Monday Evening, March 1, 1680. REAR-ADJIIRALA. H. HOSKYNS, C.B., in the Chair.

ON HOTCHKISS' REVOLVING . By 3Ir. B. B. HOTCFIKISS. Bitrodttcfioia.--For some years the machine- question has bcomc one of great importance to all branches of thc Sex-vice, for bj degrees all countries are introducing one or another system into their armaments. The old argument that men mill fire too rapidly and too mnch at random mith rapid-firing guns, and that it would be impossible to supply the amount of which they consume, is gradually losing force through the better instruction, more thorough discipline, and principally bJ- the improved means at hand for transporting mate'riel and ammunition to the centres of action. Railways ham now become as important a factor in marfare as guns, and already seyeral countries have eren introduced steam traction- engines into their transport service. We all see how the use of rapid- firing guns and rapid means of transport necessarily go hand in hand, nnd we shall find a continual augmentation of the rapidity of fire forced upon us for all kinds of arms, from the rifie up to guns of the hcwriest calibres. It Tas during the late Americnn War that mitrailleuseu begm to attract so mnch attention, and after their adoption by France they soon became, we may say, quite the rage eferjwhere. The practical utility of the ?iritraiZZeziseproper, that is, the delicate and complicated machine for throwing an enormous quantity of small bullets (or Initrailte), was much doubted hy many military authorities, whilst, on the other hand, others S~Ntherein an arm xhich mould be of considerable mIue, and which probably ITould, to a great cstcnt, revolutionize the existing modes of warfarc. The Franco-German War of 1870, in which were usrd on a large scale, demonstrated, however, pretty clearly the pros and coxs of this kind of weapon as reprds service in the field, and in the Army gencrally ; but the practical ralue afloat is still a good deal a matter of conjecture, although it is generally thought that the true sphe;.e of action of the mitrailleusc is in thc Navy. In regular service, mitrailleuses hare usually prorcd themselves, aq we all know, to be of great ralue in certain csceptionnl cases; but, on the other hand, theii- sphere of action is very limited, and it was particularly with the idea of giving a greater scope for tlie employment of machine-guns, that this revolving was designed, 280 OX HOTCHIiISS' REVOLVNG GUXS.

n. gun rihich shonld fire explosive shells, and should thns possess to some extent the advantages of fire, besides the rapidity of action and other features of the . It is to a description of this weapon that this paper is devoted. Dacr+tiou of Gun.-The Hotehkiss revolving cannon consists of fire barrels, mounted parallel to cach other, around a common axis, and carried betveen two gun-metal disks, as in the . This group of barrels, bearing at their front cnd in a gun- metal frame carrSing the trunnions, is rotated in front of a fixed breech-Mock, rihich contains the mechanism for loading, firing, and extracting the spent cartridges. There is only one set of mechanism for all the barrels, each barrel being brought successively before the loader, striker, and extractor. The barrels do not rotate continuously as in the Gatling gun, but only make one-fifth a turn at a time, thns bringing, at each movement, the following barrel into the place occupied by the one before it. The continuous turning of the hand- crank imparts this intermittent rotary motion to the barrels, and they are at rest during the period of loading, firing, and extraction. In this manner each turn of the hand-crank loads one barrel, fires another, whilst the spent is being extracted from the third. This arrangement gives a rery simple mechanism, consisting of only few parts, and these can be made large and strong, and, therefore, makes this gun better able to support the rough usage of regular service than other machine-guns which hare an independent set of mechanism for cach barrel, which, of conrse, multiplies the numbcr of parts and requires them to be made smaller and lightcr. The mechanism of this gun has the very important advantage of not bcing in any way subjected to the direct shock of the discharge ; this feature is attained by the pcculiar manner in which the closing of the breech cnd of the barrel is effected ; this will be easily understood referring to the longitudinal scction of the gun (Fig. 1). A and iT are tn-o of the barrels; B the central axis; C is the cast-iron breech; D the striker, or firing pin. A cartridge is laid in the receiver above, ready to be pushed into the chamber of barrel A, by the action of the loading-piston