The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

248 MESSES. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS. 3. The difficulty of training the gun accurately and । rapidly, with a personnel that has not been previously fully trained to the work. 4. The practical impossibility of arranging the various parts in a suitable manner for working the turret by hånd, should an accident happen to the hydraulic motor or any of its accessories. The Schneider-Canet electric turrets are now in regulär service, or in course of érection, on board a large number ! of modern men-of-war. Since the time when they first | appeared they have given good results, and it may be said | they solve the problem of electric transmission and power in this particular application. The general characteristics we have already enumerated are common both to hydraulic turrets and to those of similar design, worked by elec- trieity, for in both designs the system is balanced round the vertical axis of rotation, and both embody a central arrangement for loading the gun ; in addition, the Schneider-Canet type of electric turrets contains special arrangements, which may be summed up as follows : 1. Lateral training is insured by means of a liand- lever placed within easy reach of the gunner, and which he moves in the direction he wishes to give the turret. This manœuvre is of the simplest character, and can be carried out by any untrained hånd. 2. The rotary speed of the turret is proportional to the extent of travel of the hand-lever, and training can be effected at all speeds up to the maximum. Wliatever be the rate at which the hand-lever is worked, the turret always steadily revolves, and without shocks. 3. The turret, when revolving at füll speed in one direction, can be reversed at füll speed in the other direction, without injuring the system. 4. The system is so sensitive that even the largest turrets can be turned through less than deg. in eitlier direction, and to effect this no special training is necessary. No mistake is possible in the manipulation of the working deviceS; and the gun can always be exactly sighted. 5. The turret can be stopped suddenly, without shock, and without the weight of the moving mass exerting any local injurions strain. 6. If, through mistake, the gunner does not stop the turret before the extreme limit for training is reached, that is to say, before it strikes against the mechanical buffers, the system cornes in contact with an electrical switch that stops it automatically, while the connections return to zéro under the action of a counteracting spiral spring. 7. The working apparatus proper, placed in the turret, takes up but little room, thus giving more space for the personnel ; all the inside connections being prepared separately, the apparatus is easily put in place, and should it get injured in any way, it can be replaced by a dupli- cate, making the connections taking but little time. 8. All the Schneider-Canet electric turrets are so arrangée! that, if for any reason the electric motor is not used for the various operations, the training and the elevating of the gun, and the hoisting of the ammunition, can be performed by hand-worked direct-acting cranks. We will now describe a few types of turrets, making a sélection among those for guns of the usual calibres. Closed Turret for One I2-Centimetre (4.724-In.) Gun (Figs. 821 to 823, and Figs. 824 and 825, Plate CXLL).— This type of turret, which is manufacturée! for all quick- firing guns of medium calibre, insures complété protection, and is very easily worked. Each turret consista of : A, the gun, carriage, and slide ; B, the turret and its rotary mechanism; C, the training apparatus ; D, the hoist. The carriage proper consists of a cradle provided with trunnions ; the recoil cylinder is cast in one piece with it, and it com- pletely surrounds the rear part of the gun. Two gun- metal rings facilitate the sliding of the gun in and out, during recoil and return ; the elevating arc is attached to the recoil cylinder. The gun is kept from turning by slide shoes. On the left trunnion is screwed the rod of the sight support. Leather linings on the rear surface form buffers for running out the gun. The hydraulic recoil cylinder is on the Schneider-Canet system, with central counter-rod and independent recuperator. The piston-rod is joined to the rear of the gun by means of a breech-end jacket. When the gun is fired, the recoil draws the piston with it, the pressure acting on tlie liquid in the rear of the cylinder; the liquid opens the communication valve, and flows through the annular opening which surrounds the counter-rod. When the recoil is complété, the valve, pressed by its spring, falls back on its seat, and the liquid can only return to the rear of the cylinder through narrow openings. The gun is run out again smoothly under the action of two sets of springs, placed on the sides of the recoil cylinder, and which are compressed under the action of recoil. The slide consists of two cheeks, stayed together, the soleplates of which rest on the turret platform ; at the top parts of the cheeks are the trunnion plates, in which the trunnions are placed. On the left cheek is fixed the elevating gear and the lateral training mechanism. The pump for supplying the recoil cylinder with liquid is attached to the right cheek. The whole, comprising the mounting, the slide, and the armour, rests on the platform, which consists of plates carried on two longitudinal beams strongly braced ; the platform is continued at the lower part by the central socket formet! like a truncated cone, the platform and socket being comiected by a cast-steel ring, which forms a path for the horizontal and vertical rollers. The socket and turret rest on the plunger piston of a hydraulic cylinder that forms a step bearing; the hydraulic cylinder is fixed to the bottom frames of the ship, and is connected with an accumulator fed by a pump. This arrangement allows the movable part to be raised, in order to free the horizontal rollers and inspect and repair the various parts on which the system rotâtes. The device for elevating the gun is placed within easy reach of the gunner, and consists of a handwheel on a shaft, upon which are keyed two pinions that transmit motion through an entliess screw, and a set of gearing to