Show OUR GREAT GUNS I Details iii the Armament of New War SSips A RANG OF ELEVEN MILES The Maine tho Mlantomahcthe Monterey One of the Greatest Gun Foundries Foun-dries in the World WJLSUINGTOX April 30 1S9L Special correspondence of THE HEnALDlIf the materialized spirit of old Bear Admiral Dahlgren who thirty years ago was with General Rodman of the army a mighty power in the science of ordinance could revisit re-visit the scenes of his old triumphs in the Washington navy yard he would see some strange things Thirtyfive years ago Captain Cap-tain Dahlgren of the navy and Lieutenant General Rodman of the army filled a large portion of the worlds eye Both were at work on monster guns for their respective branches of their countrys service Dahl gren had then perfected his eleveninch champagne bottle smooth bore for the navy and Colonel Rodman had gone him an inch better and had mounted a twelveinch gun upon one of the fortifications in New York harbor These were great ordinance triumphs and army and navy publications of the day were filled with elaborate and graphic descriptions de-scriptions of the awful destroyers Even foreign governments made note of the enormous strides in gun manufacture by the inventive genius of America and both Captain Dahlgren and Colonel Rodman suddenly found themselves in possession of worldwide fame There was very little difference in their respective guns Both possessed the same principleenormous weight of metal in the breech Colonel Rodmans gun was shorter than Dahlgrens and it was a little heavier in the breech It was also shaped slightly different Of course both inventors made their guns of cast iron One or two of the pits are yet in existence in tho Washington navy yard where under the personal and frequently profane direction of Captain Dahlgren the moulds of sand were formed and the moulten lead poured in It did not take long to make a gun in those days Two or three weeks at the most was enough in which to turn out a monster of the period Those nine and eleven inch Dahlgrens did splendid service during the war With them weak and inefficient as they would now be regarded Farragut won all his splendid victories and the navy generally covered itself with glory IA t tDJIIRAL DAIILGREXS MIGHTIEST TRIUMPH THE OLD FIFTEEN IXCIl SMOOTH BORE But if the ghost of Admiral Dahlgren was stalking about now the mighty highpower steel rifles which are to arm the new navy are not the only modern things that would astonish him He would find for instance the youngest chief of ordnance that the navy ever had How the old admiral would wonder and perhaps swear if he were living liv-ing to find one of the youngest commanders in the service at the head of the most important i im-portant ordnance plant and the most important im-portant establishment of its kind in the world Young Commander Folger was civen this position more than a year ago He hasp commodores rank and pay and lie is the youngest officer that ever hold that rank in the United States navy Commodore Commo-dore Folger was yet a midshipman at the Naval academy when Lee surrendered and Lincoln was assassinated and was not given an Ensigns rank until 1SGO But ho has a genius for ordnance like the great Dahlgren had betore him and hence his phenomenal in his profession The Washington gun foundry is the most important establishment of its kind in the world It does not cover so much ground as that of the Krupps in Germany but it i has better and more improved machinery and turns out what is conceded to be the best steel highpower breechloading ordnance in existence Again it is a national na-tional institution manufacturing guns for the United States government alone while Krupps establishment is a private enterprise enter-prise making ordnance for anybody who will buy Perhaps one of the most interesting inter-esting tributes paid to this magnificent establishment es-tablishment was paid recently by Sir Win fred Hope of the English artillery an expert ex-pert who was sent over here last year to look at what young Commodore Folger was doing In a long report which he made occurs oc-curs this gracious extract I spent the greater part of last November Novem-ber in Washington where I was formerly attache to her magestys legation and while there received a very kindinvitation to examine ex-amine the new guns and the navy yard I knew that the guns made there were on the name general principle as the modern English Eng-lish and French guns and expected to condemn con-demn everything but in the end could only praise The faulty proportions and abominable abom-inable workmanship of our English guns is carefully avoided with the result that unlike un-like the Elswich and Woolwich guns the Washington guns can be thoroughly relied on todo what is professed for them This is a large statement for the Elswich and Woolwich guns cannot bo relied upon to do more than 50 to 75 per cent of what they are professed to do The Washington gun factory is perfect the lathes superior to any in the country and they work faster The secret of the good workmanship lies in fastening the responsibility for everything upon some official by name Hero in happy England the system is that no man shall be responsible for anything The country is soft so indolent so ignorant so rich and so careless that it is perfectly contented with floating down the stream gaily to corning corn-ing disaster when the awaKening will be too late but wise old Uncle Sam insists upon some one naval officer being responsible responsi-ble by name for each individual thing All these officers being on the active list of the navy their own lives may depend the next year on the carefulness of their work this year It is then no wonder that not one of the Washington guns has ever burst or failed to do what it was intended to do Everybody understands the general points of difference between