The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

270 MESSRS. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS. the gun is effected by an inverse operation, the winch ropes being used only to regulate the lowering motion •of the gun. When it is required to fire the gun away from the platform, the limber axle is joined to the slide, and the wheels are wedged by shoe-brakes to limit recoil ; in the latter case, the roller is brought up against the lower surface of the slide. 12 - Centimetre (4.724 - In.) Gun on Disappearing Carriage (Figs. 880 to 884, Plate CLL, and Fig. 885). Weight of gun 1400 kg. 3086 Ib. ,, carriage 4000 kg. 8818 Ib. ,, projectile 21 kg. 46 Ib. Muzzle velocity ... 500 m. 1639 ft. Training ... through 360 deg. through 360 deg Elevation ... + 15 deg. — 5 deg. + 15 deg. — 5 deg This carriage consists of the swinging beam, the revolving platform, and a bedplate. The beam is formée! of two vertical cheeks firmly stayed together, and which end at the top in trunnion plates that carry the gun trunnions. The beam pivots round an axis carried by the revolving platform, and ends at the lower part in two arms, which act through jointed rods on the head of the recoil piston-rod. The revolving portion is circular in shape, made of cast steel, and lias at its top the two brackets which carry the beam trunnions ; it rests on a set of rollers on the bedplate, and contains the following parts : (a) The hydraulic recoil cylinder, in the piston of which are eut vents of varying sections. The piston-rod is jointed on a slide shoe, which travels between two l horizontal gun-metal slides, and is fixed by a horizontal shaft to the two jointed rods, the other ends of which are fitted to the arms at the lower part of the beam. (b) The spring recuperator, consisting of four cylinders | placée! in pairs on each side of tlie carriage, parallel with the recoil cylinder, and in which work plonger pistons j loadecl with Belleville springs. The first cylinder near | the front contains the piunger, and the second one, which J is longer, holds the recuperator springs. The arms are | fitted loose on the axle that carries the beam, and the ! ends of these are joined to the lower end of the rods which support the chase of the gun. The gun thus forms the fourth side of a jointed parallelogram. A series of | damps joins the revolving platform to the bedplate, to pre- vent the shifting of the system. The bedplate is provided with a ring in which are placed the foundation bolts ; and besicles the roller path it contains a central pivot cased in the revolving platform ; the bedplate rests mainly on an iron plate embedded in a concrets foundation. The required elevation is given by aeting on a vertical handwheel on the front of the platform, the shaft of which lias an endless screw engaging a toothed wheel keyed 011 a shaft perpendicular to the carriage cheeks, and driven by two cones. At eacli end of the latter shaft is keyed a pinion which engages a toothed sector that forms part of one of the arms fitted loose on the .beam axle. Under these conditions, tlie jointed rods give to the gun, by aeting on the handwhee the required incline, which can be measured by the levelling instrument placed on the top part of one of the arms. Lateral training is obtained direct, by hånd, by means of levers fitted to the platform, and is measured with a pointer which travels on a scale marked on the bedplate. When the gun is fired, it is thrown to the rear, being held parallel by the two rods, and it draws along with it the beam which pivots round its axis. In this motion the pieces on the lower end of the beam act on the recoil piston and bring it forward. A certain quan ti ty of liquid is thus driven from the recoil cylinder, and flows to the lateral cylinders of the recuperator, through a tube on which is a loaded valve ; it drives the piungers to the rear, and causes the set of springs to be pressed down. When recoil is spent, the valve falls back on its seat, and the gun remains run down ; it is then loaded afresh. To run it up again, it is sufficient to re-establish a com- munication between the lateral cylinders and the bottom of the recoil cylinder, and this is obtained by means of a valve worked by a handle placed outside the valve- box. The liquid driven by the relaxing of the Belleville springs acts on the large surface of the piston, and runs up the gun again at a speed that can be regulated at will by controlling the opening of the valve. All the parts forming this mounting are very simple, and are of easy access for inspection and removal. 15-Centimetre (5.905 in.) Howitzer on Mounting, with Circular Brake (Figs. 886 to 888). Weight of howitzer ... ,, mounting ... ,, projectile ... Muzzle velocity (with black powder) Angle of elevation Training 820 kg. 2200 kg. 32 kg. 300 m. from — 0 deg. + 60 deg. through 360 deg. 1807 Ib. 4848 Ib. 70 Ib. 984 ft. from — 0 deg. + 60 deg. through 360 deg. The gun is of the Schneider-Canet type already described, with tube, trunnion jacket, and wedge coil, The breech-block has hélicoïdal segments, and works with one operation. The mounting has been désignée! specially for plunging fire, and comprises a bedplate, with slide and beam. The top part of the bedplate forms a roller path ; its outside rim ends in a ring for the bolting of the system to the firing platform. The slide rests on a set of rollers ; two damps, one in front and one in the rear, prevent tlie raising of the system. Tlie beam consists of two cast-steel cheeks strengthened with ribs, and ending at their lower part in two trunnions carried in two Blocks cast in one piece with the slide ; the gun trunnions fit in trunnion plates at the top of the beam. Tlie position of the gun is regulated by two rollers titted on a rod jointed with the beam. The rod is supported at a point in a line with a roller nearest the breech, by a piston lodged in the beam and made to bear on a spring. Owing to this arrangement, the beam, in oscillating, draws tlie gun with it smoothly and without any great shocks.