Weapons of War.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 956, 27 June 1890, Page 8

Weapons of War.

(Colburn’s United Service Magazine.) Granting that actions, whether by squadrons or single ships, must, unless they be surprised at night, or during a dense fog, commence either when steeering for an enemy, or else whilst avoiding advancing foes of very superior strength, it is evident that the guns then required would be those which could discharge their missiles at. a very high velocity, so as to secure their hitting and penetrating at the acute angle which the receding stern or the advancing bows of the enemy would present. On overtaking. or being overtaken by the enemy, the. broadside guns, previously silent, would come into hearing, and then the fight would be continued at- short distances (probably swiftly circling round in the endeavour to ram) ; and as four-fifths of the sides of modern battleships are unarmoured, and the older foreign ironclads covered with thin or inferior armour, it is obvious that in a broadside combat a very high velocity would be less needed than great explosive force of projectiles, and therefore that shells of large diameter, containing powerful bursting charges, would produce greater effect than projectiles which would do little , more than punch small holes in passing through, perhaps, both sides of the enemy’s ships. Assuming these conditions to be correct, the heavy armament of our 14 150-ton and other battleships might consist of two powerful guns to fire from ahead to abaft the beam, and two similar guns, to fire from astern to before the beam ; and to enable these four guns to be efficiently used in a heavy sea, they should be mounted (at the sides of the ships) upon sponson projections at each end of a long central battery, and be raised about 4 feet above the level of the auxiliary or broadside armament. Thus mounted, with the auxiliary armament between them on the main deck, the whole of the guns would be always clear of instructions, and could be secured in-board so as to be ready for immediate action. The long guns of the heavy armament, and the shorter and lighter guns of the auxiliary armament, should be of the same bore, and fire similar projectiles, being allowed a sufficient length of slide to recoil easily, and enable the ports to be closed overthem when fighting in heavy weather, or when about to ram or receive the blow of an enemy, who might otherwise run along the side and dismount the guns. I venture to think that it would add to their strength if the whole of our new armourclads and cruisers were to be planked on the bottom, and either coppered or zinc covered-; for besides greatly lessening the fouling, this would hea protective buffer against locomotive to’pedoes and mines, us well as sgainst : n accidental rub upon rocks when chasing an enemy into hi - port. As regards the size of the four guns proposed for the heavy armament of battleships, fcsir N. Barriaby’s investigations have shown that our present 22-ton guns would penetrate 99 per cent of the area of the vide* of foreign ironclads ; hut to produce the damage which would overpower an adversary with greater quickness, guns of about 30 tons weight, and of 10 to inches diameter of bore wool 1 be more effective. The ammunition of sudwims and the guns themselves, would he of a weight th-it could be easily handled by manual power, and their shells, if properly manufactured, would be sufficiently strong to-s fety «i*l.-.-{....iid {.he piessurc of llin heavie-t. powder 'chnr-.es, >i"i vet I >• • f an inleiiial capacity large enough to contain a great quantity of powerful explosive. Five classes of long, powerful, breech-loading sponson .guns, together with five classes of shorter and lighter auxiliary guns of the same size of bore, to fire similar projectiles, and the present 6-pounder quick-firers—which have been well proved with a single-class (the best) of the machine guns, would probably suffice to supply armaments suitable for the whole of our ships, ihe heavy ordnance, from 45-ton to 110-ton guns, now mounted, with their turrets and machinery, which hamper aa well as overweight)

