LANGUAGE OF THE BIG GUNS
In the present war, the big guns, both on land and sea, have told their
own story, and they have commanded conviction of their usefulness in
proportion to the loudness of their voice.
Following the introduction of armor-plate by Ericsson's _Monitor_ and
the _Merrimac_, armor-plate was answered by increasing the size of guns
and projectiles. Brown prismatic powder was developed to slow the
burning and lessen the initial pressure, thereby securing a better
maintenance of pressure behind the projectile in its passage along the
bore of the gun.
Guns weighing more than a hundred tons were built in England for the use
of brown prismatic powder, but it was found that after firing a few
rounds, the guns drooped at the muzzle under the shock of discharge, and
lost their accuracy.
The invention and development of smokeless gunpowder, mainly during the
ten years between 1887 and 1897, resulted in radical improvements in
guns of all calibers.
Only about 44 per cent. of the products of combustion of the old black
powder and the brown prismatic powder were gaseous. The balance, about
56 per cent., were solid matter, and produced smoke. It will be seen, at
a glance, that smokeless powder, whose products of combustion are
entirely gaseous, possesses enormous ballistic advantages, quite
independent of its smokelessness. Less than half the products of
combustion of the old smoke-producing powders being gaseous, much energy
was absorbed from the gases, to heat and vaporize the solid products
constituting the smoke. Additional heat was consumed by the work of
expelling the smoke from the gun.
The products of combustion of smokeless powder are not only practically
all gaseous, but also they are much hotter than the products of
combustion of the old, smoky, black powder. Owing to this fact,
smokeless powder may be considered about four times as powerful as the
old black powder.
When a projectile is thrown from a gun, although it is not heated
appreciably, yet heat-energy represented by its velocity is absorbed
from the expanding gases of the powder charge. When a 12-inch projectile
weighing a thousand pounds is thrown from one of our long naval guns, it
has a striking energy, fifty feet from the muzzle, of about 50,000
foot-tons--that is to say, it strikes with a force equal to that of
50,000 tons falling from a height of one foot, or one ton falling from a
height of 50,000 feet. As the 12-inch naval gun weighs about 50 tons,
the energy absorbed from the gases in the shape of velocity of the
projectile is sufficient to lift a thousand 12-inch guns to a height of
one foot.
As a projectile weighs half a ton, the force of the blow is about the
same as though the projectile were to be dropped from a height of twenty
miles, with no deduction for the resistance of the atmosphere.
When the projectile is stopped, a quantity of heat is re-developed
exactly equal to that absorbed from the powder gases in giving the
projectile its high velocity; and the quantity of heat absorbed from the
powder gases in throwing a thousand-pound projectile from our big naval
guns is sufficient to melt 750 pounds of cast iron, which is enough to
heat the projectile white hot.
Obviously, when the projectile strikes armor-plate, either the plate or
the projectile must yield, for the reason that the projectile brings to
bear upon a 12-inch plate an energy sufficient to fuse a hole right
through it, and this is substantially what it does. The hard and
toughened steel of the plate is heated and softened by the force of
impact, and, although the projectile may be cold after it has passed
through, it actually does fuse a hole through the plate, the metal
flowing like wax from its path.
The introduction of smokeless cannon-powder was followed by a recession
from guns of great weight and caliber, to guns of smaller weight and
smaller caliber, the aim being to make up for the greater smashing power
of huge projectiles, thrown at a lower velocity, with projectiles of
smaller size, thrown at much greater velocity and having a greater power
of penetration of armor-plate, which was constantly being made thicker
and tougher and harder in order to resist the impact of armor-piercing
projectiles.
As armor-plate continued to increase in thickness and in powers of
resistance, guns of bigger and bigger caliber had to be made, capable of
withstanding the enormous pressure necessary to throw projectiles of
sufficient size and at sufficiently high velocity to penetrate any
armor-plate that could be opposed to them.
With every improvement in armor-plate, the gun and the projectile have
been improved and enlarged, until now no armor-plate carried by any ship
can withstand the naval guns of largest caliber. In its race with
armor-plate, the gun has thus far been the winner.
The victory of the _Monitor_ over the _Merrimac_ at Hampton Roads, half
a century ago, was far less decisive than was the victory of armor-plate
over the gun of that time.
