72 
OKEHAMPTON EXPERIENCES, 1893 . 
The charge is 12 oz. of cordite, giving a muzzle velocity of 1550 f.s. 
The gun has an axial vent, and is sighted with a short radius ; the sight being 
marked in hundreds of yards and degrees very similar to the 12-pr. 
Two of the guns had a twist of 1 in 28, and two of 1 in 35. The object of 
trying the two twists was in order to obtain the slowest commensurate with 
sufficient accuracy. A gun of 1 in 40 had been previously tried, but was not 
sufficiently accurate : it, however, showed that the above reduction increased the 
effect of time shrapnel by about 33 per cent. Experiments abroad have, I be¬ 
lieve, shown that reducing the twist from 1 in 25 to 1 in 32 increased the effect 
of time shrapnel by about 25 per cent, at 2000 yards. 
At the practice 12-pr. service shrapnel were used, and the combination of low 
velocity and head burster in a non-opening shell made the proportion of ineffective 
bullets very large. 
Extensive experiments are, however, being carried out to obtain a better 
shrapnel; either one with a base burster, or one with a head burster that breaks 
up the shell. 
The carriage is rigid and very simple. On each side is a pocket to hold two 
rounds. It is fitted with drag-shoe brakes, and the recoil is very small. 
The limber lias one non-removable box, having a partition in the centre, and 
fitted with two lids. 
The limber carries 44 rounds and the wagon 72, so a total of 136 is obtained. 
It is fitted for pole draught. 
On the back of the limber are shelves on which the portable magazines are 
carried. No spare wheel is carried on the wagon. 
Cordite was used by the batteries of the last division, and gave very good 
results ; there were, however, many hang and miss-fires. When the men had got 
into the knack of pulling the lanyard, the miss-fires nearly ceased in the axial 
vented guns ; a good many, however, still occurred in those with radial vents, 
and both Battery Commanders preferred using black powder in their competitive. 
The vents and tubes are experimental, and will, I believe, not be adopted. 
A few shrapnel shell, having a head and base burster, were tried to see if the 
burst was sufficient for ranging. The appearance of the burst was certainly far 
larger than that of the service shrapnel. A more extended trial in various 
climates would, however, be required before a definite conclusion could be ar¬ 
rived at. 
Another scheme suggested by Major Wynyard was tried. It consisted in 
replacing the time arrangement in the time and percussion fuze with powder; the 
bursts of these appeared rather smothered and were not very clearly visible. 
Scott’s sights marked in yards were much appreciated. They were used by 
the leading battery at all three ranges in the competition, notwithstanding that 
the Battery Commander and the gun-layers had rather a dislike to the regular 
Scott sight; as previously mentioned they were also used with success when 
giving elevation by clinometer. 
It should not be hard to fit an adjustable bubble to the sight. This would 
enable the Battery Commander to order tangent elevation, even when working by 
clinometer, the angle of sight being compensated for by adjusting the bubble; 
it also does away with the necessity of giving different elevations to different 
sections should the battery be on ground sloping to a flank. 
Clinometers made on the German and Austrian patterns were tried; both are 
made on the curve principle, and have adjustable bubbles. They were marked in 
degrees and yards, and appeared very simple, strong, and less liable to injury 
than the Watkin clinometer. They also had the advantage in lightness, the 
German only weighing 2 lbs. as against 4|- lbs. the weight of an improved 
Watkin clinometer, also fitted with an adjustable bubble. 
