William Greener

“ To such an extent is this habit carried, that many improvements become familiar to half the kingdom, aye, and are adopted by other countries, before our guides take advantage of them: for truly talent and ingenuity are but scantily patronized by them. My wish is to aid in sweeping away the cobwebs which still hang on the science of great gunnery; and to push the spur of conviction deep, that instead of Britain following, she may, in a time of peace, lead the way in improvements; so that whenever war returns, she may not be unprepared to wage it on equal terms. ”

“ Science requires that there should be no excess, no waste, no unnecessary recoil, and all that combined with the utmost range of projectile; this will have to be defined accurately before we can clearly or truly say we are masters of the science of gunpowder. True it is that the granulation of gunpowder gives a clear road to its attainment; but it will be a wearisome journey to reach the summit: yet it must and will be effected, and the nation that first attempts and carries out the attainment, will evince a real love for and mastery of science. ”

“ Artillery, now in the general acceptance of the term, includes all and every description of gun, of greater power and dimensions than muskets and other shoulder guns.
Modern civilization, with its giant strides of improvement, has rejected the cumbrous and unsightly complication of springs, levers and wheels; and given to us, in their stead, the light and handsome six-pounder cannon; which is so easy of transit that it can accomplish the most complex and difficult movements, while the horses are at their fullest gallop. ”

“ Experience and study in the theory of guns and gunpowder, give the mind a much more enlarged view of the subject, if regulated by the established laws of true and sound principles: a want of thorough knowledge induces the individual to draw conclusions prematurely, and thus he is apt to fall, and to lead others, into error. I confess, that, together with many hundreds more, I once concluded that the great advantage of the patent breech arose entirely from the loose state in which the powder was preserved while in the breech, and its thus being more instantaneously ignited. ”

“ As fair play has always been my motto, I am actuated by no other desire than that of enabling the reader to form a true conception of the intricate nature of projectile science; and though the eulogium bestowed on the inventor’s own creation is rather egotistical, I give it entire, dissecting it afterwards in the manner I think most conducive to a correct knowledge of the real science of gunnery. ”

“ Thus we often see men striving to produce one invention on the back of another, with wonderful perseverance, finding many blanks and rarely a prize; for truly in this competing age, the mind must be strong that can fight long. Bitter is the disappointment of the truly ingenious mind, to see the produce of his brains thrown as lumber into the herring barrel,—as the printer terms the receptacle for what he sets no value upon ”

“ A gun fired in the direction of the earth, or in the line of the centre of gravity, would recoil much less (perhaps fifty per cent. less) than when fired vertically; from the very obvious fact, that if the bullet was not kept in position by its friction on the sides of the barrel, it would fall to the ground of itself.
“The recoil of a gun is inseparable from a discharge of its contents—on the broad principle that action begets reaction; it is, therefore, only when the ‘kick,’ as it is called, becomes painful, that it is essential to avoid or lessen it. ”

“ Gunnery is now rid of the anomaly of being assisted by friction: the detention of the projectile in the tube by artificial friction, to enable more force to be generated, is one of those absurdities pardonable only in bygone days. Science is best consulted by lessening friction; guns of steel, with interiors as fine as the polish in a mirror, are found to shoot best: a rough road is but so much force uselessly absorbed; the experience of the last few years having proved that a range of 1,800 yards cannot be accomplished except with barrels having surfaces as smooth as possible. ”

“ It is on the nature of the metal that the goodness of the shooting principally depends. That barrel which is possessed of the greatest degree of elasticity and tenacity, will throw its shot strongest and closest with the least artificial friction. It is on the knowledge of the qualities and temperatures of the various irons, and on practice in the art of shooting, that a man’s ability in making guns shoot with precision must rest. All plans are merely methods by which an unscientific maker has most frequently succeeded. ”

“ Every point upon the surface of a projectile in motion, whether it be a rocket, javelin, ship, bullet, arrow, or any other description of projectile, is the end of a lever, the fulcrum of which is situated in the projectile’s centre of gravity. ”