the monster guns of Farra tsand Dahlgrens day and the splendid armament that is to adorn the Dew ships The old fifteeninch Dahlgren which was then the apotheosis of marine artillery weighed about fortyfour thousand pounds was about fifteen feet long took a charge of eightyfive pounds of powderand could carry a 450 pound solid shot with ef fective force a distance 2000 yards The biggest gun now being made at the Wash ington yard is the twelveinchhighpower breechloading rifle It like all the new guns is built upon a forged steel tube jacketed and hooped with steel hoops or bands of varying widths but uniform thickness thick-ness until over the breech there are three thicknesses over the main body of the gun forward of the trunniores and over the remainder of the gun clear to the muzzle JB h l 1 = oi = < r = THE MAIN BATTERY OF THE CINCINNATI AXD THE RALEIGH SIXINCH GUNS one Two of these twelveinch guns are now on the lathes in the great gun shop They are to arm the forward casemate or barbette of the coast defense vessel Monterey Monte-rey about to be launched at San Francisco Here is what the twelveinch gun can do and a comparison with the biggest gun of thirty years ago is not only interesting but almost ridiculous Let us put it in intelligent intelli-gent form for comparison THE TRIUMPH OF DAHLGREN Calibre of gun 15 in Length of gun 14 ft 9 in Weight of gun 53 50 lbs Powder charge 8 > Ibs Weight of shell 350 lbs Weight of solid shot 450 lbs Effective range un2poo yds Tun TRIUMPH or FOLGER Calibre of gun nun 00 u 12 in Length of gun 39 1 ft Weight of gun 45 tons 1C34T6 lbs Powder charge 425 lbs Weight of shell 850 lbs Effective range distance destruction 11 miles Thickness of steel which projectile will penetrate muzzle 2654 ius It is perhaps unfair however to call this twelveinch gun young Commodore Folgers triumph seeing that he is yet but a kidand has already contracted for twelve still bigger I big-ger guns That he can make them goes i without saying for the steel forgings are already contracted for These are twelve I thirteeninch guns four of which are to be I mounted on each of the three new battleships battle-ships Indiana Massachusetts and Oregon lilt is astonishing what an inch increase of calibre leads to in calculating the power of modern ordnance said the young commodore commo-dore as he showed the writer the plans specifications and a cute little steel model of this infant of ordnance Almost as much in proportion said Captain Barber who was present as an inch in addition to the length of a mans noseHere are the figures on the thirteeninch gun said Commodore Folger compare them with Dahlgrens triumph Calibre of gun 13 ins Length of gunn 40 ft Weight of gun 60 tons 135460 lbs Powder charge 550 lbs Weight of projectile 00 n un 1100 lbs The range and penetrating force of these guns will be but slightly more than the eleveninch but the crushing force incident in-cident to the impact and explosion of a 1100 pound projectile must be much greater I ought to say here continued Commodore Folger that the length of a thirteeninch projectile will be about forty inches Stand one up alongside an ordinary man and it would reach nearly to his armpits 1 r + 4 Illlii i n ti w Uiilillfi BORING THE TWELVEINCH GUNS FOR THE MONTEREY How one of these great guns is made is an interesting study The evolution of the ship of live oak into the steel cruiser of today to-day presents no more striking contrast than the evolution of the gun which is to arm her The huge furnace with its weight of melted iron is no more the great casting pit with its sand mould has gone to keep company with the old Spanish bronze retort re-tort All the effete traditions are cast aside 111 4 lf II I v G r = y II aavi P Ijer 4 Al n i iT w c f VIEW OF TIIE SOUTH GUN SHOP FROM GALLERY The manufacture of ordnance has become a science There is required the same gen ius the same skill the same delicacy of manipulation on the part of artisans which century ago was required to make a watch Picture the preponderous machinery required re-quired to make a twelveinch rifled gun for the Monterey and compare it with the del icacy of the machine which turns out a Waltham or Elgin watch Both are beautiful both run noiselessly both are controlled by a man in a blouse representing repre-senting the very acme of development in American skilled labor The great and more imposing difference is the magnitude of the operation The machine which makes the watch or its various parts could be put into a Kodak case that which turns bores rifles and polishes the great artillery to defend Uncle Samuel afloat and ashore weighs hundreds of tons Yet both sets of machinery work with almost equal precis ion of touch and perfection of result Commander ONeill of the navy loves to show how a big twelveinch gun is finished He is at the head of the big gun foundry He is on duty at the Washington navy yard as inspector of ordnance If anybody came along with an interest in such things Captain ONeill usually details a young of ficer to show everything Ensign Armi stead Rustis the young gentleman who best fills the assignment according to Captain ONeills idea Young Rust knows all about the new guns One of these days he will be a big figure in naval ordnance probably as big a figure Commodore Fol f I ger himself The nucleus of the bJg gun of to day is not a sand nit and a pot of molten mol-ten metal but a tremendous solid cylinder of forged steeL It comes from the Bethlehem Bethle-hem or the 1lidvale steel works and ittakes several flat cars to carry it It weighs about fifty tons It gets into the Washington Washing-ton yard on trucks of the Pennsylvania road and a 100ton crane jerks the thing up as a grocers scale would lift a pound of cheese and puts it on a steel carriage Before Be-fore the big cylindrical block knows it a huge tubular bore is at work at its vitals