E, as soon as the cartridge in the barrel A' (in the lorrest position) is struck by tho striker D and dis- charged. After the barrel A is loaded, it is rcvohed until it coma in the position of A', in front of the striker, and the base of the cartridge rests against the solid part of the breech; here the breech is perforated by a hole for the point of the striker to riork through. Of course this, like all other machine-guns, uses a complete cartridge holding in each the projectile, the charge and the primer. The gns-tight closure at the breech is effected by the metallic cartridgc. It will be at once scen how absolutely secure this arrangement of the gun is, and this is for machine-guns of large 'calibres a very important feature, for the continuous shock of dis- charge acting against any kind of lock, or bolt, or other mechanical breech-closing arrangement, is sure, jooner or later, to cause the breakage of some parts of the mechanism. The intermittent rotary motion of the barrels is cffcctcd simply by a riorm F, of which the ON IIOTCLIKISS’ REVOLVIGG QUNS. 281 tllread is partly straight and partly helical, this worm gears in a pin- wyheel G on the rcar end of the ccntral shaft U. The worm carries at the same time the cocking;cam H, which retracts the striker and allows it to fly fomard at the proper moment by the action of the spring I. This spring is the only one in the gun, all the other operations are done by positive action. As to the manner in which the loading and extraction of the spent cartridges is pcrformcd we must refer to Fig. 2. There is a fixed cog- S11eel+12,mounted on the interior face of the lcft side of the brcech, and two horizontal mcks L’ and E‘, running in slides. The rack E’, which is attached to the loading-piston E, is placed above ; the other, z,caqing the extractor, under the cog-wheel and parallel to the axis of the barrcls, so that in moving one of the racks, the other one is moved bj- the cogwheel n2 in the opposite direction. Part of the lower rack forms a curred link, or yoke, in which a small crank, J, works j this crank being fixed on the shaft F’, which carries the worm and is turned by means of the hand-crank operating the whole mechanism. The rotation of this small crank J, of course imparts an alternating and opposite movement to the tro mcks, so that while the one is going forward, the other moves back, and reciprocally. A spcnt cartridge case is in this manner extracted, Rhilst a loaded car- tridge is being introduced into the barrel above. The extractor itself consists of a double hook at the front end of the rack L’. The head of the cartridge rolls into this double hook as the barrels are turned round, and it is so laid hold of, and with- dram from the chamber as the rack runs backwards ; besides this there is an ejector to push the cartridge out of the extractor books at the proper time, and it falls out of the gun through an opening in the under part of the brcech. The whole system of the extraction -ivorks very positively, and it works cqually well at the highest elevation as at the grcatest depression, which is 30 degrees. This extrcme angle of depression is sometimes required when the gnn is used from the tops, or from the bridge of ~esselshigh out of water. Besidcs the already described parts of the gun there is an arrange- ment to regulate the supply of cartridges, called the “feed-gate;” SO that only one cartridge can enter the receiver at a time; the rest, which are piled one upon another in the hoppcr, are cut off, whilst the bottom one is being pushed into the barrel. Supposing now the cnnk to be in continual motion :- Operatioit of the JIeclianisrn.-A cartridge is placed in the hoppcr, the feed-gate descends and allows it to enter the receiver in which the loadingpiston E moves, this pushes it into the barrel, thcn the barrels begin to revolve, makinp at each movement one-fifth turn, and the cartridge is carried on until it arrives at the lomst position and comes before the striker D, which penetrates the solid part of the brcech, and which has in the mean time been retracted by the action of the cocking-cam H. As soon as the cartridge has arrived in this position, the karrels cease to turn and th6 primer of the cartridge is struck aud dischargcd: then the barrcls make another fifth turn, and 282 OX EOTCIIIiISS' REVOLV'IXG GUXS. the spent cartridge-case is carried on until it comes to the extractor L; this in the mean time has arrived up to the barrels, and the cartridge liead rolls into it. As soon as the cartridge is laid hold of by the extractor, the barrels again cease to rerolre? and during this period the cartridge-case is withdrawn and dropped to the ground. As during every