Scientific American Supplement, No. 324, March 18, 1882

by Various

We are at present using the Elswick method, which consists of a flat-backed cup, abutting against the slightly rounded face of the breech plug. The lips of the cup rest against a copper ring let in the walls of the bore. On firing, the gas presses back the cup against the rounded end of the breech-block, and thus forces the lips hard against the copper ring.

It is difficult to compare the excellence of these various systems, so much depends on the care of the gunners, and the nicety of manufacture. The German and French marine methods permit the parts to be quickly exchanged when worn, but it is necessary to cut deeply into the walls of the gun, and to make the wedge, or breech-screw, considerably larger than the opening into the chamber.

The Elswick plan is decidedly better in this last respect, but it requires several hours to extract and renew the copper ring where worn.

The French land service (De Bange) arrangement requires no cutting into the gun, and no enlargement of the breech screw beyond the size of the chamber, while it is renewable in a few minutes, merely requiring a fresh asbestos pad when worn. As regards durability, there is probably no great difference. I have been informed that with a light gun as many as 3,000 rounds have been fired with one asbestos pad. But usually it may be considered that a renewal will be required of the wearing surfaces of any breech-loader after a number of rounds, varying from six or seven hundred, with a field gun, to a hundred or a hundred and fifty with a very heavy gun. Full information is wanting on this point.

Having now decided on the material of which the gun is to be composed, and the manner in which it is to be constructed, and having, moreover, settled the knotty point of how it is to be loaded, we come to the general principles on which a gun is designed. It must not be overlooked that a gun is a machine which has to perform a certain quantity of work of a certain definite kind, and, like all other machines, must be formed specially for its purpose. The motive power is gunpowder, and the article to be produced is perhaps a hole in an armor-plate, perhaps a breach in a concealed escarp, or perhaps destructive effect on troops. These articles are quite distinct, and though all guns are capable of producing them all to some extent, no gun is capable of producing more than one in the highest state of excellence.

Thus, for armor piercing, a long pointed bolt, nearly solid, is required. It must strike with great velocity, and must therefore be propelled by a very large charge of powder. Hence an armor-piercing gun should have a large chamber and a comparatively small bore of great length.

For breaching fortifications, on the other hand, curved fire is necessary; the escarps of modern fortresses are usually covered from view by screens of earth or masonry in front, so that the projectiles must pass over the crest of the screen, and drop sufficiently to strike the wall about half-way down, that is to say, at an angle of 15° to 20°. To destroy the wall, shell containing large bursting charges of powder are found to be particularly well adapted. Now it is clear that, for a shell to drop at an angle of 15° or 20° at the end of a moderate range, the velocity at starting must be low. Hence, for pieces intended for breaching no enlarged powder chamber is wanted; the effect on the wall is due to the shell, which must be made of a shape to hold the most powder for a given weight; and, therefore, rather short and thick. This gives us a large bore, which need not be long, as little velocity is required.

For producing destructive effect among troops, a third kind of projectile is employed. It is called shrapnel, and it consists of a thin shell, holding a little powder and a large quantity of bullets. The powder is ignited by a fuse, which is set to act during flight, or on graze, when the shell is nearing the object. The explosion bursts the shell open, and liberates the bullets, which fly forward, actuated by the velocity of the shell at the moment of bursting. Hence, to render the bullets effective, a considerable remaining velocity is requisite. The gun must therefore take a large powder charge, while, as the shell has to hold as many bullets as possible, the bore must be large enough to take a short projectile of the given weight. Thus, the proportions of the shrapnel gun will be intermediate between those of the armor-piercing gun and the shell gun.

There are certain axioms known from experience, which should be mentioned here. First, the length of the powder chamber should not be more than three and a half or four times its diameter, if it can possibly be avoided, because, with longer charges, the inflamed powder gas is apt to acquire rapid motion, and to set up violent local pressures. Next, the strength of a heavy gun, as reckoned on the principle of all the metal being sound and well in bearing, should not be less than about four times the strain expected.

Again, though there are several opinions as to the best weight of shot for armor piercing, in proportion to diameter, yet among the most advanced gun-makers, there is a growing tendency toward increased weight. The value of w/d³, that is, the weight in pounds divided by the cube of the diameter in inches, as this question is termed, is in the hands of the Ordnance Committee, and it is to be confidently hoped that efforts will shortly be made to arrive at a solution. In the meantime, from about 0.45 to 0.5 appears to be a fairly satisfactory value, and is adopted for the present.