The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

O1 CM MESSRS. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS. bolts are set under the action of springs, and are pushed back when the water under pressure acts underneath the plunger pistons. A safety device prevents setting the bolt-valve for water admission, and the turret cannot be freed for lateral training, if the pivot valve has not been adjusted previously for admission. A finger joined to the pivot valve prevents it being set for exhaust, if the | latch-bolts are not home in their eatches. The hydraulic i cylinders for elevation are placed on the lower part of j the platform ; they each contain a double-acting piston, j the top of the rod forming a sheath in whicli is a connect- j ing-rod jointed at one end to the mounting frame, and to i The illustrated description of the turrets for 305-milli- inetre (12-in.) guns, given above, applies to those for 274.4-millimetre (10.790-in.) guns, especially as regards the method of working. The differences in their construc- tion are wholly in points of detail. 2. HYDRAULIC BALANCED TURRETS, WITH CENTRAL TUBE FOR LOADING IN ALL POSITIONS. In the earlier days of turret-protected guns, a large number of ship turrets of varions systems presented two disadvantages which, in certain cases, rendered their work- Sections of Gun Turrets. the piston at tlie other end. The connecting-rod heads are provided with spherical bushes which allow a certain lateral motion of the mounting frame. Single - acting horizontal hydraulic cylinders, placed transversely on the orlop deck, two in front and two in the rear, regulate the horizontal training by means of plate chains and pulleys. The piungers are guided by slides fixed at one end to the sides of the ship. Handwheels for horizontal training are placed in the turret ; they are turned in the same direction as the turret. Ammunition is supplied to the gun by a special lioist, suitably arranged and provided with devices for insuring safe working. Turrets for 274.4-Millimetre (10.790-In.) Guns.— I instances, far from it. I ing a rather delicate matter, and prevented the guns from being fired at their maximum power. The ammunition was, as a rule, delivered into the turret through an opening on the circumference of the platform, corresponding with a single fixed passage leading either direct to the magazine or to an intermediate staging. To supply the gun with ammu- nition during firing, it was therefore necessary to bring the opening in the movable platform over the mouth of the ammunition passage, which involved an extra manœuvre of varied duration. Besides this, the centre of gravity of the whole of the movable system was not on the vertical axis of rotation of the turret ; it was, indeed, in not a few Therefore, a slight inclination of