The whole world well remembers the story of how the _Monitor_ arrived in
the nick of time, and saved the Federal fleet from destruction. But the
salvation of the Northern fleet was of little advantage, for the advent
of the _Monitor_ rendered obsolete and useless every warship of every
fleet in the world.
Great Britain found herself without a navy. There was universal
consternation. It was a world-wonder that no government had before
resorted to so simple an expedient, and one whose utility was so very
evident.
It must be remembered that the guns of that period were muzzle-loading
smooth-bores, and that the round, solid projectiles thrown by them were
intended merely to knock holes in the sides of wooden warships and to
pound down the walls of brick or stone forts. Bombshells were then thin,
hollow spheres of cast iron, charged with black gunpowder, and they were
not intended for penetration, their destructiveness depending upon the
fragments hurled by their explosion, or upon their ignition of
inflammable material.
It is a curious phase of human progress that what is old and tried is
venerated and conserved with solicitous regard out of all proportion to
merit. Innovations must not only have evident merit, but their merit
must also be so indubitably proven by application and use as to replace
the old and revered, in spite of the opposition of overzealous
conservatism. The substitution of the sail for the galley-slave was a
very slow process, until it received especial stimulus in the fierce
forays of the marauding Northmen and the raids of the Mediterranean
corsairs. Similarly, did the sail slowly give way to steam.
A modern wooden steam-launch or a forty-foot motor-boat, with cedar
sides, driven by gasolene-engines and armed with a single
three-and-a-half-inch gun, would be able today to attack and destroy the
famous _Monitor_ of Ericsson, in spite of its armor-plate, for the
reason that the launch or motor-boat would have vastly greater speed,
and also for the reason that its gun would have vastly greater range,
and would be able to penetrate the soft iron armor of the _Monitor_ with
projectiles charged with a high explosive to explode inside. The
motor-boat, lying outside the range of the huge 11-inch guns of the
_Monitor_, could hold a position of perfect safety during the conflict,
and, by consequence, would need no armored protection.
Thus we see that the sufficiency of armor-plate must, other things being
equal, inevitably depend upon insufficiency in range and penetrating
power of the gun to which it is opposed. An unarmored vessel, with guns
capable of penetrating the armor-plate of an opponent having
shorter-range guns, needs only to have superior speed in order to choose
a position out of range of the armor-clad's guns, and, atmospheric
conditions being favorable, to destroy it without itself being exposed
to any danger whatsoever.
But there are other conditions which prevent the gun, however long its
range and however great its power of penetration, from being a complete
defense in the absence of armored protection. These conditions are--the
limit of vision due to the rotundity of the earth, even in clear
weather, the limitation of vision, at much nearer distances, in thick or
hazy weather, and, of course, the greatly increased difficulty of
hitting at extreme ranges. Also, it is necessary to be able to observe,
from the fighting-tops, where trial shots strike, in order to get the
correct range, and lay the guns exactly upon the target.
In the recent North Sea fight, firing began at more than 17,000 yards,
or about ten miles; 12-inch and 13-inch shells from the British ships
struck the _Bluecher_ before more than the upper works of the _Bluecher_
could be seen from the decks of the British ships. Only by the
fire-control officers, a hundred feet above the decks, could her whole
hull be seen. When the first huge shells came plunging down out of the
sky upon the _Bluecher_, her gunners could not see the ships from which
they came.
It is true that with much more powerful guns than those of her enemy, an
unarmored vessel would be able to shoot right through any armored
protection opposed to them. But there is the danger that an armored ship
of an enemy may emerge from the fog or haze, or from out of the darkness
at night, and then neither speed nor weight of gun-fire might save the
unarmored ship. The unarmored vessel would not be able with her small
guns, if she carried them, materially to injure her armored enemy,
whereas the enemy, with its secondary batteries, firing with enormous
rapidity and faster than the speed of the heavier guns, would be able to
riddle her in a few moments. Consequently, it is considered wise to
employ sufficient armor to afford protection against the rapid-fire guns
of smaller caliber. Such armor also at longer ranges affords
considerable protection against the big guns, for it must be expected
that not all projectiles will strike the plate at right angles. They
strike at all angles, and sometimes at very sharp angles, and glance
off, in which case armor of moderate thickness may save a ship by
diverting the shots, while, if she were wholly unarmored, she might be
destroyed.