“ Were I free of the gun-making profession entirely, and asked for my conscientious advice in the purchasing of a gun, I should decidedly say, buy a gun from no one who has not a character to lose; who is not only answerable for the article he sells, but also capable of judging of the quality, and appreciates the value of good materials. The trade is over-run with swarms of Jew salesmen and others, who cannot, nor ever will be, able to duly understand and appreciate the responsibility attached to the profession of a gun-maker. ”

“ My experience with rockets goes to justify me in asserting that rockets discharged from a gun, under certain circumstances, can be as effectually controlled, and kept to a direct course, as a bullet fired from a rifle. The rocket, however, may be fired a much greater distance than we have ever been able to project a bullet; because, in addition to the force which projects it from the gun, its flight is maintained by the self sustaining agency in the body of the rocket. Rockets require a much smaller charge of powder to project them than that which is used for a bullet ”

“ The open-ended barrel projecting balls, and eventually bursting, is a beautiful and interesting elucidation, both of the force of gunpowder and the stubborn nature of the atmospheric fluid. All these facts are valuable, inasmuch as they lay bare circumstances which have never been satisfactorily accounted for, and enable the mind of lowest capacity to understand the cause and effect. ”

“ Artists and sculptors exhibit the effects of their genius: why should not gunmakers also? The highest skill is required in producing a gun: a first-rate gun is indeed a work of art. Why is it not done? “Self” is the stumbling-block. The first makers “par excellence” do not encourage it, being jealous of being beaten by some provincial. There wants unanimity, a co-operative feeling, both in London and Birmingham. A well-arranged “Mutual Improvement Society” would be the means of driving the “rubbish” out of the market, and the sordid manufacturer into a reformation of his ways ”

“ The slaughter-master is a cormorant, who swallows the substance of the weak, and once past his awful jaws he cannot be made to disgorge. Here itinerant hardwaremen find an abundant supply: he has always a stock. The wants of the poor are always pressing, and the gun-making portions of the inhabitants of Birmingham are not over provident, seldom caring for what to-morrow may bring forth. ”

“ Competition and cheapness combined, are driving our gun trade into a labyrinth, out of which it will be long ere it finds the clue of exit. Our manufacture of inferior gunnery has certainly reached a depth of inferiority which never any other manufacture in the world reached, and I hope never will. ”

“ Projectile force is, therefore, to be increased by resistance; and the knowledge of this fact offers us a practical hint, that when we stand immoveable to our shot, not only by holding the gun tightly to our shoulder, but by also leaning somewhat forward in our shooting attitude, we considerably increase the resistance, and, consequently, we not only lessen the shock of the recoil to ourselves, but we aid the force of the shot and extend its range. ”

“ In artillery, at this most important time in war’s history, no attention whatever is paid to this essential principle. A long 10-inch gun, a 68-pounder, and a short 6-pounder are all charged with powder of the same granulation; whilst by a more judicious use of gunpowder of suitable granulation, the range might be extended, just as it is in sporting arms, to nearly 20 per cent.
Artillerists seek to effect great range by doubling the weight of the gun, and projectile monsters meet us at all points, to become in every case “monster failures.” ”

“ Where, it may be asked, is the skill in devising engines more powerful than the ingenuity of man can beneficially work out? This has indeed been done in the case of the Leviathan; a monster vessel has been built, but all the engineering skill expended upon it has as yet been insufficient to bring it to perfection.
The skill hitherto displayed in welding large forgings of wrought iron into shafts, or other large masses, has been of a very low order; much more may be done than has yet been accomplished, if men will only set about it in a scientific manner. ”

“ For many years the superiority of the English manufactured gun, as well as of the English gunpowder, and the matchless skill of the English sportsman, have been acknowledged by all the world. All things, however, have their limits—the longest lane has a turning, and a very plausible and insidious innovation has been made to detract from the acquired reputation of the English sportsman, and render his shooting inferior to that of some of our friends on the other side of the Channel. ”

