EVOLUTION OF BIG GUN

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14854, 4 December 1911, Page 7

EVOLUTION OF BIG GUN

STILL A HEAVIER BROADSIDE.

FIVE BATTLESHIPS PLANNED.

". By T6]«graph'.~Press Association.—Copyright. ..-..,. London, December 1. The Daily. Telegraph says that : five battleships will be included in the present year's- -programme, • with broadsides totalling 14,0001b,' compared with the 12,5001b . broadside (ten-13.5m guns) of the Centurion class. •■ * SUPER-DREADNOUGHTING. '''' THE BROADSIDE . ALMOST ~.;-'. DOUBLED. . Th further increase of the weight of the broadside suggests cither more guns, or an increase in tho calibre of the guns, perhaps from 13.5 in to 14in.. The" progression from the original .Dreadnought is interesting. The Dreadnought (17,900 tons) carries ten 12in guns, only eight of which • can firo on either broadside. ... . .. ~ The first marked improvement, the Neptune (19,900 tons), -also carries ten 12m guns, and all .of "them ' can bo fired on either broadside. The Hercules type has the same broadside, and tho tonnage is 20,250. In the Orion typo' the 13.5 in gun was introduced. The.Orion-has- ten of these monsters, and -all can fire on either broadside. '".'"' Tho 12in . gun ; fires a shell weighing 85Clb. and the 15.5 in gun -fires a shell weighing 12501b. The Orion can fire four- 15.5 in .guns ahead and four astern, and ten on either beam, so she has a broadside of 12,5001b and an end-on fire of 50001b. On the Dreadnought the corresponding figures are. 68001b and' 51001b. . So Jhe Dreadnought - has a fractional advantage end-on, but her broad is little more than half the weight of the Orion's. »Some naval strategists attach more importance to end-on fire than others 1 do. The Centurion, mentioned in the cablegram, is the type that, succeeds the Orion. It has been stated that the Centurion and her. sister ship tho. King George will not be an advance on the Orion as far as primary fighting •elements are concerned. But there will , be. other improvements, and it has been stated that a reversion to." pre-Dreadnought" methods has been decided upon for tho accommodation of officers and men,' the* former being placed aft again- and the latter forward. The Orion"? gun-trials were entirely successful. : : The -ten 13.5 in guns -were fired' simultaneously by an electrical device. ' but there was always an almost imperceptible : interval between the discharges. . Tho propulsion of » the 12,500 ton broadside under these conditions did not / injure the '.mountings, or cause any structural; damage. * . "The, seamen, .gunnery, - and persons ■ in the upper works wore over their ears wool-padded leather, flaps,, and were", not affected by the tremendous concussion.