The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

DE REFFYE FIELD GUN AND MITRAILLEUSE. 163 When the permanent peace of 1815 succeecled the long period of war, the manufacture of ordnance ceased entirely at Creusot, and with it, as we have seen, the active life of the establishment, which having been for so long wliolly devoted to the production of war material, had lost all its industrial connection. Fifty-five years later, in 1870, the manufacture of guns was resumed at Creusot, but only as a brandi of its general industry. Düring the war of 1870, Messrs. Schneider and Co. were called upon by the Government of National Defence to undertake the supply of artillery to the French army ; they responded to the rèquest. so promptly that, altliough they had to instal a special plant for the purpose, they were able to deliver, in five months, 23 batteries of “ 7 ’’ bronze guns, on the De Reffye system ; two batteries of steel guns of the same calibre, and on the same system; 16 batteries of De Reffye machine guns ; in all 250 pieces of ordnance. These were delivered in the time mentioned, together witli the necessary carriages, gun-limbers, ammunition wagons, &c., making 370 pièces in all. Illustrations are given in Figs. 554 and 555 of two De Reffye guns, one being a bronze “ 7 ” field gun, and the other a mitrailleuse. These fiele! guns fired elongated shot, fitted with a lead covering ; the Cartridge was charged with compresse«! pebble powder, and was provided with a metallic base to prevent the escape of gas. The guns were first mounted on wood-bracketed carriages, and afterwards on the type of iron carriage shown in Fig. 555. The following are some of the leading dimensions of these guns : Total length of gun .. Weight... Diameter of bore Weight of projectile .. Muzzle velocity 1.012 m. 650 kilos. .085 m. 7.100 kilos. 390 m. 39.842 in. 13 cwt. 3.346 in. 15.650 1b. 1280 ft. The euns, whether ôf bronze or steel, were cast in one piece, and had the same shape, except that the chase in the former was swelled out, as shown in Fig. 555, while in the latter it was formed like a truncated cone. The breecli end of the gun was fitted with a bracket for housing the breech-piece carrying frame ; the powder chamber was made slightly conical, and a taper connected the chamber with the bore. The rifling was right handed, and of a constant pitch with 14 grooves. The breech mechanism consistée! of a breech-piece with an interrupted screw ; it was mounted on a hinged frame, and was operated by a handle and crank. The movement of the breech-block was guided by three bars bolted to tlie frame, and on which it moved to and fro in grooves. A sliding-bolt joined the frame to the gun and to the breech-piece. The front of the breech-block was made hollow, and was notched in such a männer that it engaged the base of the cartridge and facilitated the removal of the latter when the breech was thrown open. The charge was fired through a vent in the breech-piece, drilled obliquely through to the centre line of the bore. The De Reffye mitrailleuse, Fig. 554, was made for firing 25 small-arm Cartridges ; these were discharged consécutively, and there was no recoil of the gun. The following are some partieulars of this machine gun : Total length of gun 1.425 m. 52.102 in. Number of barrels 25 25 Diameter of bore .0128 m. .603 in. Weight of each shot ... 50 grammes 1.71 oz. ,, limber loaded Total weight of gun and limber fully 604 kgs. 1328 1b. equipped 1405 kgs. 3367 1b. Weight of gun and carriage complété 536 kgs. 1180 1b. Maximum range 3400 m. 11,000 ft. The gun was made up of 25 breechloading rifled barrels, grouped inside a bronze casing; the cartridge cases were made of cardboard with a metallic base ; they contained a lead bullet and the charge of compressée! pebble powder. The varions parts of the firing mechanism were fastened inside tonguecl clamps and were joined by pins. The movable breech-block contained the Cartridges, and the block always went into place perfeetly centred by travel- ling in grooves made in the rear of the breech. The charges were fired in succession by percussion. This successive firing was insured by means of a supplementary breech-block carrying the 25 firing locks and disengaging plate. When the whole series of charges had been fired, tlie firing plate was removed by traversing a screw, the movable breech was taken away, and was replaced by another that had been loaded in the meantime. The gun was mounted on trunnions on its carriage, and was fitted with a lateral training mechanism. The elevating gear was a screw and wheel at the rear of tlie trunnions, and on the carriage was placed a device for charging the breech- block with the 25 cartridges. The gun and carriage were placed in position by a lever fitted to the trail-block, and the gun coukl be accurately trained by means of a hand- wheel and screw that causée! the piece to turn on its vertical support. Three sights were provided—a central and two lateral sights. It is almost unnecessary to say that both these types of guns are now obsolete, and they have been reproduced only to illustrate the gun work executed by Messrs. Schneider and Co. at a time prior to the tliorough equipment of their works for the con- struction of war material. For some time prior to 1870, discussion had been active> both in France and in England, as to the best material to be used in the construction of guns of ail calibres. Perhaps in England the dispute had been more energetic than elsewhere; it was identified on the one hana with Arm- strong, and on the other, to a large extent with Bessemer, the former being the advocate of iron, and the latter of steel. The exceptional advantages possessed by Armstrong inclined the weight of opinion towards iron as the most suitable material, and no doubt the conclusion influencée! foreign Governments. In France, steel was regarded with mistrust until the French Government requested Messrs. Schneider and Co. to carry ont some experiments with the object of ascertain- ing how far steel, as a material for gun construction