I The bore cuts slowly but unerringly A core comes out in a solid mass This being bored in turn becomes the basis of the four or five inch gun One set of machinery cuts out this core another set is at work on the rear of the monster planing and turning it for the reception of the jacket The jacket is the first reinforcement of the guns strength It is a huge cylinder received re-ceived also from the Bethlehem or the Mid vale works It too is turned on the inside to make its inner surface smooth Then when the great steel forging now by the action of the boring machine become a tube is ready the big crane comes along lifts it out of the lathe cradle and carries itoff to a huge pit where it is turned muzzle down seemingly into the bowels of the earth Then comes along the fortyton cranehold ing in its arms the jacket The jacket is lowered into a roaring furnace built on one side of the great pit and there it is left to its own reflection for some time while Satan and his imps get in their hottest work Nobody sees the fire Nobody feels the heat but when all is reported to be ready Commodore Folger Captain ONeill Captain Bob Carmody and Lieutenant Regy Nicholson get about The skilled t 1 rt n > 7 1 c i tits a POLISHING TENINCH RIFLES workmen are all there with their hands covered with asbestos mittens When the grayhaired man in charge of the furnace declares that all is ready the fortyton crane comes over giant steel hooks seize upon the cover of the retort and away it goes Great flames shoot up Down goes another set of steel hooks and they grapple grap-ple the tenton jacket and in five seconds more it is dangling in the air sizzling and spluttering in its white heat The point is then to carry it and settle it upon the big cold tube whose stern is in the air to receive re-ceive it By this time everybody is busy The man controlling the crane gets orders at the rate of sixty a second Men with guy ropes to direct the descent of the jacket almost dance jigs in their intensity of purpose Captain ONeill keeps his arms going and tries to shield his face from the awful heat The cry of Lower away 1t comes from every hroat and Steady I Steady lit I fills the air sparks fly from the great mass of metal and when anything goes amiss Commodore Folger takes a hand Then the fun begins The sparks the heat the general excitement excite-ment go for naught when Folger bursts forth The brilliant young commodore in charge of gun manufacture has a vocabulary vocabu-lary of invective which for forceful pictur esqueness and variety would shame any body in Satans dominion When the jacket doesnt go on just as it ought the atmosphere atmos-phere is not only hot but it is sulphurous But usually everything works smoothly and in a few hours the gun and its jacket are sufficiently cooled to be removed The cooling process is done by the insertion of a pipe carrying cold water to the inner surface sur-face of the tube this makes the cooling gradual and obviates the possibility of flaws and cracks in the structure From the pit the gun with its jacketnow adhering more closely than a poor relation is carried to the turning lathe and its outer surface turned and polished Then comes the adjustment of the hoops which are shrunk on in much the same way as the jacket but being lighter they are put on with lighter machinery When all is finished ished the gun is subjected to a final turning of its outer surface The machinery which does this is massive it moves slowly but every bit and cutting utensil that is brought to bear on the guns surface works with mathematical accuracy The whole massive surface is turned with a precision that is marvelous The little bit that does its work cuts no wider than a sixteenth of an inch or deeper than a thirty secondth of an inch but the big gun revolves into its bite ana the result is a little coil of steel that is stretched out indefinitely like an elderly maiden ladys curl When that process is finished the outer surface of the gun is as smooth as a babys skin The bore of the gun has already been polished like glass The next important thing is the rifling Fiftytwo spiral grooves have to be cut into tho bore of a twelveinch gun The great crane comes and takes the gun to the rifling cylinder The machineryof this is too complicated com-plicated to describe but its mechanism is faultless It is the most tedious process of all that enters into the manufacture of the gun Then comes the cutting and boring for the breech mechanism A separate and distinct machine does this Altogether it will be seen that the making of ore of the big guns requires tho highest science and skill E I Mnjuiauiuumi liui UnliaUKinUlliiili j1 THE TWELVEINCH GUNS ON THE LATHE The ordnance department has already turned out 128 sixinch rifle guns and are well along with fifty eightinch Twenty two teninch are either completed or par tially completed The teninch gun is al most as effective as the twelveinch These are the guns which are to arm the monitors Miantonomah Amphitrite Manadnock Terror Maine and partially arm the Mon terey Eight twelveinch guns are to be madE four to arm the Puritan two for the Texas and two for the Monterey Twelve L of the big thirteeninch guns are to be made four each for the three battle ships now building The thirteeninch guns have not been begun though the contract for the forgings are let Commodore Folgor says s that all these great guns are being built ai t the cost of about 50 cents a pound This WIll make the thirteen inch guns cost about 570000 each and the twelveinch guns about oO000 each The commodore thinks he can build a sixteoninch gun for 40 cents a pound which would pO make such a gun cost a little less than 100000 Ho thinks how ever that the navy will build no larger guns than the thirteeninch for the reason that the great 100 ton guns of European navies s are practically failures R D BOGART |