MOUNTINGS FOE COAST AETILLERY. 
541 
platform is carried farther to the rear, and no fixed stage is required. 
The cartridges must be handed up from the emplacement floor. The 
shell are placed in the carrier (H), attached to an arm standing out 
from the straight derrick (K). By turning the winch handle (L) the 
shell carrier rises and then begins to circle round automatically until 
the carrier enters the breech. The shell is then rammed home off the 
carrier ; or the shell can be raised into a ready position previously, the 
lift being completed and the arm supporting the carrier swung round 
when the loading numbers are ready. In either case, there ought not 
to be any delay in the supply and no handling of the projectile on the 
loading platform is necessary. At the same time, no loading tray is 
required. With drilled men, I believe that there will be no difficulty 
in maintaining an average rate of fire of a round in about 40 seconds, 
using either Case I. or Case II. 1 2 This estimate, however, assumes 
that ranges are quickly transmitted to the emplacement, and that there 
are no delays external to the gun and mounting. Some advantage 
would lie with Case II. since it is an easier and simpler operation to 
work to an indicator dial than to adjust a gun sight. At the same 
time, laying for line is in itself a quicker and simpler operation than 
employing the tangent sight. 
A glance at the comparative sketches, Plate II., shows that the 
mounting above described marks an advance in compactness and 
general handiness. 
II.— 6-in, B.L, or Q.F. barbette with axial recoil (Plate III.). 
The conversion of the 6-in. B.L. gun to Q.F. having been very 
successful, the probability of converted guns eventually coming from 
the Navy into the land service arose. At the same time the Q.F. gun 
was being adopted for coast artillery. A Q.F. gun without a suitable 
carriage loses most of its advantages. It seemed desirable, therefore, 
to propose a mounting which could be used with the B.L. or converted 
gun and rendered applicable at any time to the Q.F. gun. To meet 
these conditions, the adoption of axial recoil was necessary. Plate 
III. shows the resulting design. A vertical forged steel pivot (A) is 
dropped into a cast-iron pedestal (B) from which it projects, having at 
the top a circular recess containing steel balls. The carriage is a steel 
casting of U form, providing a socket below which fits over the pivot. 
Thus the gun and cradle are simply hung upon the pivot, the weight 
being taken by a steel cover plate (0) which rests on the balls. By 
depressing the gun and loosening the screws in the cover plate the 
weight of the gun and carriage comes directly on the pedestal (B). 
The plate can then be removed and access to the balls is obtained at 
any time without dismounting the gun. 3 In the excellent Elswick 
6-in. naval mountings, a long stem projecting from the under side of 
the carriage rests upon balls, to which access is obtained from the 
1 The operations involved are not in the least fatiguing, with the exception of the service of the 
derrick. This number would require relief if a high rate of fire were maintained ; but he has the 
advantage of being well covered and of working without any restraint due to cramped space. 
2 This modification of the Elswick pedestal mounting, important from the land service point of 
view, was patented by a private firm some months after it existed in the R.C.D. shops. 