stoppage of the barrels the gun is supplied with a new cartridge, and the firing and extraction is performed during this time, a continuous slow fire is kept up. Each turn of the ci-ank gires one shot, so that when the gun is once laid and fed with sufficient rapidity, about 60 to 80 shots pcr minute can be fired from it. Now to recapitulate the manner of operation :- The supply of cartridges is regulated by the feed-gate, the barrels are loaded by means of the loading-piston E; the intermittent rotating motion is imparted to the group of barrels by the worm F; the cartridges are fired by the striker D, this in turn being operated by thc cocking-cam H j and lastly the fired cartridge-cases are with- dnmn by means of the extractor L, which is actuated by the small crank J ; the movement to the whole mechanism being imparted by turning the hand-crank. Cliaracferistics of fhc Hotchkiss iIIechanisnz.-The peculiar and dis- tinct characteristics of the Hotchkiss mechanism are the follorring :- 1st. Intermittent rotation of the barrels, without rotation of the breech or mechanism. 2nd. The barrels rcmain stationary at the moment of discharge, the loading and extraction taking place dnririg this stop, thus suppressing the tmgential motion \rith -ivhich the projectiles of such guns are animated at the commencement of flight, xhich have con- tinuous rotating barrels, at the same time suppressing any chance of accident from a " hang-fire" cartridge, as tlie barrels remain rela- tively a long time in their firing position. 3rd. The emplojment of but one loading-piston, one striker with its spring, and one cxtrnetor for all the barrels, thus giving great simplicity to the mechanism, and allowing at the same time all parts to be made sufficiently strong and henry to sustain the rough usage of actual service. 4th. The shock of discharge is receired against a massive fixed breech of considerable -might, which distributes it to the whole system ; this permits the employment of charges and projectiles only limited by the weight and dimensions thought proper for the gun and carriage, so as to suit the difFerent requirements of the service for which it is to be employed. 5th. The mechanism of the gun is disposed in such manner that no tools arc necessary for dismounting or re-assembling the same, and it can be done in a couple of minutes by any ordinary armonrer. The nature of material for the different parts of the gnn has been chosen after the result of long experiment. Whitworth's steel is exclusively employed for the barrels. Gun-metal is used for all parts of the mechanism rrhich are subject, to sliding motion, so that it is impossible for anjthing to rust together if neglected and not oiled ; then gun-metal is alwaj-s usedfor the frame, disks, and some other parts, ON, IIOTCHKISS’ REVOLVING GUNS. 283 and in the nsdguns for the pivots, &c., as it has the advantage of not rusting, which is of importance for sea service.

We now come to the ammunition:- Description of the Bni~~iunition.-Generally wit,h tho rcrol-ring can- non, a regular cast-iron explosive shell with percussion fuze is used; sometimes in the Nary, where a maximum of punching porer i.5 required, hardened pointed stccl shot arc also nscd. For flanking thc dry ditches of fortifications, and for which a particular pattern of gun has been rcccntly designed, canister shot is used. The cartridges for all calibres of this gun are made of shcet brass, wrapped, strengthened at tho basc by two or more reinforcing cups, the whole riveted together, with the head made of sheet iron. In the base there is an ordinary primer in a detachable case, which looks like a little pistol cartridge. These cartridges can be rcformcd and used about eight times over. Both the shell and steel shot hare for coating, which takes the rifling, a soft brass guiding band of about onc calibre in lcngth, and placed symmetrically from the cciltre of gravity ; this guiding band is conical in its front part, corresponding to the cone in the projcctile chamber, so that the projectile is exactly centcred in the bore as soon as the forward motion commences. You will scc from the sarnplcs, that before the projectiles have been fired, the guiding band ir smoothon its surface, but that after they hare passed through thc bore, bcsidcs the print of the rifling they show a numbcr of grooves which encircle the band; this is canscd by the pressnrc in the chambe] moulding the thin sofinband into the grooves turned in thc cast iron under the band; in this manner there are onlythe narrowrings which take thc rifling, and these arc distributed ovEr a large surfacc of thc projectile. This gives an excellent bearing and at thc same time bul little soft metal is used, and the manufacture is simple and not expensive. The D;fferent Calibres, their piLrposes, &.