| Show CHINESE BIG GUNS on june 2nd and a successful test teat of A big fifty ton guu gun recently constructed at the Klan Kian gnan arsenal Ara enal china wax was made before a gathering of leading chinese government officials and prominent foreigners the event was looked upon as one of great importance china la is gradually adopting the great military inventions of Arn america ertes and europe in their latest and most moat approved forms forma this will be seen when the fact Is IH made known keown that some four or five years year ago when id was wae first decided to construct them thee heavy guns the plant t at Klan Hian gnan was waft found to be incapable of making anything larger than a twenty ton ion gun now new workshops had to be erected and new dew furnaces and machines constructed before work on the fifty ton toa guns could be commenced the following la Is a description of a 12 centimeter quick firing gun made in chius its weight is 18 2 tons ff cats the diameter of the bore to la inches length 16 feet 2 in weight of shot 45 pounds weighton weight of powder pebble 12 pounds or smokeless smoke leae bi pounds the muzzle velocity is ie 2000 feet per second and the striking powder 1860 1850 foot tons tone and at 1000 1000 yards the projectile will penetrate 7 inches the rapidity with which the piece can be fired to li maximum 12 shots per minute a rapidity of ten shots per minute havling recently boon been attained by native artill artillerists erista at with a eun of similar size and pattern the piece Is mainly constructed on the armstrong principle the chief ft feature of interest being the unusual rapidity of ore fire this to obtained by making up the powder and projectile in a solid brass brasa case came like an ordinary rifle cartridge by electrical firing gear and other improvements in the breech mechanism designed si ned by mr cornish we the fifty ton gun hass has a bore of twelve inches its length to is thirty five feet and it throws a projectile weighing pounds with i charge of SOU pounds of power the muzzle velocity to is 2000 feet a second striking a blow of tons the shot being capable of penetrating an plate nineteen inches thick at 1000 yards the rhe gun is rifled with spiral grooves increasing fromm from 0 at the breech to one turn in thirty five calibers at as the muzzle these guns of which four have been built are intended for coast defense and are mounted on a center pivoted mounting whereby an all round fire may be obtained the opening and closing of the breech three opera tiomi are effected by simply turning a hand band wheel in one directions direction an improvement in breech mechanism while the revolving of the gun and carriage weighing together over seventy five tons can be performed by one man the target which was erected to try the fifty ton gun was blown to atoms after the first fire another target being set up the experiment was repeated with correspondingly astonishing results the gun was fired by electricity |
