its functions. As examples of weight usefully and waste- 
fully employed we may note the two following guns ;— 
Weight of Gun. Weight of Carriage. Ratio. 
English 9-pr. of 6 cwt. ,. 672 lbs. 1372 lbs. ... 1:2 
Krupp 9 - 6 cm B.L. 1375 „ . 1288 ,, ... T3 : 1*2 
10. England is the only country in Europe that has not 
breech-loading system, though, doubtless, this reproach wi. 
removed from her. Breech-loaders have successfully withstood the 
test of war, and this is the best answer to those who would insinuate 
that their construction entails delicacy and weakness. The new 
features of gun construction, namely, increased length and enlarged 
powder-chambers, and the choke at the end of the bore, all point to 
the superior convenience of breech-loaders, especially in gun-pits and 
entrenchments. With them a complicated gas-check is unnecessary, 
and now it can be no longer claimed that the muzzle-loader permits the 
use of a more simple fuze. With a breech-loader there is no fear of a 
jam, nor of sparks remaining in the bore; it is not necessary to serve 
the vent, a duty that is sometimes difficult;* a projectile of larger 
diameter than the bore can be used, better centring and accuracy 
being thus obtained, and shields can be employed to protect the 
gunners. The newest breech-loading apparatus may be roughly 
divided into two classes, the one consisting of a wedge sliding in and 
out at an angle to the bore (Krupp, Yavasseur, and Whitworth), the 
adopted a Advantages 
1 soon be ofM - gtma - 
* Vide “ Professional Notes,” by Lieut. GK R. Slade, R.H.A. It.A. Institution Papers, Vol. XI., 
No. 4.—■“ On two occasions the guns became so heated that water had to be thrown upon them to 
admit of the ycnt being served,” 
