THE BRITISH KRUPPS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 158, 4 July 1916, Page 11

THE BRITISH KRUPPS.

A BTTSSTATf JOTTSIfALIST'S IMPRESSIONS. if*KT\Y. BH", GUKS. M. A. BashmakotT. one of ttie Russian journalists who recently paid a visit to Ensland, has contributed to the "Official 3jesrenger" of Petro-_'tad hi.- impressiorK of a great industrial centre. They are qooted in the "Tunes" of April IS, as follows: — We are in a celebrated city The sky is tcetallic — I have nev-ei jfgn" "such bronze hue of the boa-rays as here. Tho dicmalness o; the city is indescribable. Mtle= oi streets stretch without any windows —a sort of narro.v corridor between dirk brick wav«. behind which one hears the dash of steel, and above which langa a black smoke, almost palpable, the celebrated "palpable brown air of Dickens. At last we come tn the first _\4 most amazing object of our attention, the main nest of the works of the British Krupp's. A dark cloud over our heads when we cross the threshold of this unearthly kingdom. A thought flit- through my head from Dante or Virgil—l know not which: Where is Charon and ha? boat, for here js Strs and Acheron. We go back behind the backs of tho furnaces. There we see ar. abyss - -,r, ;c 100 ft deep and about 28i1ft wide. Below are rails on which e::-rinec- move to and fro. Over oar heads something gizamie and dark is fioaiins at a considerable height with a roar, under the very steel and glass roof, which covers this black kfrgdom. This monster which is hangin; up there and is running about in the air. as it were, is a steam crane Thich is connected with movable gtendfng over the entire width of the rsult. The monster U transporting a colossal receptacle for moiten steel. srhieh will soon be poured into it. The moment is one of solemn tension, (tor the abyss, on a little steel balcony with a scarcely perceptible balustrade. je seen a man dom.r something. A moment later, and there cimes down a terrible stream so intolerably hot that re do not know where to -cek cover Ibis is a veritable Imatra a waterfall ia Finland) ot molten metal. Through the dark glasses it looks like a waterfall of snowy whiteness. Forty ton- of metal are pouring into the receptacle: Eometimes. we are told, eighty tons are poured down. MAKING THE GUN?. Afterwards we are taken through the stages of manufacture of the giant loin guns, which adorn the super-dreadnought the Qasen Elizabeth. First it must be | remembered that the weieht of such a ' gun is 96 tons. The hydraulic press j which had to squeeze the metal of such Eonsters develops a pressure of .1,500 MSB, but there is another one in the rorks of 10,000 tons. were shown (hmbined steel trunks, containing potenthree 15in guns. When such Siamese twins are disunited, the borin? process bfgins. which has for its object the formation ot the barrels. I One' at the essential operations wHich ' is required in order to lend to the metal the necessary degree of hardness and elistidtj is to lower the giant rin. in a rertieal position, into an oil bath. With t; is object in view special well? have bee n cus out. into which one descends to the depth of 70S by a spiral stair?' " The : crane at work there lifts 130 trns. These works are ajso engage,! for the Ho3aaß Government. I was shown a ran ordered by our Admiralty. for a. Russian ' Ereadnought. It is « feet lonsr. The rising o! a big run takes eleven months. tome ioea of the importance and productive rapacity of these works can be ■oraed trom the fact uiat they employ ! m their various departments, "scattered ' all o>er England, 7.'..0f>0 and ; that they are enraged at this particular , moment on the maktnir of 1.000 mm* ' las nnn has supplied 50 far v^7h o 6 gnns, and has equipped our State works j were then taken to another establiJhnent which produces SOO tons of Etamons a week. Here we were shown of loin shells. Enorncus shop- run 0{ !ight , n(J aj ,_ with roofs, but partly rinbhed. "dl half C ; the benches are already v : ■Wa, arid l.iin shell- --- v • <-,-;„. A s '-eii- are boner turned .U m ,ed - b °t condition b- means of * iW) rT___^ c ~<~n mountains are not the only things made here. c were conducted through a -l,s-S^^-'t-MsrrradeTnn'li and torms. It i E sairl that this is 1"■ ioniest in cv liOnfl iVe- -to '■' - " l ' t ° c p —arfout OTSmen—no females at all. ' bastly. we were shown the "National " jw is. popular work«hins -r ar i,. v ir ' j bffl which has wor<s al-'o j„ p!u ,t U «eshown a rcanti, a2 2 lomerate of 6uiidms serins acres The- a-r .< S^-T rinrharßp - •"-"- - ; - GoveSL ne Z ot with the fl) 2iiJletelv e„ ! r "-'ve mm e nt , already turn out ov^ 1000 men ti ,!l ai "ount to: ,J^';, ' rtre -nt turns 0f £* an t™ '' n * helh - HosU ! I aad er the I™i amg I,er ° ''^student-.' m bright blue uniforms. ' !