Sir W. Armstrong Co.'s Gun Factories and Shipbuilding Works TYPICAL INTERIORS

Progress, Volume IV, Issue 7, 1 May 1909, Page 232

Sir W. Armstrong Co.'s Gun Factories and Shipbuilding Works TYPICAL INTERIORS

ment at Elswick, Newcastle-on-Tyne, which he had founded in conjunction with some friends. A few words will not be out of place here about this remarkable man's career. Born in 1810, he displayed very great aptitude for mechanics, but was articled to a solicitor at Newcastle, according to the wishes of his father, who was a merchant of the ancient coal city and an alderman. But his scientific bent drove him from the lawyer's office and set him on a remarkable inventive career. He began with electricity and then revolutionized hydraulics. In this connection he had when still very young made the leading name in the world. His inventions had been applied to cranes and hoists of all kinds, to dock gates and spring bridges, turn tables, wagon lifts, and numerous other things. It was this development of inventive genius that founded the Elswick establishment, before the success in gunnery. In 1863, the superiority of the gun had been so fully admitted that the increase of the Elswick establishment became necessary. Sir William Armstrong, therefore, severed his connection with the Government service, returned to his partners at Elswick, and in a short time expanded the concern into one of the largest and most important manufacturing establishments in Europe. Its history is largely a history of the patents of Sir William and his friends ; and we may here mention incidentally, that no man ever had a greater dislike to the patent laws of his country in the shape in which they disgraced it in his day: and no man did more to bring about a better state of things. To follow the story of his life would be impossible to-day. Enough that he earned fame from the world and honours from many of its governments. He possessed the Orders of Denmark, Austria, Spain, Brazil, Siam, China, and. of course, Britain. It is suggestive that he did not obtain such recognition from Russia, France, or Germany. From which it is clear that he can not have done anything for those countries. The fact reminds us that the artillery of those countries is supplied by Krupp of Essen and the French establishment at Creusot. This may one day be a cause of congratulation to the nation and perhaps the Empire. Elswick on the Tyne is not the only establishment owned and worked by the firm. Besides the ship yards, gun works, and steel works at Elswick, there are gun Avorks at Openshaw in Manchester, an offshoot where 8,000 men are employed: and there are ammunition works at Erith on the Thames. Our illustrations give a fine idea of the arrangement and power, rapidity and efficiency of portions of the Elswick and Openshaw establishments. The long row of the completed guns is suggestive in its perfect simplicity and the enormous weight of the pieces handled. The industry of making turrets for battle ships for these great guns to live in is brought vividly to mind, the rolling of great plates and other processes that tax the utmost resources of lifting, moving, welding, planing, and carrying are shown and the predominant note is of the ease with which everything is accomplished. In an establishment so well ordered the nation can, like the Government of Great Britain, have every confidence. A New Zealander lately returned from a visit to the old country has given us an

interesting description of the making of a gun which he witnessed in one of these departments. He saw a huge mass of metal brought red hot out of a mighty furnace by a crane. As no human being could go near the mass and live, the subsequent work was all done by machinery worked by signal. G-rippers seized the mass of metal, placed it on an anvil, held it for the blow of a towering hammer, and between each blow deftly gave it a turn just as a blacksmith's assistant might turn a little bar his chief is shaping on the anvil. And so for the other processes. When they got to the rifling, the human element came in. A high expert took charge and setting the instrument for the rifling proceeded to guide it with his hands with marvellous skill until the work was done. Our informant stayed to see all this because the gun happened to be one of the armament for the battle ship "New Zealand".