THE EQUIPMENT OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
567 
These considerations point to the conclusion that it should partake 
more of the nature of the cannon than the rifle, that is, that it should 
possess ballistic power and long range so as to produce an effect not to 
be equalled by any number of Infantry rifles. As far as we know 
there is only one machine gun of this kind in existence, and without 
asserting that it is the best gun, or the one we ought to adopt, it 
certainly represents a system which for field purposes is as far superior 
to any other machine gun system as the Martini-Henry is to the Snider. 
49. The gun we refer to is the Hotchkiss revolving cannon, fully ^ h ® cW . gg 
described in the Proceedings of the United Service Institution, under revolving 
date, March 1st, 1880. It has a range equal to that of field guns, and cannon - 
fires an explosive shell (1J lb. in weight) with a percussion fuze.* It 
consists of a group of five barrels which revolve in front of a solid 
breech-piece; there is only one spring in the gun which is a strong 
flat one, 80 rounds per minute can be fired, or 60 with deliberation, 
each shell bursting as a rule into 20 dangerous fragments, “ so that 
a continuous and deadly fire of 75 lbs. of metal or 1200 hits per minute 
can be produced*; " thus, though the number of dangerous fragments 
caused by this weapon compares favorably with other systems, the rate 
of fire is much slower and a greater effect is produced by a slower moving 
mechanism , resulting in great simplicity and strength. In Plate II, all 
the parts of the gun are shown, there being only 11; for the sake of 
comparison, Plate V. is attached, showing the 80 parts of which a 
Gardiner gun consists. The mechanism of the Hotchkiss gun is so 
manifestly simple, that any trained gunner could work it almost 
intuitively, and any intelligent man, after a quarter of an hour's instruc¬ 
tion, could take it to pieces and put it together again in a few minutes. 
50. A jam is almost impossible, if one did occur the system could 
be righted in a second by moving the crank the part of a revolution 
the reverse way. Should the point of the firing pin be broken off (as 
has once occurred) it will fall clean through a hole drilled for the pur¬ 
pose, and a new one can be put in in 3 or 4 seconds ; there is nothing 
else frangible in the gun; the extreme range of this gun is stated in 
the official reports of the French Government to be 5000 metres, that 
is, about 5460 yds., up to which range it is stated to have “ a 
capacity for effective fire," it can therefore not be stigmatised as an 
“ incumbrance." In America exhaustive trials were carried out in 
1878-79, at ranges from 200 to 2000 yds., and the official report 
states* “ it is evident that the system gives promise of proving 
a valuable auxiliary to the light Artillery of our service ; its equality 
in range, its greater capacity for delivering a deadly, incessant and 
wide-spread fire at all field ranges , and with decided superior rapidity , 
its stability when fired," (the gun has no recoil) “ and its evident 
superiority in pursuing retreating columns, give it some decided 
advantages over ordinary field guns." Mere local effect is avoided by 
means of a traversing saddle, and each round, as has been said, bursts 
* Vide “ Ordnance Notes,” No. 94, Washington, Jan. 15th, 1879 (Official). 
