THE NEWEST BIG GUN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14235, 4 December 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE NEWEST BIG GUN.

HALF X TON HURLED IN THE AIR. A skbiks of experiments are being made with a new type of naval gun which is to be mounted in tha four "contingent" ships , of the current naval programme, to be laid down on April', 1 .next. For many month's past the Admiralty and the various naval gunnery establishments have been working out- the : deßfcn for it gun that would restore to :Britisli ships the individual superiority that has been wrested from themon paper, at all events—by Germany and the Cnited States, No British battleship,of f the Dreadnought type yet designed carries a larger gun than the 12in, nor a greater number than 10 of those weapons. The United States, however, ate pulling 12 12iri guns into their 26.000-ton ships of this year's programme, while Germany has been putting 12 llin or 12in guns into her designs since first she took up the Dreadnought challenge. The result of the combined deliberations of the Admiralty, the principal gunnery experts in the fleet—including Vice-Admiral Sir Percy Scott—and the principal ordnance manufacturers in a gun of 13jin calibre. READY FOR TRIAL.. One of these guns has already been completed, and is ready for thorough trial. It will shortly be used in a series of realistic tests against the old battleship Edinburgh. The new gun will be 45 calibres long--that is to say, the bore will be 45 times us long as it is in diameter, giving a length of nearly 51ft. The latest 12in guns, which are being put into the battleships of the St.'Vincent class, now completing, are 50 calibres long. The British 12in gun fires a shell of 8501b. The new gun will fire one of no less than 12501b. lis muzzle velocity will be slightly less than that of the 12in shell, but its effective range and smashing power will be far greater, while in actual penetration it will hare an advantage of about 15 per cent. ADVANTAGE OVER DRKADXOCGHT. One turret will be placed on each beam, but instead of being placed opposite each other, as in the Dreadnought, they will be en echelon—that is. one a little forward of the other. The deck between these turrets will be free of encumbrances, so that the port turret can lire its guns on the starboard broadside, and vice versa. There will thus be an advantage of two guns over the Dreadnought, in broadside fire, to start with. Rut that is not nearly the whole of the superiority the new ships will possess. The eight guns forming the Dreadnought's broadside fire 8501b shells each—a total of 68001b. The 10 13.5 in weapons of the new ship will fire 12501b shells, a total ot 12,5001b, or nearly twice as much. i

The United States ships, Wyoming and Oklahoma, being laid down this year will fire 12 12in guns on either broadside, a total of 10.2001b. They can only fire four guns, or 34001b, ahead or astern. The new British ships will fire six, aggregating 75001b. GKRMAV TMPROV. Italy, in pursuance of the views of her gifted naval constructor, Colonel Cnniberti (whose ideal is a 17in gun), is also about to lay down two 21,000-ton snips (Galileo-Gali-lei and Michael Angelo Buonarotti) i )curry eight 14in guns each. Germany, too, has made great advances in recent years. Up to 1901 she was content to arm her battleships with 9.4 in guns, firing a shell of 3091b. In that year she advanced to llin, with a 7601b shell, while in her newest ships, of which the Heligoland is the first, die, has adopted an extremely powerful 12in gun, firing a shell of no less than 8631b, or 131b heavier than the shell of the British 12in.

The 13.5 in gun will give Britain a great superiority over any German ship at present designed, and also over the Italian 14in gun ships, carrying only eight big guns. ' £. To accommodate the heavier weapon a considerable increase in the displacement of our ships will be necessary. The Neptune, launched recently, will displace 20,250 lons. The new ships will displace 26,000 tons — an advance of more than 8000 tons on the Dreadnought—and that in four years.

MOnK SPEED. It is also understood that a battery of 6in 100-pounder, quick-firing guns will be mounted for defence against torpedo attack. In the Dreadnought 12- pounders were thought sufficient for this purpose. A jump t« the 4in 31-pounder was made in later ships, and in the next batch we shall be falling into line with Germany, Japan, and the United States. It is further certain that an increase in speed will be made in order to preserve the relation with the new armoured cruisers, which-4ire,..to steam 30 knots. In the new of 45.000-horse power will be installed, giving a speed of 23 knots. The Dreadnought, and subsequent ships are of 23,Q00 to 25.000-horse power, with a. nominal speed of 21 knots. ■~ * * t f ■ ~.