Discoveries and Inventions of the Nineteenth Century

by Robert Routledge

Fig. 100.—The Moncrieff Gun raised and ready for firing.

Fig. 101.—Moncrieff Gun lowered for loading.

An extremely effective plan for the defence of coasts and harbours was originated by Colonel Moncrieff, when about 1863 he contrived a method of mounting large guns on the disappearing system, by which almost complete protection against hostile fire is given to both gun and gunners. He utilizes the recoil as a means of bringing the gun down into a protected position the moment it has been fired, and retains this energy by a simple arrangement until the piece has been reloaded, when it is allowed to expend itself by again raising the gun above the parapet into the original firing position. The configuration and action of Colonel Moncrieff’s gun-carriage will be understood by an inspection of the annexed illustrations, where in Fig. [100] is shown the gun raised above the parapet and ready for firing. When the discharge takes place, the gun, if free, would move backwards with a certain speed, but the disposition of the mounting is such that this initial velocity receives no sudden check, the force being expended in raising a heavy counterpoise, and at the same time the gun is permitted to descend, while maintaining a direction parallel to its firing position. At the end of the descent, which, it must be understood, is caused by the force of the recoil, and not by the counterpoise, for this more than balances the weight of the gun, the latter is retained as shown in Fig. [101] until it has been reloaded; and when it has again to be fired, it is released so as to allow the descent of the counterpoise to raise it once more into position. The great advantage of this invention is the protection afforded to the artillerymen and gun while loading; and even the aiming can be accomplished by mirrors, so that the men are exposed to no danger, except from “vertical fire,” which involves but little risk.

Colonel Moncrieff took out a patent for his invention in 1864, but committed the practical working out of his idea to the firm of Sir W. G. Armstrong & Co., in whose hands the design was ultimately transformed from the original somewhat cumbersome arrangement of the mounting into the compact and manageable form shown in Fig. [102], which represents a 13·9 inch 68–ton breech-loading disappearing gun on the Elswick hydro-pneumatic mounting. The principle of hydraulic power is fully explained in our article on that subject, and an example of its application to cranes as devised by Sir W. Armstrong is there described. When guns began to be made very large, and projectiles weighing several cwts. had to be dealt with, the application of power in some form became essential for loading, running out, elevating, training, etc.; and though steam-power naturally was first used, hydraulic power was adopted at Elswick, and has been there applied to the mountings of large guns with the greatest success by Mr. G. W. Rendel. To mention the various arrangements in which this power is applied, or to attempt any description of the elaborate machinery by which it is regulated, would carry us far beyond our limits. But the powerful weapon depicted in Fig. [102] is designed to be worked only by the manual effort of a few men. In this mounting the pressure of condensed air sustains the gun in the firing position; that pressure, acting upon the water in the recoil presses, having previously forced up their rams so as to turn into a nearly vertical position the strong brackets or beams on which the trunnions are supported. The recoil is checked in the usual way by the forcing of the water through small ports or valves as the ram descends, but these valves are so arranged that the water is in part forced back into the air chamber, and there recompresses the air, to restore the power for again raising the gun. The pressure in the air chamber when the gun is down may be about 1,400 lbs. per square inch; when it is up this will be reduced to perhaps one half by the expansion of the air in doing work. We have here the reaction of compressed air taking the place of the gravity of the counterpoise originally designed. There are in this hydro-pneumatic mounting a number of adjusting appliances, such as forcing pumps, brakes, etc., for regulating the pressures, or quantity of liquid, as, for instance, when lowering the gun without any recoil action in operation. Then again, with any change in the weight of projectile or in the powder charge, there would be a corresponding change in the power of the recoil, and therefore the necessity for compensatory adjustments, which are made with great readiness. The nicety with which the parts are adapted to each other in this mounting must be obvious, when we observe the magnitude of the mass to be moved with the least delay, and brought to rest, quite gently and exactly, in a new position. Details cannot here be given even of the method by which the valves in the recoil cylinders are automatically controlled for this purpose. Means are also supplied for setting the gun, while still in its protected position, to the required angle of elevation or depression. The adjustment is made by the long rods attached near the breech and set at their lower ends to the position giving the intended angle to the raised gun. The varied and powerful strains to which the parts of this mechanism are subject, and which have had to be calculated and provided for, may be inferred from the enormous recoil energy of the gun, which under ordinary conditions amounts to no less than 730 foot-tons. The gun is provided with ordinary, and also with reflecting, sights, so that no one need be exposed to the enemy’s fire. Protective armour above the gun is not required, as the pit itself being usually on some elevation is imperceptible to the enemy, and the gun is visible but for a few seconds, forming a quite inconspicuous object. The pit in which the gun is mounted is commonly lined with concrete. Italy, England, Norway, Japan and other countries have appreciated the advantages of the disappearing system in providing the most powerful coast defences yet devised, and a great many guns have been mounted on this principle.

Fig. 102.—68–ton Gun on Elswick Hydro-Pneumatic Mounting.

An extraordinary piece of ordnance is represented in Fig. [103]. It is one of two huge mortars, the idea of which presented itself to Mr. Mallet during the Crimean War, the intention being to throw into the Russian lines spherical shells a yard in diameter, which would, in fact, have constituted powerful mines, rendering it impossible for the fortifications to continue tenable. Mallet’s original design was to project these shells from mortars of no less than 40 tons weight. When it was pointed out that the transport of so heavy a mass would be impracticable, the design was changed to admit of the mortar being made in pieces not exceeding eleven tons in weight, and built up where required. During the most active period in the siege of Sebastopol this plan was submitted to Lord Palmerston, who at once ordered two of these apparently formidable pieces to be constructed, without waiting for official examinations of the scheme, and the usual reports of experts,—promptness in this case being considered of the utmost importance. A contract was made with a private firm, who undertook to deliver them in ten weeks. But the difficulties attending such constructions not being understood at the time, delays arose, the contractors failed, and two years elapsed before the mortars were completed. In the meantime peace had been concluded, and the mortars were never fired against any hostile works; but experiments were made with one of them at Woolwich. The heaviest of the shells it was intended to project weighed 2,940 lbs., and for this it was proposed to use a charge of 80 lbs. of gunpowder. In the experiments the charges first used were low, but gradually increased: when it was found that after every few rounds repairs became necessary in consequence of the weak points in the construction, and after the nineteenth round the mortar was so much damaged that the trials were definitely discontinued. The other mortar, though mounted, was never fired, but remains at Woolwich, an object of some interest to artillerists, especially since there has been some talk of reverting to this very old-fashioned form of ordnance as a means of attacking ironclads in their most vulnerable direction by the so-called vertical fire. In one of the rounds of the Mallet mortar tried at Woolwich, a shell weighing 2,400 lbs. was thrown by a charge of 70 lbs. of gunpowder a distance of more than a mile and a half, and it buried itself in the soil to a very great depth.