Frederick Bramwell

“ Why don't you provide a greater margin of safety? Look at boilers and at railway bridges, and the percentage of extra strength allowed in these cases." The gun-maker might retort by saying, that neither bridges nor boilers have been found to be absolutely safe, but he would do better to give the true answer, which is this; that the exigencies of the case will not admit of these extra strengths being given, and that of necessity the strains to be endured by the metal in the Big Guns, must be far in excess of those, which could be imposed upon the metal of either bridges or of boilers. ”

“ In answer to those who speak as though there were finality in the science of gun construction, and who complain of us for making guns, which are now becoming obsolete; the reason is so obvious that I hardly need to state it. If all other nations would agree to abstain from gun-making, until the perfect gun was discovered, we could do the same, but they will not; they arm with the best weapon of the day, and we must do likewise, although feeling sure that in a few years, that which we are now doing, will be obsolete. ”

“ In these days of machine guns, and of quick-firing guns, however, there is always a chance that a "Big Gun" may be struck by one of their bullets, and it might well be that a bullet, which was too small to inflict serious injury upon a gun reinforced by solid steel hoops, would cut the wire coils to pieces, and would thus temporarily render the Big Gun unserviceable. ”

“ The principal forging for a gun is now of an enormous weight. The ingot, as I have told you, has to be some 66 per cent, heavier than the forging, involving change in composition by the separating out of the carbon while cooling, and involving also the chance of concealed flaws, which no subsequent manipulation can cure. The resulting forging can only be tested for quality in places, and no known, certain, test exists, for concealed flaws. ”

“ The truth is, until some one is found, who can see into the very inside of the metal of the gun, and can do so in every part, and until such a person, even if he could see, possessed the ability by mere inspection to judge of quality, and of condition, no gun can be pronounced absolutely and undoubtedly trustworthy. ”

“ Now it is obvious that the form of the projectile must have a great influence upon the question, whether or not the muzzle velocity shall be rapidly diminished, or shall be fairly maintained. No one can doubt that if there were two bodies of equal weight, one made in the form of a javelin and the other in that of a flat disc, and if both were cast from the hand with equal velocities, the disc being propelled flatways against the air, that the javelin would retain at the end of a given time, much more of its initial velocity, than would be retained by the disc. ”

“ Time will not admit of any of this being done, and I must occupy that which remains with other matters relating to the gun question—matters that, as members of a nation that wishes to be able to defend itself from the covetousness of other nations, you feel, and justly feel, are of vital importance.
You are probably saying to yourselves, we see frequent statements from persons, whom we presume to be of repute, that no proper progress is made in English guns; that they are behind those of other nations; that they are less trustworthy than those of other nations ”

“ Another way is to make the steel by the converter plan, wherein fused cast iron is decarbonised, by the blowing in of air, which burns off the carbon, leaving the contents of the vessel in the state of fluid wrought iron, and then to run in so much of a metal rich in carbon as shall give to the whole charge, the proportion required. The third mode, the open hearth, consists in melting the material in gas furnaces, and so proportioning the mixture, as to obtain the desired amount of carbonisation, ascertaining before tapping, what the condition really is, by means of test pieces. ”

“ With breech-loading guns the length of barrel may be indefinitely increased without adding to the difficulty of inserting the charge; the cartridge not having to pass down the bore may have any reasonable increase of diameter. Moreover, in lieu of a gas-check, and in lieu of studs taking into the rifling, the projectile can be fitted with a driving band made larger than the bore of the gun, which being forced by the powder pressure on the first movement of the shot into the rifle grooves, fills them up, and prevents the passage of gas. ”

“ A gun is, after all, only an engine, with its piston (the shot) moving at a very high velocity, and the powder gases act on the shot very much in the same way, in which steam acts upon the piston, in an expansive steam engine, after the admission from the boiler is shut off, and expansion has begun. ”

“ One's feeling is that it cannot need much work to expel a mere gas, but you may depend upon it that if 700 lbs. of powder are put into a gun in the solid state—in which condition you would agree they could not be expelled from the gun, with less absorption of energy than would be needed to expel a shot of the same weight, issuing at the same velocity—the fact of having converted this 700 lbs. ”