We may then conclude that an ideal fighting ship would be one having
very great speed, carrying very large and powerful guns, and protected
by armor-plate of but moderate thickness. Actually, such a ship is the
modern battle-cruiser. We have as yet not one of these ships in our
Navy, while the Japanese have two of the most powerful in the world, and
more building; England has eight, and more building; Germany has four,
and more building.
[Illustration: _How the Fleet of an Enemy with fifteen-inch guns could
Bombard and Destroy Forts hancock, Hamilton and Wadsworth and also all
of Brooklyn and part of Manhattan, from a position beyond the range of
the Guns of those Forts; also showing how, after Fort Hancock is
destroyed, the Fleet could move yet nearer for the Destruction of Forts
Hamilton and Wadsworth, and still be out of range of those Forts, and
finally, after their Destruction, how it could Bombard New York, Jersey
City and Brooklyn at Short Range._]
The first improvements following the advent of armor-plate were made,
as might be supposed, in the gun and in the projectile. The old
smooth-bore, with spherical projectile, was replaced by the
breech-loading rifle and the conical projectile having a copper driving
ring and gas-check, by which a projectile possessing enormously greater
mass for its caliber could be hurled at much higher velocity and kept
point on.
Extraordinary improvements have been continuously made in armor-plate,
to harden and toughen it and to give it greater powers of resistance,
while battleships have been made larger and larger to support heavier
and heavier armor-plate. Nevertheless, the first improvement in guns and
projectiles that followed the advent of the armor-clad, gave the gun the
lead, and the gun has kept the lead ever since.
Today, the long-range, high-power naval gun, charged with smokeless
powder, and throwing a projectile made of tempered steel inconceivably
tough and hard, and charged with high explosive, is the most powerful
dynamic instrument ever produced by man. A 12-inch naval gun throws a
projectile weighing half a ton, at a velocity nearly three times the
speed of sound. A charge of three hundred and seventy-five pounds of
smokeless powder, strong as dynamite, is employed for the projectile's
propulsion.
It may be safely assumed that at fighting ranges the residual velocity
of a 12-inch, armor-piercing, half-ton projectile, thrown from one of
the most powerful 12-inch naval guns, develops heat enough upon impact
to fuse its way through 12-inch plate.
When a solid body comes into collision with another solid body, the
energy of motion is instantly converted into heat, except such portion
of it as may be consumed in fragmentation, and retained in the motion of
the flying pieces. If two armor-plates, twelve inches in thickness,
could be brought together face to face, each with a velocity equal to
that of a modern 12-inch projectile, the energy of the impact would be
sufficient to melt both plates.
New suns are created by the occasional collision of great celestial
bodies in their flight through space. The heat generated by such
collisions is, however, vastly greater than that developed by the
collision of a projectile against armor-plate, for the reason that the
velocity of celestial bodies is so much greater, being commonly from
thirty-five to fifty miles per second, and sometimes as high as two
hundred miles per second, instead of but three-quarters of a mile per
second. The heat developed by the collision of worlds is sufficient not
only to fuse them, but also to gasefy them, and reduce them to their
ultimate elements. All the suns that emblazon the evening sky have been
created in this manner, and the heat generated by their natal impact is
sufficient to maintain their radiant energy for hundreds of millions of
years. Planets are born, some of them to become inhabited worlds,
finally to grow old and die, with the extinguishment of all life upon
them, while their parent sun is still blazing hot.
The earth is being constantly bombarded with meteorites, usually of very
small size. But the earth is armor-plated with its envelope of air. The
impact of meteorites upon this envelope, at the enormous speed at which
they are traveling through space, is fatal to them, and they are dashed
to pieces and consumed upon it, as though it were a solid shield of
hardest tempered steel. It is seldom, indeed, that a meteorite has
sufficient size and mass to penetrate through the atmosphere to the
earth's surface. Were it not for the protection offered by the earth's
envelope of air, every living thing upon its surface would be very soon
destroyed by the meteoric bombardment from the heavens. A minute
particle of meteoric dust, traveling at celestial velocity, would be
more deadly than a bullet from a shoulder-rifle.