-Up to the present time, four different calibres of thc rcvolving cannon hart! been constructed ; in their mechanism, number of barrels, and general arrangement they are all alikc, they only vary in weight and power, and in the manner in which they aro mounted, so as to suit the different rcquircments of the service for which thcy are to be employed. The Light 1;-inch Gum-The smallest and lightest pnttern is the one here cshibited; it has Ii-inch calibrc, and weighs 4 cwt. It fires ft projectilc of 1 Ib., and with 28 ounccs of Curtis and Rarvcy’s No. G powdcr it attains an initial velocity of 1,410 feet, and a maxi- mum range of 4,800 yards. This is the pattern of.gnn which has been adopted by the Kavies of Francc, Holland, Greece, the United States, Chili, the Argcntinc Rcpublic, and now rccently by Russia and Denmark. It is mostly used for tho defcnce of vcssels against -boat attacks ; but of course is well saited for a multitude of other purposes for which light guns are gcncmlly used in nard war- fare. Tho gun as it is here mounted, on a universal pivot, can bc laid and FOL. XXIY. X 284 ON HOTCHKISS’ REVOLVING GUNS. fired by a single man, whilst another supplies it with ammunition’. It has been found absolutely necessary, after experiments at sea, that the same man should lay and fire the gun; because the vessel itself is moving, and then the torpedo-boat. or other object, xhich may be advancing very rapidly and continually changing its course and posi- tion, woulcl easily avoid the fire of the ressel’s guns, unless it mere possible to keep them continually sighted on it, and to fire ut the actual moment the sight is brought to bear on the boat. All this has been made possible with the revolving cannon. Each turn of the crank corresponds to R shot ; the gunner with the shoulder-piece his shoulder, and with his left hand holding the directing handle undcr the breech, lays the gun after he has turned the hand-crank so Tar that it comes just before the firing. position, which is indicated by an arrow on the crank ; but besides this, the man, by putting out. his thumb, can stop the crank without having to look at its position at all; he then lays the gun, and fires it by turning the crank. The motion of turning the crank to fire the gun prepares another round, and he is again ready to relay the gun R second time, and so forth ; so you see it is like R little cannon, in which the whole process of spong- ing, loading, running out, &e., has been entirely done away with; the gun is always ready to fire, no matter with what rapidity the gunner can manage to Iay it. At sea, it is generally intended that this gun shall be laid for each round, and the sighting corrected by observing the bursting of the previous shot fired, and not to blaze away ” ammunition at random, as is usually the case vith mitrailleuse guns. The sight which is employed at sea has fixed notches, corre- sponding to the distances from 200 to 2,000 metres or yards, as the case may be, so that, as the distances change, the gunner may fall From one notch into the other without any loss of time for setting the sight. For instance, in the case of beating off a, torpedo-boat attack, if the boats were discovered suEcientIy soon, fire would be opened at about 1,500 to 2,000 yards; then the fire would be slow, as it mould take about five seconds before the projectile can strike ; as the boat adrances at full speed, the fire will be increased in rapidity, so that, should one or the other boat succeed in getting up to within perhaps 500 yards, the rapidity would be 25 to 30 rounds per minute ; and at close quarters, when sighting is not necessary cach time, 10 rounds (yhich can alrays be kept in the gun) can be fired off at the rate of 60 to 80 pcr minute. The gunner who charges will commence by putting a, few cartridges in the hopper, and he mill lay in a fresh one each time a shot is fired, taking care to keep the hopper full as the boat comes nearer, so as to be able, if necessary, to give a salvo of 10 rounds at D critical moment. Results Qf Ezpwinients at Sea.