“ It may be said, why not select the metal—cast iron, bronze, or steel—and having determined on the pressure to be resisted, and the factor of safety to be allowed, and knowing the resisting power of the metal you have selected, make the walls thick enough, and then all that is needed has been attended to. Happy would it be for the gun-maker, if a gun could be produced of reasonable strength, combined with manageable weight, by such simple means ”

“ But there is another reason why the retention as far as possible of the muzzle velocity is of importance, which is, that it enables a longer range to be obtained, and shorter ranges to be accomplished with less elevation of the gun—a great advantage, as the following considerations will show. If the velocity were infinite, so that the effect of gravity could not come into play, the gun could be laid point blank on the object to be hit, and we should then get far better shooting than we get now, wonderfully good as that shooting is. ”

“ It must not be supposed that the energy of the powder is all utilised in driving out the projectile, and in giving it rotation. On the contrary, a very considerable percentage is employed in moving the powder itself along the gun in the rear of the shot, while as regards the question of recoil, a large portion of this is due to the energy required to expel the whole of the powder gases, at the enormous velocity at which they are expelled, after the exit of the shot has left them free issue. ”

“ I will ask those practical men who are here, to remember, how, if for any purpose we desired to fit a vessel, that is to bear some two or three tons per inch water pressure, with a 20-inch cover, we should provide numerous massive bolts and nuts, how we should screw them down one after another, and with what pains we should endeavour to make the joint, and the length of time that would be consumed, even when working at our best, and undisturbed by the attack of an enemy. ”

“ I have already pointed out to you how the elongated projectile, concentrates the energy of the shot on the surface attacked, but it will be clear that this effect must be reciprocal, and that the energy will be, in like manner, concentrated on the projectile itself, and that therefore some material far better than mere ordinary cast iron, must be resorted to; and you will be prepared to hear that steel was selected, even in those early days, when steel manufacture was still in a very backward condition. ”

“ Horrible suggestion—our bread, our milk, our butter, coffee, tea, and wine, our medicine, may none of them be that which they purport to be, but may be found by the analyst to be the products of "covetousness," aided by "applied science."
Imagine the benefit of being able to dispense with locks, bolts, and bars, and with the nightly round of visits, to window-fastenings and to door-locks!
Again, if men ceased to covet, we should get rid of much sham philanthropy, philanthropy of the Judas character: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" ”

“ I do not mean to say, that if the individuals making up the community, were all fully obedient to the commandment, we should thereby be without crime, or that gaols and policemen could be dispensed with, but I do say that there would be an enormous diminution in crime, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the cost of repression, and that the increased enjoyment of life would be such, as we cannot even succeed in picturing to ourselves. ”

“ We, for extreme safety, have determined on boring up our 110-ton gun to only 12 inches, and have thus rendered ourselves incapable of firing more than a 12-inch projectile, or one that weighs but some 43 per cent, of that of our opponent, and if moving at equal velocities, carries but 43 per cent, of the energy. ”

“ You may by experience based on experiment, by vigilance in selection of material, by such tests of that material as you can make during manufacture, and by proof of the gun when made, so far diminish the chances of failure, that you are quite prepared to stand beside the gun when fired, as you are quite prepared to take your voyage in an ocean steamer, or to stand alongside a steam boiler ”

“ The breech arrangements must be such that they make an absolutely gas-tight joint, and such that the joint can be rapidly made, and that after having been subjected to the enormous pressure brought on it by the explosion, it must be capable of being as readily unmade, so that the breech may be opened.
To insure the true direction of the shot, the gun must be rifled, and means must be provided, as far as practicable, to neutralise the rush of powder gas and mitigate its erosive effects. ”

“ Well, there can be no test short of actually firing against an armour-plate, such as that with which they would have to contend. Suppose you desire to give an order for several hundred projectiles, say for the 12-inch guns. You must not, if you can avoid it, confine this order to one firm, and especially you must not do so if that firm be a foreign one. You can't expect manufacturers in England, to lay out thousands upon thousands upon special plant, unless you can, from time to time, give them work. ”