Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/223

 of their projectiles could not fail to hit somewhere. But as close range is not always attainable, and may not be desirable, the delay in igniting the charge by means of a falling hammer or pulling a string should be eliminated. Electricity, being instantaneous, corrects this defect, the only motion required being to press a button. Its advantages are even more apparent when several guns are fired simultaneously and it is desired to lodge their projectiles in one spot. The apparatus simply consists of a galvanic battery, with wires leading to the guns and terminating in a fine filament of platinum silver wire, enclosed in a tube and surrounded by a small quantity of gunpowder. The current, when allowed to pass, heats the filament sufficiently to ignite the powder, and the flame passes on to the charge of the gun.

Having once recognised the advantage of a breech-loader, we proceeded with the design and construction of different patterns suitable for large and small ships. They grew, in fact, similarly to the old muzzle-loaders. We mounted in succession 14, 22, 29, 45 and 67-ton guns, with a length of bore varying from 25 to 30 calibres. By augmenting the powder charges velocities were increased to 2100 ft. per second, the projectiles being over half a ton in weight. No difficulty was experienced by our officers and seamen in becoming proficient with such weapons, though it involved an entirely new procedure in their manipulation. Having been accustomed for years to insert powder first, one can imagine that to reverse the process does not come intuitively. Yet of many changes this is perhaps the