Show ON THE GUN DECKm How the Enormous Cannon on a ManofWar Are Manipulated COPyright IS9S1 It Is I very difficult to realize the startling star-tling difference between the navy of 1812 or ISIS an 1 that of 1S9S The condl tlons are us diametrically opposed as rlht an wrong Dr block and white The sailors snug quartrs ihlch r I embl tho cheap I room or a rourth rate boarding house the gun dec with overhad timbers reminding one or thelnlrlor Dr a barn the mass ot Intrl cate ropes In colls and slack the many folds of flying sheet and sail hae alt disappeared Now It Is inside Iron case mnt apparently that both men and nOlcer lle though the rooms of the altcr mny hae carpet or matting on the Ho ra and such personal decoration as their fancy dictates Tho vessel of rormr > oara was a wooden tub Now he Is an Iron or tteel shell Up to half a ntury ago the spars and 11 were Ihe agcnl or motion ind muzzle loaders with smooth bores Iho means or warrare The cutlass and the bn1 grena e cre Imporlant rc tors and han t to hand combats were distinctive Incidents ot many of the bat ties Itepcl boar crs was a sort Dr warery To dah on to an nemy deck broadsword In hand mid fire an 1 smoke with wood Stimers m the air was a heroic fact as Illustrated In the thrillIng thrill-Ing engalements or the JJonhommo Itlchard the Chesapeake and I errj s victory and Macdonough s lights on tho lakes Hrolm will alna bo a ractor In battle but science Is minimizing Its responsibility re-sponsibility In each new warship Sword trills are still a dally exercise tor sailors hut It Is Impossible to Imag Ine an occasion hen such knowle ge will bo utilize I Naturally there are al 1 way contlnnclcs and the cutla might still serve as a weapon for an attacking at-tacking party but In close quarters tho rolvr Is a moro elTctlye Inltrumnt ot slaughter and In an cmertencj woul prove an arm or greater c1llcln C A bttlcshlp or cruler I an elborate Iy organized mchanlm a completo In detail as a great foundry a printing prcss establlshmnt or a mnuracturlng plant The great engines which propel hr at tremendous speed through the wtr also up > ly 10 er to tho huge d namos hlch are hr nrv centrs The great guns are flred by electricity and loaded by hydraulic mechanism AIming no longer the runctlon or a keen eyed gunnr bUI n malhematlcal roblem calculated to a nicety Lven the steering gear Is I electrically con rolled The crew has also been converted hrough constant drilling Into a bo 1 of ikllled mechanics or electricians or both who know just how every engl nerlng device must ork nnd wht Ito I-to be done In case of accident The captain In the conning toner Is I the supreme su-preme factor In the lighting movements ot the Iron fortress for that Is I what the modern battleship Is At his liunl aro wires an lube runnlns to the turrets tur-rets barbettes casemates and engine rooms and his orders are translated Into action by the curators who handle the levers and wheels Those who have never seen a naval engagement may form an excellent Idea of a sea light aside from the thrilling adjuncts of a genuine bittle by what Is done In target practice for the repara tlons are exactly the same as thoo < made for a real contest The decks are cleared and the machinery Is set In motion mo-tion tlonTho Tho dlschare 01 a 10 Inch rtn I apt to be attended with unilcasant resulti unless proper piecautlons are taken The gunners brace themselves for tin shock by holding the arms rigid am the hands away from the body to glvi the lungs free pla > The mouth Is kepi Oln so a to equollze the preure on the lung head an car drums Ill not known whether the discomfort after the Urine of a big gun proceeds from the concussion or the cuum eralrd aCt er the shock Men who use cotton In their ears are more liable to suffer the conequnee Dr buld er drun Dr ruptured blood vessels than those who have not taken any precaution against the shock of noise Many Instances of killing by con eulon are ell known to naal orn cers A sheep 30 feet away has fallen dead after the discharge of an 8 Inch rifle behind a bar ette and on the Atlanlo on one occlon anr two 6 Inch broadside guns had been flred everal tlm In uccslon subequent Invcltlgatlon hod tht tho cutter and whaleboats which were suspena don d-on the davits IS feet above and to the rear of the cannons muzzles had opened open-ed In tho seams and joints and were practically unseaworthy It Itrue however tht the thunder Ing of the great guns Is less painful tc the a than the crackUng nsatlon produced by the discharge of the smaller I er rifles The roar of a 10 Inch rllle seem to nvelop one and the excitement excite-ment Dr loading an dlchrglng 10 strains the attention of the crew that they forget the report Then there Is I the IntoxIcating odor of burnt gunpon er The gunner Is allowed about tllffe minute to load and fire his piece while the mller oae are dlschargc mora rapidly A 5 Inch glln h been shot at a trget two miles away so quickly that rour rojectlles vveie In the air before tho Orst struck Immediately after the moke of the flrst shot has cleared away all the exposed brasi work which has been shining like gold Is I seen to bave turn led green It Is I a practical leson In chemistrythe comblnotlon ot an acid gas and a metal After the discharge the gunner opens tho breech which belches imoke and iot When this has been chans the gunner male wab out the Inside I which aem i to be coOr1 i with a red mas resmbUng tied blooJ thougb It Is I only the residuum of the burnt powder Then the reloading proceeds A single battleship with Its rifled artillery ar-tillery and 8SO pound shells has the de structive energy of an entire fleet of a century aco One shot rrom a 10 ton gun has tho concentrate < 1 power Dr II whole broa Jsl e trom un old time 11 An a verary aller having re celved the Ore ot a modern battery would not bo apprclatd a a spall ot war ror he would bo destroYd rather than damaged by the Impact of the huge projectiles If she did not sink ns woull generally be the case her crew would repel boarders by means of rnpll nre gun Inta Dr Oghtlng thcm lth coM steel Dy the use ot electricity an entire broadside can bo flred Instantaneously but It has not yet been done The Eng Ilsh man of war Majestic of 10 000 tons Is I afraid to try the experiment because naval experts declare that tho recoil would te so great there would bo Ecrl ous danger of capsizing her The Ion a with her 11500 tons displacement and her correpondlngly heavier armament will hardly daro to attempt what a vcs out GUN DECK OP A MANOFWAR IV ACTION el of smaller tonnsge fe though the occasion may arise whn II woul bo nccary ror the Unlte Slate battle ship to do aD to cttle the Isuo or an Important contcst Hill It woul only be attempted In the most erlou ort or nn emergency TRUMAN L LTON |