and therefore detract from the sea-going ] qualities of our battleships, could be advantageously removed to our home batteries, and all future naval guns should be made so as to be capable of quick-firing, and therefore have their powder charges enclosed in cases, and stowed in the.magazines ready to be. placed in the guns, 'ihese cases would minimise the present rapid deterioration of smokeless powder charges, and likewise do away with the asbestos pads, mushrooms, stalks, and coppering now required to close and seal the breech, and would likewise, if made of the right material, keep the bore cool and likewise free from fouling, provided the guns were suitatdy rifled. The present plan of cutting the whole surface of their bore into circular rifle furrows, somewhat after the pattern of a ploughed field, prepares the metal for that rapid-crumbling, called 1 erosion or burning away, which Lord Armstrong recoutly stated to be a worse feature in his 110-ton guns than their bending. This injurious erosion is greatly increased by the crude plan of detaining the projectile (straining the breech apparatus) until they cut their way and rush onward,' followed by the highly heated gas, which burns the fine edges of the numerous rifie-grooves of the guns. The erosion or burning action is further intensified by the temperature of the bore, which is rapidly raised by the enormous friction consequent upon squeezing the copper rotating projections—which tightly fill the rifl -grooves —into different curves, as the projectiles travel through the bore of their guns Such erosion, which must soon necessitate the dangerous hammering <"f ‘ augmenting strips’ upon Jive shells, if heavy charges are fired, urgently call for the re-rifling of the navi breech-loaders upon a plan which will leave the greater portion of the surface of their bore smooth; and as the studded, shot of the muzzle-loaders have already disabled several guns (including two 80-tonners) and burst one of 38-tons on board the Thunderer, and a similar gun more recently in the Ajax, it is clear that the muzzle-loaders equally need rerifling, so that they, as well as the breechloaders, should be enabled to discharge live shell without the present dread of a premature explosion in the guns. When carrying out the necessary changes to render our ships’ guns trustworthy, they should be rifled with uniform spirality, so as to fire shell with long flanges, which would form buttresses to their walls, and thus give great strength to comparatively thin shells. These flanges should be fitted mechanically to the rifle-grooves, on the plans in which, since the time of Whitworth and his spiral screws and gauges, we have held undisputed superiority. Projectiles, mechanically fitted, would occasion little or no wear upon centrical rifling, and could be safely driven through the guns at a far higher velocity than is possible either when studs or rotating bands are used ; for besids being centred in the gun, upon which they would press circumferentially, resting only upon their long flanges, such projectiles would run out steadily, as if upon rails, however fast they were to be driven along the bore. The present muzzle-loaders on being reamed out and re-rifled, could be easily converted into breech-loaders and in case a small bore to discharge a long double shell were preferred to a larger bore firing shell of ordinary length but equal powder capacity for broadside guns, then these guns, or some of them, might be fitted with an inner steel tube or liner, extending the whole length of their bore and projecting some feet from the muzzle. This addition would not prevent the guns from recoiling within their ports upon the strong carriages on which they are now mounted, and which have been twenty years in use. Finally the cost of these much-needed changes would be soon saved by the far greater endurance of the guns, added to which the present good M.L. mountings and their appliances could be still used advantageously ; but much Imore important than the present or future saving i 3 4 the increase of efficiency ’ that would be gained by mounting trustworthy weapons in our ships. Such a result would be even more important than that which was attained when the difficulties (long held to be insuperable) of working 6- and 12-ton broadside guns in a seaway were overcome, or than when tho3e of handling the still heavier 18-ton broadside and the 35-ton turret-guns, were so successfully passed as to enable the Admiralty to 4 minute ’ the ‘ extraordinary facility ’ with which they, were worked. All other nations then came to learn from us, but we ought now to aim at reaching a higher standard by means of our still great mechanical skill; and while not disregarding the important experiments with the Zalinski and other guns firing torpedoes through the air, with a far higher velocity than can be obtained by any torpedoes discharged through water, we should encourage to the utmost our own native inventive ability, and also utilise the practical knowledge possessed by our most experienced officers for perfecting our armaments. By such a course, the means of naval attack and defence would receive the much-needed healthy.stimulus; and modifications or improvements arising from the discoveries of Captains Zalinski and Graydon would ere long be made that would enable us to perfect a large shell which, like those of the United States’ inventois, could be regulated to explode more or less quickly as required under as well as above water. We ara now endeavouring to make fuses which will explode shells on getting through either an armoured or unarmoured side; but there can be little doubt that it will be necessary to put forth all our strength to maintain the legacy of * naval power and prestige ’ gained in many a hard-fought battle by our forefathers. To do so; we cannot act better than follow the noble example given by Germany, of thorough union and an absence of jealousy when working for the security of their Fatherland and for the benefit of their fellow citizens, and we may then feel sure that Providence will help our just efforts, and enable us to secure, not only the inviolability of our soil, but also the vast commerce upon which, as Lord Alcestor truly said, 4 the life of England depends.’