When a projectile is fired from a gun, it encounters the same
atmospheric resistance, in proportion to its velocity and mass, as is
encountered by a meteorite, the resistance increasing in a ratio
something like the square of the velocity. When a battleship fires a
12-inch shot at another war-vessel ten miles away, the velocity is
greatly reduced during flight, for an enormous amount of energy is
consumed in punching a 12-inch hole ten miles long through the
atmosphere. Gravitation, also, is drawing the projectile toward the
earth with a constant pull of half a ton, to counteract which the
trajectory must be made an upward curve. This makes the path longer, and
consumes additional energy in raising the projectile to the top of the
trajectory.
If a projectile could be thrown from a gun at a velocity equal to that
of a meteor, it would blaze like the sun during flight, for the metal
upon its surface would be fused and gasefied by the resistance and
friction of the air. It would not make any difference whether it were
made of the toughest, hardest tempered steel, or whether it were made of
soft iron. The velocity would be so great that it would pass through the
heaviest armor-plate without appreciable reduction of speed. If the
projectile were of lead, it would require armor-plate of a greater
thickness to stop it than if it were of steel, for the reason that its
mass or weight for its bulk would be greater.
Distance and the intervening air are our most efficient protection. No
armored defense now employed is wholly effectual, except the range be
long. By consequence, then, future naval battles will be decided more
and more by speed and size of guns, rather than by armored protection.
Were two modern dreadnoughts to battle at as close range as did the
_Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_, immediate destruction would be mutual.
They would cripple each other more in four minutes than did the
_Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_ in the four long hours during which they
pounded each other.
The _Alabama_ and _Kearsarge_ fought for more than an hour, within
bowshot of each other, before the _Alabama_ was destroyed. Were two of
the biggest and most heavily armored battleships in the world to fight
today at as close range, one or the other of them would be destroyed in
a very few minutes.
The projectiles fired from the monster naval guns now weigh many times
as much as those thrown from the guns of either the _Monitor_ or the
_Merrimac_, and these huge projectiles have also a multiplied velocity.
The total thickness of the armor of the _Monitor's_ turret was ten
inches. An iron wall of the character used in Ericsson's turret, five
feet in thickness, would not afford adequate protection against our
modern, monster guns.
Of course, the character of armor-plate has been vastly improved since
that time. Instead of being merely soft iron, as was that of the
_Monitor_, armor-plate is now made of the hardest and toughest tempered
steel that science can produce. So, also, is the projectile. The
projectile has far more than held its own. It is necessary, therefore,
that the most heavily armored ships, as well as those unarmored, must
fight today at long range, depending mainly upon skilled marksmanship
and power and range of guns, rather than upon armored protection. A
battle at close range between two huge modern dreadnoughts would be as
deadly to both combatants as a duel between two men standing close
together, face to face, holding pistols at each other's breast.
When a chemical engineer makes an invention, and needs money for its
exploitation, he first interests capitalists by letting them see the
invention practised on a laboratory scale, embodying essentially the
same conditions as would be involved in the larger commercial
application. Similarly, we may get a very just and dependable idea of
the relative efficiency of guns and armor-plate on a naval-battle scale,
by taking into consideration what would be the result of a lesser
conflict, embodying essentially the same conditions.
Suppose two men were to fight a duel, one wearing armor capable of
protecting him as efficiently against rifle balls as the heaviest armor
carried by any warship today is capable of protecting it against modern
cannon-fire; the other wearing no armor, and being thereby enabled to
run much faster than his armor-clad opponent. Obviously, if the
unarmored man had a gun of longer range than that carried by the
protected man, he would be able to keep out of range of his enemy's gun,
while still keeping him well within range. Thus he would be able to
continue firing at him until he killed him, without in return being hit
at all.
At the battle of Santiago, the American fleet made only about two per
cent. of hits with its 12-inch guns. Since that time very great
improvements have been made in fire-control, and the accuracy of
gun-fire. Today, a battle-cruiser, going at the rate of thirty knots,
will hit an object on the sky-line a tenth the size of a battleship with
the accuracy that Buffalo Bill from horse-back would hit a man's hat at
a distance of twenty paces.
In the naval battle between von Spee and Cradock, off the coast of
Chili, they opened fire on each other with deadly effect at 12,000
yards. In the running fight off the Falkland Islands, most of the
execution was done at a range of 15,000 yards.
