The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

XLIL—PRINCIPAL TYPES OF MOUNTINGS FOR SCHNEIDER-CANET QUICK-FIRING FIELD GUNS. IN the following descriptions the systems are grouped together in sets, according to whether they contain characteristics more or less common to each group. This classification, while it facilitâtes the review of the progress made, does not accord in every case with the chronological order of the various experiments that have been carried out. Such a chronological order would be difficult to follow, for experiments of certain types have frequently been abandoned for a time, and taken up again at a later date, other types having been tested in the interval. Leaving asiele the historical question, this classification will lead in the best way to the desired result, for it will give a clear idea of the designs and tests made by Messrs. Schneider and Co. for establishing a system of fiele! artillery. to check recoil during the firing of the gun. It has been described at lengtli in the Revue d’Artillerie. A descrip- tion of the counterweight brake experimented with is given in the following description of the 75-millimetre gun and mounting on which it was tried. The following are some particulars of this latter gun : Weight of gun... ,, carriage ,, projectile ... Muzzle velocity Striking energy of projectile 322 kg. 448 kst. 5.5 kg. 500 in. 70 t.-m. 710 Ib. 987 Ib. 12 Ib. 1640 ft. 233 foot-tons The gun is of steel, and consists of a tube of about 32 calibres in length, on which is shrunk a jacket, a trunnion ring, and a wedge coil. The breech-block is made with interrupted screw, and is fitted with a plastic obturator. 75 and 80-Millimetre Field G-un on Rigid Carriage and Automatic Brake. The first group contains a series of distinct types, in connection with which mechanical devices were used for limiting recoil, to the exclusion of hydraulic recoil cylinders. Besides, none of these types embodied special appliances to shift the gun on ils carriage, over small angles, for adjusting lateral training. 8o-Millimétré (3.149-in.) Gun and 75- Millimétré (2.952-in.) Guns on Rigid Carriage Fitted with an Automatic Brake Governed by a Counterweight (Figs. 902 to 906, and Fig. 908).—The following are some general particulars of the 80-millimetre gun : Weight of gun 425 kg. 936 1b. ,, carriage 495 kg. 1,091 1b. ,, projectile ... 5.6 kg. 12 1b. Muzzle velocity 490 ni. 1(508 ft. Striking energy of projectile 68.5 t.m. 228 foot-tons This type was manufacturée! in 1887 from the 1878 pattern of French artillery, in order to devise a system of brake with counterweights, to be used both in the ordinary manner by acting on the carriage wheels, and The carriage is made of steel plates ; the head-plate that joins the brackets to the axle is of gun-metal and in one piece. The axle is of steel ; its central part is rectangular in section, and it is made with flanges at the angles, which increase its strength. The gun-carriage wheels are similar to those of the limber ; they are made of oak, with brass naves and steel tyres. The mechanism for elevating the gun is placed between the brackets ; it consists of a hollow screw. The screw pénétrâtes a nut round which is fitted a hélicoïdal tootlied wheel ; this engages an endless screw keyed on a shaft which runs through the brackets, and is provided with two handwheels outside the carriage. By actinç; on either handwheel, the screw is made to turn, thus driving the hélicoïdal wheel and the nut, giving to the gun the required elevation. A strap joins the gun to the screw head, to prevent a too great prépondérance of the muzzle. The brake, which serves to limit recoil during firing, is arrangée! in the following manner : A shaft made with threads at two places in its central part, is caused to revolve