Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/207

 more apparent in war. Our fault was not in reverting to muzzle loading, but in retaining the system after the introduction of slower burning powder, which required a long gun to utilise all its energy. The new combination gave increased velocity, range, and penetration. As is well known, the path of a shot in the air is a curve, owing to the action of gravity. The quicker it is in travelling the less time there is for gravity to act, and consequently the more nearly does the projectile travel in a horizontal line. One of the great objects in gunnery is to have this path—or trajectory, as it is technically termed—as flat as possible. I have mentioned Mr Whitworth as being early in the field as a designer of rifled guns. His system differed from Mr Armstrong's in important respects. It will be sufficient to allude to his method of rifling and the form of his projectiles. The former consisted of a hexagonal bore with a sharp twist. The projectile had six bearing surfaces and accurately fitted the bore. Mr Whitworth advocated flat-headed steel shot for attacking armour; but a pointed head is less impeded by the wind and better suited for penetrating armour.

Captain Blakeley also put forward rifled guns which did not materially differ from Whitworth's construction. Captain Palliser had already turned his attention to utilising our old smooth bores, by inserting an interior barrel of coiled wrought-iron, the gun being previously bored out for its reception. It was then rifled, and a few heavy rounds fired, which expanded the inner barrel to a tight fit with its cast-iron exterior. A 68-pounder was