“ Accumulation of metal in the rear of the breech-end of a gun is true science, and of so easy an attainment, that wonder arises in the mind why it has not been effected. The extent to which this principle is worked upon in our gunnery is very trifling; though recoil can by this simple arrangement be nearly destroyed, or so lessened as to add considerable percentage of range to the projectile. Add no considerable weight to the gun, but add it judiciously, behind the end of the chamber and vent, and immediately surrounding the breech. ”

“ The production of a perfect breech-loading small arm is as difficult as the production of a perfect breech-loading cannon, and that is so problematical as to amount, in my humble opinion, to nearly an impossibility. All experience teaches that a perfectly sound base of projection in the gun is indispensable, if good direction and velocity are required; without which there can be no good shooting. ”

“ The absurdity of exploding gunpowder in a shell at the breech of a gun, and persisting in the advantage of it, is certainly tilting at a windmill. It will be asked how it is that Government do not adopt the patent breech in the musket? I answer, because of a want of science in the direction, and an imperfect system of experiments. In fact, they say they do not find any advantage from the patent breech in a musket: that the range is as great without it as with it. ”

“ The study of these points will save money, time, and what is of more value, brain-work, which might be better employed. Striving to produce perfect breech-loading cannon is like striving to square the circle. ”

“ Why keep up a distinction that does not exist? Why call a gun London-made because the seller rents a shop and calls himself a gun-maker? Why not at once say, “Our manufactory is in Birmingham, as we find we can make both better and cheaper there.” ”

“ The superiority of one barrel in throwing shot stronger and more evenly distributed, arises, it will be easily seen, from the absence, or existence of, internal friction, when contrasted with the different degrees of expelling force, and the degree of resistance from the atmosphere; it also accounts clearly for the fact of guns shooting stronger on one day than on another, in fine and in rough weather: the weight, the resistance of the air, is the only cause of the variation; for gunpowder cannot drive back a dense atmosphere as quickly as a lighter one. ”

“ The only engineer who has, by practical experience, satisfied himself that large masses of wrought iron are totally useless for making heavy ordnance is Mr. Nasmyth; whose monster cannon, which was to astonish the whole world, proved, when heated, to have so little cohesion that it would scarcely hold together whilst being lifted from the furnace to the anvil. ”

“ The field in which experiments are carried on is very different from that of a battle. Experiments, as detailed, sometimes turn out most fallacious when put to the use for which they are intended; and in no case is this more apparent than in breech-loading arms: thousands of rounds may be fired in a few days with great success; but extend that over twelve months, a certain number being fired every day, and the gun being cleaned after each day’s practice, and long before thousands are fired, the gun displays weak points—points which could not be discovered in the lesser experiment. ”

“ Common-sense, engineering skill, will demonstrate, that according to the weight of matter to be projected must be the nature of the expellant; accumulative—until it has overcome the inertia of that matter, accelerative—until it has communicated to it the highest state of velocity its power is capable of effecting. If, on the other hand, it is inferior to this, science has not extracted from it the full horse-power it contains; and we are uselessly expending force and destroying our engines by undue pressure being exerted on one part, and inferior pressure on another ”

“ The accomplishment of a school of instruction for teachers of rifle shooting to the British army is now an established fact; the results, most flattering to the projectors, more than verifying their anticipations. The degree of perfection attained by some before leaving Hythe is so extraordinary, that I will leave the reality to be imagined or witnessed; and it will well repay the journey. The standing order lately issued, awarding substantial benefits to the adept in shooting, is sure to bear its fruits, and is only the first step to many others of no less importance. ”

“ Two motions can easily be given to matter in a lower velocity; but not so easily when the velocity is much increased. Hence I fear that the inventor of the Lancaster gun must have had a misconception of the true laws of motion; for by increasing the degree of spiral at the muzzle, instead of at the breech of the gun, he has rendered nearly useless what would otherwise have proved a most formidable engine of war. ”