In the North Sea fight, according to the report of Admiral Beatty, the
British shots began to take effect on the enemy at ten miles, and the
whole battle was fought at a range of over seven miles. The German guns,
being mounted so that they could be elevated much more than the British,
were able to shoot not only as far, but even farther. The British guns,
however, were much more effective, because of the greater weight of
metal thrown.
When projectiles are increased in size the atmospheric resistance at
equal velocity increases as the square of the diameter, while the mass
increases as the cube of the diameter. Consequently, large projectiles
lose less velocity during flight, in proportion to their weight, due to
the resistance of the air, than do smaller projectiles.
Only within the last few years has rapid-fire with very large guns
become possible. Now, however, loading machinery has been so perfected
that the limit is no longer that of hand-power. Wherever in nature
forces are opposed, there is a tendency toward an equilibrium. There is
now a tendency toward the establishment of an equilibrium between the
power of offense and the power of defense--between gun-fire and
armor-plate.
Nevertheless, the mean force of gun-fire remains still far superior to
that of armored resistance. The mean armored resistance is now about on
a par with that of the moderate caliber guns, as, for example, 6-and
8-inch guns. If there were no larger guns than those of 6-and 8-inch
caliber, guns and armor-plate would be about neck and neck in the race.
Consequently, we must look to the winning of naval victories by the
employment of guns of more than 8-inch caliber.
Speed is of such supreme importance in naval engagements that its value
should be especially emphasized. Superior speed enables the fleet
possessing it to choose its own position, thus determining the range and
the direction from which the attack shall be made. If the fleet happens
to have guns of larger caliber and longer range than the enemy, it may
be important, also, to choose its weather by keeping out of action until
it can fight at the maximum range of its own guns. The slow fleet must
always fight at a disadvantage.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1.--Two fleets, F and S, go into action in parallel
lines, the range being chosen by the fleet, F, having ships of greatest
speed and guns of longest range._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2.--The faster fleet, F, forges ahead, concentrating
the fire of both its front ships on the van ship of the slow fleet, while
the rear ship of flee S is thrown out of range and out of action._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 3.--The faster fleet, F, bends its course in front
of the slower fleet, S, with increased concentration of fire on the
leading ships of the latter, throwing its two rear ships out of action._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 4.--The faster fleet, F, doubles around and crumples
the slower fleet, S, and pours into its foremost ships and overwhelming
enfilading fire, while its four rear ships are thrown out of action._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 5.--The slower fleet, S, is forced into a circular
position and destroyed, while its rear ships are constantly kept out of
action._]
Let us picture two opposing fleets drawn up for battle. The fleet with
fastest ships and guns of longest range, lining up at the maximum
effective distance for its fire, steams at first in a line parallel with
the enemy and in the same direction that the enemy is steaming. The
faster fleet is soon able to run its van ships forward of the van ships
of the enemy, turning in front of them, thereby bringing the front ship
of the enemy's line under the combined fire of its own two foremost
ships, while the rearmost ship in its line of battle gets out of range
of the rearmost ship of the enemy, placing the latter entirely out of
action. This movement is continued until the enemy's line is encircled,
crumpled up, and destroyed. Therefore, we see that superior speed
enables the fleet possessing it to put a portion of an enemy's fleet
entirely out of action, while at the same time placing the remainder of
the enemy's ships under the combined fire of a superior number.
In June, 1897, I delivered a lecture before the Royal United Service
Institution of Great Britain, in which I illustrated and recommended the
employment of a gun of very large caliber for use on fighting ships and
in coast fortifications.
The United States government had, several years previously, adopted the
multi-perforated smokeless cannon-powder invented by me. This form of
grain rendered it possible to use a pure nitro-cellulose smokeless
powder in large guns, because it greatly reduced the initial area of
combustion in proportion to the mass, while as the combustion progressed
this condition was reversed and a very large area was presented to the
flame of combustion in proportion to the mass. Consequently, the initial
pressure in the gun was much reduced, while greater pressure was
maintained behind the projectile in its flight through the gun than
could be obtained by any other form of grain. This made possible the
attainment of a very high velocity, with a comparatively low initial
pressure and, consequently, with comparatively small strain upon the
gun. For this reason, and because of the low heat in the combustion of
pure nitro-cellulose powder, the erosive action upon the gun was reduced
to a minimum.
