Proceedings - United States Naval Institute (Volume 13) (Paperback)

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1887. Excerpt: ... COPYRIGHTED.] U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE, ANNAPOLIS, MD. October 27, 1887. Lieutenant Austin M. Knight, * U. S. N., in the Chair. ALUMINUM BRONZE FOR HEAVY GUNS. By Alfred H. CowLES.f Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: --The Government of the United States is equipping its fortifications and navy with new guns. Can we not improve upon the present armaments of Europe, instead of imitating them? If so, it is certainly an achievement worth striving for. I will endeavor to show that, with certain alloys of aluminum, we can increase the life and destructive power, and diminish the cost and weight. How near can we approach to the requirements of a perfect gun metal? Assuming the carriage takes up the recoil, an ideal or perfect gun may be described as a gun of minimum weight and simplest construction, which shall be able to resist a maximum internal pressure in order to produce a maximum effect. Such a gun must be of one piece, in order to act like a great spring; it should respond very stiffly to the pressure of the powder gases, always perfectly recovering its original form; and its walls should be hard enough to withstand the abrasive action of the projectile. It is impossible to attain perfection. For safety, this great spring should have the property of stretching much beyond its elasticity, --thereby danger of violent explosion will be avoided. In practice, a gun must be considered a temporary structure. Its value is measured by its destructive power and its life, as related to its cost and its weight. In order to make the nearest approach to the ideal gun, we must study the physical properties required of the metal to be used in its fabrication. In charge of Naval Ordnance Proving Ground, Annapolis, Md. tThe author desires to give his brother, Mr. Eugene H. Cowles, due credit for much va...