The fighting engineers; by Collins Francis Arnold 1873-

Author:Collins, Francis Arnold, 1873- [from old catalog]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, Military engineering
Publisher: New York, The Century co.
Published: 1918-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

THE MAN BEHIND THE GUNS

The gun-makers of every country at war realize that probably the greatest problem in building modern guns is that of overcoming the recoil. Until recently the kick of a gun was considered a necessary evil, and no effort was made to control it. A cannon, on being discharged, would run back several feet, and the aim would be completely lost. A crew was then forced to labor to bring it again into position, and the difficult work of sighting it had to begin all over again. The time lost between shots was, of course, priceless ; but since both sides worked at the same disadvantage, it was accepted as a necessary evil.

With the present system of non-recoil employed, a battery of field- or even siege-guns can be made to fire from twenty to twenty-five shots per minute. The problem has been solved in different ways in the several embattled countries, but the construction is essentially the same. The carriage of the gun remains fixed, and the gun recoils on this carriage and returns to its original position. The force of the recoil is enormous, but this is taken up by a highly ingenious system of

THE FIGHTING ENGINEERS

hydraulic cylinders, counter-weights, and counter-recoil springs.

It is difficult for the lay mind to realize the power of such guns. In the case of a twelve-inch gun the coimter-weight consists^ of 140,000 pounds of lead. The recoil-cylinders are filled with oil, which has been found best for taking up the stupendous shock of the discharges. The guns are returned to their carriages by releasing the great counter-weights, thus forcing the weight of the gun forward to its firing position.

In no other branch of engineering, it is safe to say, may be found mechanism at once so powerful in its execution and so delicate in design. One type of our seacoast guns measures fourteen inches in caliber. This measurement means little to the average mind, although our respect for the gun will rise when we learn that it fires a projectile weighing 1660 pounds, which, in turn, carries a bursting charge of eighty-five pounds of high explosive.

The largest gun in our fortifications is of sixteen-inch caliber; it is mounted on a dis-126

THE MAN BEHIND THE GUNS

appearing gun-carriage. The almost irresistible force of this gun is cleverly utilized to operate much delicate, but powerful, machinery to bring it back into position in the shortest possible time.

This gun-projectile weights 2400 pounds, —a weight equal to that of a large wagon or automobile filled with passengers. Its speed on leaving the gun, or its muzzle-velocity, is 2700 feet,—rather more than half a mile per second. The energy exerted by such a discharge is equal to 121,430 foot tons. This power will raise a projectile weighing more than a ton to a height of eight and a half miles, an altitude equal to that of several of the highest mountains in the world.

The extreme range of such a gun is twenty-seven and one third miles. To visualize this distance, describe a circle of twenty-seven miles from some familiar point.

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