--From results of experiments mado at sea in different countries, this gun has shown great accuracy of fire. I may cite, for instance, the French experiments at GBvre, where it gave in the mean 50 per cent. of hits against a buoy of 3 feet diameter, at distances varying from 1,000 yards down to 100. ON HOTCHKISS' REVOLVIXG GUM. 285 In Holland, where very complete experiments have been carried out, the gun was placed on board an ironclad under steam, and n-orked against a target representing a full-sized 75-feet torpedo-boat. This %.as fired at, broadside on ; then through different angles, from 30 to 50 degrees ; and, lastly, end on. The lomst percentage of hits was SO, at a distance of about GOO yards. The highest percentage was attained tiring in the line of keel, the vessel running lOk knots, and commencing fire at about i,OOO yards; in this case, 77 per cent. of direct hits were scored. hst summer, n series of experiments mere made in Denmark with both the Hotchkiss and the Nordenfeldt guns, in order to determine lvhich of the two systems should be adopted for the light arma- ment of vessels and boats. The Danish Navy have now, after these tests, decided for the Hotchkiss gun, which gave results as to accuracy, rapidity of fire, perforatire power, fxility of manipulation, kc., similar to those previously obtained in Holland. At Copenhagen some firing was also done at sea during night-time by aid of the electric light, and it was found that equally good results could be obtained as during the daytime. The explosions of the shells when striking the objects or the surface of the water, gave valuable indications for rectifying the fire, both during night and day. In Russia, too, very complete comparative experiments hare been car- ried out Kith the machine-guns of Kordcnfeldt, Engstrom, Baranoffsky, and Hotchkiss : there the trials, besides being made by the regular Artillery Committee, %ere conducted also independently by difEcrcnt commanders, who had guns placed on board their vessels. It mould lead too far to go into the details of these trials here, but the superior results obtained with the revolving cannon have now led to its adop- tion by the Russian Navy. Although most Governments who have introduced this gun into their armaments have tested the steel shot as well as shell, all, with the exception of Russia and Chili, have taken shell exclusively, as they have found this more than powerful enough for disabling tho existing systems of torpedo-boats ; and besides this, it is generally thought that the bursting of the shell inside the boat will cause more damage than a solid shot, which simply may, in most eases, pass in on one side and out through the other, without causing any more damage than making a couple of holes in the boat. Perforatice Pmer.-As reprds the perforative power of this light gun, experiments in different countries have prored that the common shell is capable of completely perforating the steel plating of torpedo- boats of the " Lightning '' class up to a range of 2,500 yards, if striking nearly normally, and up to 2,000 prds if they strike within an oblique angle of 30 degrees. The common shell will also perforate &inch steel plates up to a range of 500 yards. Within 500 yards range, the sheli mill also completely perforate the torpedo-boat when she is running end-on tomirds the gun, and the projectiles striking the boat nt an aagle of 70 degrees j they will then burst and the fragments will pass through the bulkheads and damage- tlie machinery, &c. If the shells fall on the deck they TFill burst after having passed x2 286 ON ItOTCIIKISS’ REVOLVIXO GUM. through, and the fragments nil1 nearly all pass completely through the bottom of the boat, tearing ugly irregular holes in her plates, and putting her in the greatest danger of sinking. The penetration of these little shells in oak timbers, and the destruction they do, is remarkable ; for instance, at 800 yards they will pass through 18 inches of oak, and at point-blank range it takes 22 inches of oak to stop them. These shells break up into about twenty fragments, of which at least a dozen weigh rn mnch as a ball, and these fragments flying about in the inside of n torpedo-boat may be expected to do as much actual as they do moral damage. The perforativc poi\-er of the steel shot is of course greater than that of the shell ; it is capnblc of perforating the +inch plates of the hull, and afterwards thc $-inch plates of tlic boiler at about 800 yards range. Of course, the sliclls are of the greatest value for sweeping the deck of an enemy’s vessel, firing into the ports, for shelling the shore pre- rious to effecting a landing, &c., kc.; in fact, they can be used for anything, mhilst the solid shot is better only for certain exceptional purposes. Iiglit 1~-Cze7~Gun for the Amty.-This same pattern of gun, mo~nted on a carriage, is used for many purposes ; then the shoulder+icee 1s not necessary, and the crank is mounted on the side as in the Gatling gun. A light steel carriage has becn constructed for this gun, i-iith elevating and a lateral training apparatus, and brakes for suppressing the recoil. The carriage weighs 5 cmt., and the gun, with carriagc, limber, and all accessories, and 300 rounds of ammunition, weighs altogether 23 wit. This pattern is particularly adapted for coniitries where roads arc Idand transport is difficult. Poicerfil l&iiich Gun.