Sir W. Armstrong submitted a proposal for his breech-loading gun to the Duke of Newcastle, then Minister at War, towards the end of 1854; his proposal being accepted, and a gun accordingly constructed, it was submitted to numerous trials, both at Shoeburyness, and near Sir W. Armstrong’s private factory at Newcastle. This gun is now made entirely of wrought iron, although the original one had a steel bore. It is a built-up gun, that is to say, it is composed of separate pieces, each piece being of such moderate size as to admit of being forged without risk of flaw or failure. By this mode of construction, great strength, and consequently, great lightness, are secured. The shell used combines the principle of the shrapnel and percussion shell, i.e., it may be made to explode either as it approaches the object, or as it strikes it. Moreover, it may be made to explode at the instant of leaving the gun, in which case, the pieces spread out like a fan, and produce the usual effect of grape or canister. Armstrong’s guns are now (1860) being employed in China.
Whitworth.
Mr. Whitworth’s rifled gun, with which experiments were lately made near Liverpool, is also a breech-loading piece, and of the following construction. The form of the bore is that of a hexagonal spiral, the corners of which are rounded off. The inclination of the spiral varies with the diameter of the bore, but is in all these guns very great, the projectiles being comparatively long.
French rifled ordnance.
Rifled ordnance were introduced into the French service just previous to the commencement of the late Italian war of 1859, and aiming at the greatest practical simplicity, the French government adopted only one nature of gun for field service, and one for siege purposes, both made of bronze. The French rifled cannon are muzzle loading, and those first introduced had two or three grooves, but the field pieces used in Italy had six grooves, their inclination being about one turn in 59 inches. A number of heavy cast-iron guns are rifled with two grooves, and have been placed on board French ships of war; and these, unless strengthened, could be used but with very small charges.
Advantages of rifled guns.
The advantages obtained by the successful employment of rifled guns—
- Great accuracy of fire,
- Long range,
- Penetration,
- Small charge,
- Simplicity of equipment and ammunition,
- Lightness of gun.
Classification of artillery.
Artillery may be classed under the several heads of field artillery (including artillery of position), siege artillery and artillery for the armament of garrisons, fortresses, and coast defences; its equipment is a combination of men, materiel, and horses necessary for these services.