2 
Calibres. 
(G-ruson). 
Weight of 
charge of 
Nobel powder 
in lbs. 
Weight of 
cartridge case 
in lbs. 
Combined 
weight in 
lbs. 
Proportion 
(approx.) 
2-28-inch 
•507 
1-599 
2-106 
1 : 4 
n n 
•882 
2-261 
3-143 
1 : 3£ 
3 a 
1-544 
3-704 
6-248 
CO 
3-2 „ 
2-095 
3-561 
5-656 
1 : 2f 
3-28 „ 
2*646 
4-564 
7-210 
1 : 2| 
General Wille hopes for a lighter case, thinks more especially the cases might 
be made thinner for nitrogenous than for black powder, and has a preference for 
a costly brass, rich in copper. The reader may remember (vide B.A.I. “ Pro¬ 
ceedings ” of May, 1892) that General Wille only allowed lib. 2 ozs. for the 
weight of his cartridge case, but to contain 8 lbs. 5 ozs. of Nobel powder it could 
not under existing conditions weigh less than about 6 lbs. 12 ozs. Should 
aluminium be ever adopted we might divide that weight by three, but the cost at 
the present time of such a substitution would be quite prohibitory. We must 
therefore measure the General’s scheme by the only possible figures at the present 
time and accredit it with the onus of adding to the dead weight of every field 
battery (with 138 rounds per gun) 828 times 6 lbs. 12 ozs., or about a ton and a 
half. From this some deduction would have to be made for the lighter and 
simpler build of the ammunition boxes. But the General has made his calibre 
so small and his charge and projectile so large that, in view of these facts and of 
that of nitrogenous powder being at present less dense than black powder, his 
cartridge complete would have a total length of 3 feet 5 inches. How would 
such a cartridge fare during the turmoil of marching and fighting, and if made 
strictly in accordance with the General’s specifications, what sort of appearance 
would be presented by a brass case 2^- feet long, weighing only about 18 ounces, 
of which the greater portion would be absorbed by the thick base, and having 
above it a projectile weighing over 14 lbs. ? Then again, how about difficulties 
of extraction ? Would not these be at a maximum with such ammunition as 
this, and be it remembered that a stuck cartridge means a disabled gun. More¬ 
over, seeing the margin of error there would be in the length of such a cartridge, 
might it not happen that while the base of the cartridge was in its place the 
shoulder of the projectile might well be behind the commencement of the rifling, 
in which case the projectile would be liable to burst in the bore on receiving the 
check due to the tardy action of the rifling, or at any rate the action of its fuze 
might be disarranged. Such an event is perhaps a not very probable one, but it 
is all the more probable on account of the exaggerated velocity and exaggerated 
conditions generally of the General’s scheme. Captain Moch points out what is 
well known to the manufacturers of quick-firing ammunition, that when a gun 
cartridge assumes a length incompatible with handiness in the service of the gun 
it is an advantage from every point of view to separate the charge and the pro¬ 
jectile. The conclusion is therefore irresistible that a field gun with an efficient 
obturator would derive nothing but disadvantage from the adoption of quick- 
firing ammunition. General Wille’s projectiles are respectively 4^- and 5 calibres 
long. His gun being rifled with an increasing twist he has a driving ring at the 
base of his projectile, and a ring at the head to ensure centering. The form of 
ogival head was based on the most favourable data derived from experiments 
made by Doctor F. August, a Professor at the Prussian School of Artillery 
