HUGE NEW NAVAL GUN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14658, 16 July 1918, Page 3

HUGE NEW NAVAL GUN.

AJVIERICAN DEVELOPMENT

A 16^nch, 50,-calibre teat g^n is prac tiwdly completed at the Washington Navy Yard, and will be proved within the next two months. Twelve of these powerful pieces will form the armament of the American 42,000-ton, 23-kuot battleships. The Navy Bureau has *waortained that the life of the large calibre gun .has been underestimated, the 14---iuch, 45-calibr6 gun haA'iug been fifed a number of rounds far m excess of that heretofore considered to be practicable. These, good results are largely due to a most excellent powder, which, being a pure nitrocellulose pow<ter> has much less erosive action than those containing more or less nitroglycerine. This is a most va.h\able quality, for it will moan ,that the now 16-inoh, SO-calibre gun can be given a velocity considerably .> greater tlton would be possible with some other powders, such, for instance, as the British cordite. Not many people outride of ordnance circles understand Vi'h«t an intimate relation there i§ b^t\veen the powder and the guvi^-in'at is to, say, how gx*eatly ijks efficiency of any weapon is tied, ijp with the all-round "efficiency of the powder. Evidence of this is seen m the faot that the new Briti.?^ 15-inch naval gun is only 40 calibres m length, and has a muzzle velocity of noi much over 2300£t. P*r second. This m^ans that the BvHish 18-inch gun is^ prob¥bly not <?>vev 4Q calibres hi Je^gthr and that its muzzlo velocity is about the same. If this be ao x it is, evident- that* tho question of. erosion, wMoh has always been a most serious one where cordite is /used, W* veyy largely controlled the design of the gun.