224

GUNS HY WAHRENDORFF AND CAYALIJ, IRON FIELD GUNS, Ac. [Class YIIL

in 1850, with .30 rounds, at 5°, 10°, and 15°, and stoodperfectly well. It is, however, probable, that the motionof so great a weight, on surfaces of very limited extent,would, in time, cause the latter to become disintegrated,and to require renewal.

Altogether the arrangement of the carriage and slide,apart from the consideration of the material, and thestrong objections to it which exist, is very ingenious;hut its value is obviously entirely dependant on the ques-tion to which it is subordinate—whether or not there isany advantage in loading at the breech.

On this point a very decided opinion lias been formedin this country. In 1842, trials took place of two24-pounder guns of Haron WahrendorfFs construction,similar to that exhibited before the Select Committee at"Woolwich, and on board Her Majesty’s ship “ Excellent,”at Portsmouth: the result of which was the opinion thatthere would be no advantage in adopting such a gun intollcr Majesty’s service.

More recently, in 1850, the trial above mentioned, ofa 32-pounder gun of Haron Wahrendorff* took place, fol-lowed by an extended trial of another 32-pounder to loadat the breech, proposed by Major Cavalli, of the Sardi-nian Artillery, and constructed at the works of HaronWahrendorff, in Sweden , from whose method it differs inthe mode of closing the breech by a fiat, instead of acylimlric plug, transverse to the axis; in being rifled,and in carrying a hollow projectile of a cylindro-conicalfigure of <i4*lbs. weight, or double that of the round shotof the same calibre. Major Cavalli’s carriage and slide,like that of WahrendortFs, were both of iron, but differedfrom one another iu some details not necessary here torefer to.

The views of Major Cavalli are fully explained in his“ Mcmoire sur les Canons se chargeant par la culasse, etsur les Canons raves,” published in Paris , 1849. Aftera long course of experiments at Shoelmry Ness, in 1850,with a gun of his construction, which showed by theincrease in the weight of the projectile a very consider-able increase of range might be obtained, but no othermaterial advantage, the experiment came to an end bythe whole breech of the gun flying olf in one piece, Igiving way at the passage of the transverse plug by theexplosion of the charge. In reference to this result, itshould be observed, that the construction of Wahrendorff'has greater solidity, and is superior in strength to that ofCavalli.

The Committee, after giving the whole subject a verycareful consideration, adhered to the opinion expressedin 1S42 on Haron Wahrendorff’s 24-pounders; and withreference to those of Major Cavalli, they came to theconclusion that guns loading at the breech cannot be con-sidered safe, and that those in question were in theiressential qualities “ greatly below the ordinary guns ofthe service.”

It appears, however, that in Sweden , Haron Wahren-dorlUs construction has to a certain extent been adopted;and that the fortress of the island of Waxholm , whichforms one of the defences of the approach to Stockholm ,is armed with guns in casemates, similar in all respectsto that sent to the Exhibition.

Without doubt, then, the Swedish artillery must havebecome satisfied that this construction possesses advan-tages over that in ordinary use. Yet it is not evident inwhat these consist, more particularly when, apart fromthe question of the resistance of the material, so great adanger is always present as the possibility that the breechhas not been securely closed. To ensure this operationin the heat of action must demand great care and atten-tion, for which time is necessary; and it would seem tobe requisite that it should be performed by the man whofires. Looking at all the operations to be performed, itdoes not appear likely that any material advantage canbe gained as to rapidity of fire. And in respect to thenumber of men required, they cannot well (making noallowance for relief) be less than three per gun, a num-ber which is sufficient to keep in action a gun of theordinary construction, and of similar weight.

Upon the whole, admitting the arrangements by whichHaron Wahrendorff closes and opens the bore to be mostingenious, they undoubtedly render the gun to which

j they are adapted much more liable to derangement and1 interruption than can happen to those usually employed.. And since the effect of heavy artillery depends infinitelymore on precision than on rapidity of fire, it would clearly• l>e preferable, supposing (which, however is not appa-; rent) that there is an advantage in facility of service, toj arrive at the same quantity of fire by an increase in thenumber of the guns, rather than to rely upon a me-chanism liable to be put out of order, and that possiblymay thus become fatal to those who use it.

In material, Sweden possesses advantages in the greatstrength and resistance in the cast iron produced fromthe pure and rich mineral, smelted by wood charcoal,that she employs, which no other country can command;and were we in England to attempt, with the cast ironfrom the coal formation, the same forms and dimensionsas those employed in Sweden , we should, without doubt,encounter still more frequently the same result as at-tended the trial of Cavalli’s gun.

This observation does not, however, in any way detractfrom the merit of Haron Wahrendorff’s constructions sentto the Exhibition, which must be admitted to be of greatingenuity and interest; and taking it for granted that hisguns have been submitted iu Sweden to trials that haveproved satisfactory, they solve an important problem.

Whether, however, these constructions, and that of thegun in particular on which they are dependant, are suchas may be generally and advantageously applied, isanother question, into which it does not seem necessaryfurther to inquire.

No drawing or papers have been transmitted to showthe construction of the casemate and embrasure in whichthe gun is mounted, but it may be presumed that theyresemble, more or less, those of Cavalli’s system.

Iron Field-Guns. —The Swedish and Danish cast-ironfield-guns are excellent samples of those which are em-ployed in their respective services, in which they arepreferred to brass, and with good reason, so far as themore perfect presen ation of the bore and consequentaccuracy of fire, are concerned. The bore and vent,however, require to be carefully attended to and pro-tected from oxidation. The weight of the Swedish gunis a hundred-weight and a few pounds more than that ofthe English brass light six-pounder; but the former is

inches longer, and the bore U> inches larger than the, English gun. The shot is consequently heavier, and thecharge of 2 lbs. Swedish exceeds by 7 ounces that of theEnglish gun. Cast-iron field-guns have been in use inthe Swedish service since 1805, and recently their horseartillery, who were armed with brass guns, have ex-changed them for iron.*

There seems no reason to doubt that cast-iron field-guns of so excellent a material as Sweden produces, mayin many climates replace those of brass of the sameweight; but within the tropics, and where they couldnot receive continued attention, the action of the atmo-sphere and of the sea-air would render them less durablein the vent and cylinder than brass.

Models of Swedish Field- Guns.— These models, ex-tremely well executed by Hkiicqcist, an artist of Stock-holm , exhibit in wood and iron, and in full detail, thepeculiar construction of the Swedish field-artillery, asestablished iu 1831. They show all the arrangements ofthe draught, and the method of attaching to the limberwhich gives a power of locking round, or of altering thedirection of the march, of 80°. They are very deservingof attention.

30 -pounder Long Gun on a Carriage and Slide for Case-mates. —This model, by the same artist, and on the samescale of one-eighth as above, is also very well executed,but presents no mechanical feature of importance. It ison a front pivot, and has ingenious mechanism for tra-versing by a small wheel and winch, within the hindtrucks: but this refinement is not wanted, and there isaltogether a character of complexity that does not pro-perly belong to machines for military use. The gunappears to be 10 feet 2 inches long, and the whole lengthof slide is 14 feet 10 inches.

* Jacobi, Ktat actucl de rArtilleric dc Campagnc £ue-doiso. Haris 1849.