I invented another and a special form of multi-perforated grain by means
of which a yet lower initial pressure for a given density of loading was
secured, the rate of combustion being still more highly accelerated.
Believing that the advantages of projectiles of great size, carrying a
very large bursting charge, could be better illustrated by a gun of
extraordinary caliber, I designed a cannon having a caliber of
twenty-four inches, but having a weight of only 43 tons, the weight and
length of the gun being the same as the British 12-inch 43-ton gun.
This gun was designed to throw a semi-armor-piercing projectile weighing
1,700 pounds, and carrying an explosive charge of 1,000 pounds, the
total weight of the projectile being 2,700 pounds. While the projectile
was not designed to pierce heavy armor, it was capable of penetrating
the decks and sides of light-armored cruisers and deep into earth or
concrete for the destruction of forts. It was a veritable aerial
torpedo. By means of the special form of multi-perforated smokeless
powder designed for this gun, the huge projectile could be thrown to a
distance of nine miles with the gun at maximum elevation, and still with
a comparatively low chamber pressure.
The projectile was provided with a safety delay-action detonating fuse,
designed to explode it after having penetrated the object struck,
thereby securing the maximum destructive effects.
It is reported that the Germans have made a huge howitzer weighing 45
tons, having a caliber of 23-1/2 inches, which also is capable of
throwing a projectile weighing more than a ton to a distance of nine
miles.
The drawings used in my lecture were published in the _Journal of the
Royal United Service Institution_, April, 1898, and re-published in many
scientific and engineering magazines, and in newspapers both here and
abroad. The descriptions of this gun and projectile were illustrated, as
was the manner of its employment for the destruction of the kinds of
forts destroyed by the Germans at Liege and Namur.
The use of high explosives in big armor-piercing projectiles is now
universal, but on the publication of my lecture in 1897 I was subjected
to much criticism, especially in some of the London newspapers, whose
editors took issue with me as to the practicability of throwing large
bursting charges of high explosives from high-power guns. Prior to that
time the only success achieved in throwing large charges of high
explosives was by use of the Zalinski pneumatic dynamite gun, a battery
of which had been made and mounted at great expense at Sandy Hook. These
air-guns imparted a maximum velocity of only about 600 feet per second
to the projectile. The maximum charge was 600 pounds of nitro-gelatin.
The projectile had no penetrating power whatsoever, and was designed to
go off on impact.
My proposition to throw large charges of a high explosive from a big
gun, at high velocity, using a propelling charge of gunpowder, appeared
to many to be a very hare-brained intention indeed, to say nothing of
shooting it through armor and exploding it behind the plate.
On my return to America in 1898, I laid the matter before General A. R.
Buffington, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, United States Army, and
Admiral Charles O'Neil, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, United States
Navy. General Buffington sent me to Sandy Hook, where my new explosive,
Maximite, was subjected to a very thorough trial. The first 12-inch
projectile charged with it was buried in sand in an armor-cased cellar,
and exploded. More than seven thousand fragments of the projectile were
recovered, being sifted out of the sand. Twelve-inch projectiles charged
with Maximite were repeatedly fired through 12-inch armor-plate without
exploding. Later, similar projectiles, armed with a fuse, were fired
through the same plate and were exploded behind the plate. Although
Maximite was fifty per cent. stronger than ordinary dynamite, yet it was
so insensitive to shock as to be incapable of being exploded without the
use of a very strong detonator. Maximite was the first high explosive
successfully to be fired through heavy armor-plate, and exploded behind
the plate, with a delay-action fuse. The fuse employed at that time was
the invention of an army officer. Later, my fuse was subjected to a very
long series of tests, and it was finally adopted in 1907 as the service
detonating fuse by the United States Navy.
If Uncle Sam would listen with an understanding mind to the language of
the big guns now speaking on land and sea, he would immediately build a
large number of huge howitzers. He would build a large number of good
roads, capable of standing the tread of these howitzers. He would build
as well a goodly number of battle-cruisers, as big and as fast as any
afloat in foreign seas, and armed with guns ranging as far as the guns
of any foreign power.