AN ARMSTRONG GUN AT CLOSE QUARTERS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4259, 19 January 1901, Page 4 (Supplement)

AN ARMSTRONG GUN AT CLOSE QUARTERS

-dzisli. Magazine” for Uc-tober includes an iliuitrated description of a viiio to the Elswick "Works. Finished and mounted gnus of every variety, not only for Iho English but i'er many foreign (lovoruracnts, transformed the v,orkshop into a bristling fortress (says the author). “As late as 1860 naval gun carriages were made of wood, and moved with handspikes,” said my cicerone. ".\ovr the - Vavaseur Hydraulic gun mounting has superseded all others in the British Navy. The 111-inch gun rests on an inner carriage of cast-steel, and is tilted with a hydraulic cylinder to return it to the bring position, instead 01 a spring. Try for yourself how easily you can train that gun.” Accordingly, I pulled violently at the handle he indicated, and the gun, which van almost- he moved

with one linger, spun round ana soul me fl;<ing. I next tugged at the breech, which flew open, and rammed my finger. Having thus by painful experience mastered the fact that the hydraulic and hand gear "was so perfect that a child could manoeuvre the largest of the guns, I foil to admiring the beauty of the workmanship. ‘‘Yes, ’ observed my mentor, ‘“a. modern 12-inch quick-firer is a very beautiful piece of machinery, and wo avo famous at Ehnvick for the excellence of our finish. The new clastic gun

shield is also a feature of the latest '|tiicl:-fircr;>.” Even in this shop I did not feci quite happy. It was simply crammed full of pieces of artillery, obviously pining for something to shoot af, now that they were “finished, mounted, and a’,” and I fancied I could detect a something sardonic in the appearance of (ho 12-iuch gun, which knocked me down as though it wished to say, “All. if only someone would go next door and fetch mo a- shot, then we might begin to talk !”fFpr the shell stores are close by, and therein are kept piles of 4-7 lyddite shells, looking harmless enough in their shapely pyramids, flanked by stacks of larger missiles intended for the 6-ineh guns- A 12-inch, shell with a flattened cud excited my curiosity, and I was informed that it was used exclusively lor experimental purposes.