Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 58.djvu/504

496 although the caliber, which is eighteen inches, will doubtless prove sufficient to enable the gun to give a good account of itself.

In the trials of this gun, made by the builders with a charge of Maxim-Schüpphaus smokeless powder, a projectile weighing a ton was hurled at a velocity of 1,900 feet per second with a pressure of only 19,000 pounds to the square inch. As the gun will safely stand a pressure of 25,000 pounds-to the square inch, a velocity of more than 2,000 feet per second can obviously be readily obtained, as against the velocity of from 2,000 to 2,250 feet per second for the 1,000 pound shell from the 12-inch gun, with a pressure of 35,000 pounds to the square inch. We must note here that the weight of the Gathmann gun is only 59 tons, against 52 tons for the 12-inch seacoast rifle.

A bill now before Congress calls for an appropriation for the efficient testing of this weapon. The service projectile, which will be thrown from this gun in the coming test, will carry about 475 pounds of wet, compressed guncotton, or 700 pounds of Maximite. Maximite being 50 per cent, heavier than guncotton, the shell will hold 225 pounds more of that material. There are to be 24 shots at full velocity, some for range and accuracy, and others to show the effect on powerful structures erected on the land. The last and final test will be against a steel barge anchored off shore, presenting a side fully armored and supported, so as to offer even greater resistance than would be afforded by the side of the strongest battleship now afloat.

Although Mr. Gathmann is my competitor, I feel much gratified at his success in procuring from the Government the necessary appropriations for building and testing this gun, and I am of the opinion that the results of these tests will prove a source of gratification to all the taxpayers of the country, who, unless the gun proves successful, will be called upon to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars for building and arming a fleet of monster battleships, which will not be required after one shot has been fired against the steel barge which will be provided for the purpose.

The war vessel that must follow as a natural result of the success of the aerial torpedo will be an unarmored, or only partially armored, gunboat or cruiser of small dimensions, capable of traveling at very high speed. It will be a sort of floating gun-platform, and will cost only a fraction of what the battleship costs, while a single one of these gunboats will afford far more protection than the most powerful battleship.

The United States Government has, during the last two years, been putting forth especial efforts to thoroughly investigate the qualities and merits of high explosives, with a view to finding the best bursting