-The next pattern gun is mnch inore power- ful than the one just described. It has also a calibre of 1$ inches, but thc projectile and charge arc liearier ; this gun xeighs 9 cwt., its total length is G feet 8 inches. The barrels are 34 calibres long. The explosive shell weighs IS$ ounces, and it attains an initial velocity of 1,503 feet, with a charge of 4 ounces of powder. Tlie maximum range is 5.500 pds. This pzttern has been :idopted by Brazil and the United States ; China and Turkey have also a small numlicr of them. They were used in tho United States by General Miles in last, scar’s Indian campaign; thc ctrect of their fire upon the Indians, according to his roport, was very demoralizing. Turkey used a few in the Navy during the last war, but no official information about their usc could be obtained, although we hareheard that a torpedo attack on the “ Assar- “ i-Tefvik ” was successfully repulsed by their aid. This gun, when mounted on n field carriage, has about the samc weight and size as an ordinary field-piece. TIie total weight of the gun, carriage, and limber, with 300 rounds of ammunition and all accessories, is abont 40 cwt. Tlie bursting of the shell is very regular, the percussion fuzes act well on graze, and there is only a small percentage of failures. Miss- OH IIOTCIIRISS' REVOLVING' GUXS. 287 fires of the cartridge only occur in the proportion of 2 per 1,000 ; R miss-fire has, however, no othcr effect than the momentary loss of one shot, becausc thcmholc cartridge is extracted in the same manner as 5 fired case. In land serricc the charging is done by means of fecd-cases holding 10 cartridges each, as it is not necessary to sight the gun for cach round, because there is no recoil and no perceptible change of direc- tion during the fiw; so that when the gun is once laid, firc can be kept up as long as desired at the rate of from 60 to SO shotsper minute; this represents about 70 to 90 lbs. of cast iron, and at ranges approaching to those of field artillery. As each shell of the revolv- ing cannon gives in the mean, on bursting, tcn fragmcnts of be- tween 14 and 22 ounecs in n-cight, besides twelve smaller fragments which are also capable of doing considerable damage to men and horses, this gun is capable of delirering a, continuous fire at the rapidity of at least GO shells per minute, giving 60 dangerous zoncs of explosion and divided into a hail of about 1,300 fragments of suflicicnt power to put men, horses, and ,nath.iel, hors tle combat. If we imagine a battery of thgse guns during a decisive moment of an engagement, and take the rapidity of fire at only 60 rounds per minute--a, figure whicli can be considerably surpassed-the six guns would dischargc about 420lbs. of iron, consisting of 360 explosive shells and producing about '7,900 dangerous fragments pcr minute ; and this wry destructive fire can be brought to bear with great accuracy on objects witliin the effective range of 3,000 yards, so that it is hardly possiblo to imagine that anything could exist within the zone of fin? of a battery of these guns. Flanking Gm.-The nest variation of the revolving cannon is the one recently adopted by the French War Department for Ranking the ditches of fortifications. This gun has a calibre of 1.57 inches; ,it fires a canister shot containing 24 hardened bullets of 12 ounces each. By a peculiar arrangcmcnt of thc rifling of tho barrels, of which each one has a different pitch, it is made possible to smeep the ~vholeditch with a dense and regularly divided storm of bullets, from about 30 feet from the muzzle of the gull down to the end, which my be 300 yards or more. Thc gun is sighted and fixed once for all in thr capomiire, so that, in a surprise during day or night it is only neces- sary to turn the crank, and the gun mill discharge 60 to SO canister shots per minute, consisting of 1,500 to 2,000 balls of sufficient weight to destroy scaling ladders and such like. If ncccssary, explosive shell can be used with this gun as dlas canister shot. It would lead us too far to give-a,detailed description of the ballistical features of this gun and horn this somewhat curious result is obtained, and the various conditions rrhicli had to bc fulfilled, to meet the requirements laid down by the engineers of the new French fortificn- tions. The experiments made with the gun in one of thc new forts near Paris were conclusiw as to its entire fitness for the purpose. On one occasion 300 dummies were put up in the ditch, distributed loosely all over it from one end to the other, and after firing GO rounds only fourteen of them rrere untouched by the bullets. 