TURRETS WORKED BY ELECTRICITY AND BY HAND.
247
The increasing importance given to the application of
electrical energy on board modem ships, was a sure sign that
this comparatively new source of power would find its
place in the working of turrets. It was first applied in
difficulties encountered, notwithstanding' the degree of
perfection to which the hydraulic system has been carried
after many years of experimenting with progressive
designs. The main difficulties with the hydraulic system
Electrically-Worked Turret for Two 12-Centimetre Guns.
varions forms in the Schneider-Canet system of ordnance,
for working hoists, for the elevation and lateral trainino-
of guns. opening out of the breech, firing the guns, night
sights, &c. The marked preference given to the new
system is, moreover, fully justified, for the working of
such installations by means of a liquid under pressure is
an incomplète and not a satisfactory solution of the
lie in the defects of principle that surround the applying
of a hydraulic motor for this special use ; among the
most serions may be mentioned :
1. The system involves the use of a large number of
pipes, the rapid repair of which is often impossible.
2. The influence which great variations in temperature
may have on the general working of the system.
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