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Show bigwit j NEW WARSHIPS ' New 16-inch Navy Gun for Giant Battleships Delights Ordance Experts. Washington. March 18 The two battleships provided for tn the current cur-rent naval bill may be armed with 16-inch 16-inch rifles, the heaviest naval gnns ever designated. While tentative plans for the new xhlps ontemplate vrsseis similar tn general design to tho 32,000 tons glint gl-int of the California class now build ing, details of armament and engine equipment are being given unusual attention by navy designer- and the results obtained from the 15-inch main batteries of the newest British and (ierman battleships are being closeiv watched Already the new 16-ineh navv gun us bcen subjected lo tests at the Indian Head proving ground ami a bile details of its construct Ion and nerformanre are closeh guarded it is known that the gigantic weapon has given proof of it- efficiency which delighted de-lighted navy ordnance experts The sun was built at the American naval gun factory and has been undergoing tests for several months Weighs Over 100 Tons Some ide? of the probable si7e of the new merlcan gun may he gath-nrd gath-nrd from the fnrt that each of the -ight 15-lnch guns of the British bat tleship Queen Elizabeth weighs 9fi tons, while similar rifles designed in the Knipp works for German battleships battle-ships laid clown this vear eaoh welch more ih.m XL1 tons. The : 4 inch rifles ri-fles of the battleships New York and Texas for the five new American lreadnoughts now under construction, weigh 63 8 tons each and it ls certain that the new 16-Inch weapon weih-more weih-more than ion tons without ;ts mount Ine Krnpp engineers have rtepjgnafed a 16-inch gun which fires a projectile weighing 2.02S pounds agalnsi the 1 675 pound mass of steel hurled by ihe 15-inch rifles adopter for the German navy and the 1.720 pound projectiles pro-jectiles poured Into Turkish fortress-9J fortress-9J of the LiardanelleR by the British battleship Queen Elizabeth None of the German or British vessels of the first line carry any - eapon exactly ex-actly similar to the American 14 inch gun. a jump having been made last vear from the standard 12-inch rifle to the 15-inch type. American 14-lnch Guns The New York. Texas Nevada and Oklahoma each carry ten 14-inch guns while the Pennsv Ivania. California. Idaho and Mississippi each will carr" twelve, placed three to a turret These weapons throw projectiles wc-ighin.; 1,4)00 pounds as is the case with the 14-Inch guns designed for the four 1 Japanese battleships estimated for In 191 1 With the increase In size, the life of the gun is shortened by erosion due to the heat generated by the ex-Dlos'.on ex-Dlos'.on of the huge charge of powder aecessar) to hurl neaVly a ron of metal met-al fifteen miles that Is said to be the rauge of the American 16-ineh weapon weap-on The rifling of the gun burns out under the blast Drops of melte.l -1 eel are risible in the hore after each hot and ii is said that the life of the Queen Elizabeths 16-inch weapons is less 1 ban LOO shots each After that th" gun is so inaccurate as to be vlr tually useless Life of Gun Short. Navy gun designers have overcome that obstacle somewhat it is said, with the new American in Inch gun: I Hn tl, ifa , u , 1- ntnt 1 . . j below that of the 1 4 inch The Krupp works, before th outbreak out-break of the present war. announced that a process of steei and powder manufacture had been evotved that decreased erosion, but the factory ia understood to have refused to contract con-tract lo supplv a larfce uumber oi great guns under guarantee of 250 rounds accuracy-fire life In placing aboard the Queen Elizabeth Eliza-beth the 15-inch weapon Geslgned for her class. British navy officials are understood to have depended upon a ' cheap process for relinlng. perfected by their engineers, to offset the short l life of the gun If that be true it is probable the Queen Elizabeth soon mm be compelled to return to Eng-Land Eng-Land and have new guns placed aboard If the steady pounding at the Dardanelles Darda-nelles forts exhaust her main battery. bat-tery. Relative Value of Guns It has been suggested tnat 16-Inch j guns could be substituted for the 14-in' 14-in' b batteries of the American bai.- I tleshipe now under construction, plac-Ing plac-Ing them two to a turret instead of three and giving the ships eight guns j each instead of twelve. Navy offl Cars say, however, that the cost of such an alteration would be verv groat If it could be made at all They also hold that the American 14-inrh gun is the eo.nal of the British or Ger- ' roan 15-inch for all practical purpo I sea. With any target in plain view, it is said, the American gun has equal Bangs and nearly equai penetration I the difference being more than eouu- 1 lerbalanced by the larger number of J guns carried Thus, In action against lUCh a ship as the Queen Elizabeth, j the Pennsylvania would have twelve j 14-Inch guns against eight Jo-inch and j would have 50 per cent greater 00 ' portunltv for scoring hits For in-direct in-direct fire, such as the work in which I the Queen Elizabeth shared In the I Dardanelles, the 15-Inch gun's great er range would be important; but it is not believed It would be a factor In a purely naval battle During the present war. big gun naval engagements have ncen fought I at a range of from seven 10 Leo miles, I effective distance for either 12 or 14-inch 14-inch guns As a matter of fact tt has been pointed out that the German 8-inch guns outranged larger British gunB because of tbe higher gun elevation provided by German designers. German Ger-man naval guns, as a rule, have a maximum elevation of SO degrees agaiust 15 degrees aboard British and American whips. That I another problem upon which American designers design-ers are concentrating attention In planning new ship 00 |