288 0s HOTCIIKISS’ REVOLVING QUNS. The great advantage of this gun is of course that it is entircly fixcd and requircs no sighting, and has no lateral motion, so that smoke, dark- ness, or excitement do not interfere with its work ; there is a kind of long inclined trough which carries 40 cartridges, these roll into the gun when the crank is tnrnecl, whilst a man continues to fced ammuni- tion into the trough as fast as it is consumed. l-85-iiic7~Nnval Gun.-Besidcs the light 14-inch gun for naval purposes, n*e have, at the instance of the French Navy, constructed a much more powerful pattern gun which, too, is particularly designcd for service afloat ; this gun has a calibre of 1-85inches, and fires a shell and a hardcncd-pointcd stcel shot of 2 lbs. 6 ounces in weight, with an initial relocity of 1,490 fcet. The gun weighs 11 cwt., and is manwuvrcd by the shoulder very much like the small one, but it was found in the first expcrimcnts that when the vesscl is rolling the gunncr could not well work a gun of this neight with the necessary case and rapidity, so that afterwards an elevating apparatus was added which is worked by the lcft hand ; in this manner the elevation of the gun remains stationary after each round, unless changed by the gunner the pointing in direction is still done- by the shoulder-piece its in the light gun. Besides the addition of the elevnting apparatus another improve- mcnt has bccn introduced in the shape of a trigger for discharging the gun, this allow a third man to be employed, who has to furnish the moti-ie power by turning the hand-crank; in this case it is placed on the sidc as in the “ Gatling.” The gun is worked in the following way :--One man turns the crank, and makes one turn for each shot; there is a simple arrangemcnt which stops the crank automatically at the proper point, so that no thought or training is required for this work. The captain of the gun points it and fires by pulling the trigger very much as in a small-arm. (Of course there is no rccoil.) A third man then fecds it with cartridgcs. This arrangement at once brought the rapidity of fire and the easu of ’working about equal to the light 14-inch gun, and as with this one, the maximum rapiditF of fire is now about 60 per minute. The satisfaction which the system and gcncml arrangement of the light naval gun gave in the French Navy induced them to think of the introduction of this more porrerful gun into the service; it should be capnble of destroying the superstructurc and unarmed parts of ironclads, &c. If wc take into consideration the large number of shots which a gun of this class can discharge in a short space of tirue, it is easy to imagine the damage which can be inflicted on any kind of vessel by its fire. It is intended also to arm some of the large boats with this gnu, for it has the advanta-ge of rapidity of fire and great hitting power, which is not much in- ffuenced by the movements of the boat; besides, this there is no carriage, no recoil, no running out, sponging, &c. At point-blauk range the steel shot passes completely through 12-inch stccl plates, the shell perforates 1-inch steel plates and bursts aftcr having pawd throngh them. 2-inch Gzw.-The largest revolving cannon made up to the present ON EIOTCIIKISS’ REVOLMNQ GUNS. 289

time has n, calibre of a little orer 2 inches ; it fires a shell weighing %bout4 Ibs., with 1,500 feet velocity. This gun works equally well, and with nearly the same case as the lighter guns; of course the npidity of fire is somcdmt less, as the heavy ammunition cannot bc handled and fed into the gun with the same facility as the lighter cartridges. Particular advantages of the EotchEiss System-On examining the systems of machinu guns a little closer, it will be seen that a gnn firing shell possesses many important advantages over a regular mitraillcusc (that is, one which fires bullets) for the following reasons: Firstly, from a mechanical point of view:-To get similar effects to those of the mitmillense, on for instance, men and horses, for of course the bullets cannot be of much use against nialiriel, by far slower action of the mechanism of a class of gun likc the rcvoIving cannon is only required, because each shell on bursting gires a number of fragments, 15 to 20, which are equal to as many bullets. Taking now for instance the pattern of rerolving cannon you see here exhibited, the shell weighs just 1 Ib., that is about 2 ozs. over thc weight allowed by the St. Petersburg Convention for esplo- sivc bullets; this gun firing at the average rapidity of 60 rounds pcr minute would furnish 60 x 15=900 fragments, about equal to as many bullets from n Gatling, or other mitrailleuse, of the same weight. You see from this that the mechanism of a mitrnilleusc has to work about fifteen times as rapidlyas that of a machine-gun firing small ex- plosive shells to produce a fire of similar effect, as to number of bullets and weight of metal thrown. Now, :I mechanism which only has to work slowly can be made to work more reliably, is much simpler, and is much larger and stronger than one which has to perform all the opera- tions about fifteen times morc rapidly. The wearand tear isalso reduced, less accuracy and fine fitting, and care by the armourer arc rcqnircd ; sand, rust, and dirt do not so easily interfere v-iith the action ; shak- ing about during transport and rough usage gencrally, does not easily damage it, &c. I could connt up a dozen morc features which point to the advantages of any machine-gun which works slowly over one of which the mechanism has to work rapidly. Secondly, from a ballistical point of i5ew :-We have in this spstem an advantage over mitrailleuses, in the larger calibre : this gives greater density per unit of surface to the projectile, and consequently, with similar initial velocity, greater terminal velocity at fighting ranges, therefore a better trajectory, and dangerous zoncs of greater extension. In addition to this there are all the advantages of explosive shell fire, whichas to moral effect, actual destructive power, and for giving greater facility to rectify the pointing, is of the grcatest importance. For re- pelling torpedo attacks, the large irregular holes which the explosive shell tears in the hull of a torpedo-boat arc far more dcstrnctivc than the small round holes of a bullet, which can generally be stopped with a plug of mood, and which in many cases do not even let water in if the boat is running fast, and the holes are not just in tho bow. A coating of india-rubber too has been tried, and found to afford good protection against the holes made by bullets, but it was found that ‘290 ON IIOTCHJKISS’ REVOLVING1 GUNS. the explosive shells tore large fragments of it off, and this protection was thus rendered nseless against the fire of the revolving Cannon. One adTaiitage, howerer, exists in the mitrailleuse ; Fiz., the possi- bility of using ordinary service small-arm ammunition. Of course in many cases this is important ; besides this, a mitmilleusc for small- arm ammunition can be made lighter than a revolving cannon, but this feature does not appcar to be so essential when we take into con- sideration how little in any case the gun weighs, in pFoportion to the weight of ammunition, and the carriages for transporting the same. Then in the case of use on board a Tessel, there is the difficulty of Iiandling these large quantities of cartridgcs on dcck undcr fire, and getting them up into the tops, and handling them there j also the enor- mous spnce recluired for stomgc, Bc. If the weights of the different machine-guns with the adequate proportions of ammunition, and the means for carrying the same, be compared, it mill always be found that tho larger calibre guns, firing shell, require less total weight to attain similar effects. I would cite, in support of this assertion, the comparative experi- ments carried out by the French Navy at GSrre, mhicli proved that in firing against six targcts at 2,000 pnrds range, representing ,a battalion of in columns, dirided into pelotons, the number of hits pcr kilogramme of ammunition espcnded was as follows :- For the li-inch “Hotchkiss”...... 2.59 ,, 1-inch “ Gatling ...... 1.45 ,, OG-inch .. Gatling ...... 0.90 Finally to examine the guns from an economical point of view- roughly speaking, tho larger the calibre, the cheaper in proportion is the gun. In the ammunition, a similar advantage esists for the larger calibre. The mean cost per foot-ton of effective work, the cost per square inch of section of hole made by the projectiles which strike, and the cost per weight of projectiles which hit the mark, mill be found infinitely lower for a class of gun like the revolving cannon than for any mitrailleuse.

Lieutenant ARMIT,RN. : I should like to ash the lecturer a few questions on the subject we harc listened to, especially 33 I was fortunate mough to see the second mchiue-gun ercr invented in actual use in warfare. I am speaking of the Mon- tigny. You will all remember the scare that gun created amongst the German troops prior to the actual liostilitics of the Franeo-German War; thc soldiers thought this gun was going to annihilate ttiem, but wlien they eaue into actusl aeticn it wa3 found to do very little harm indeed ; in fact, except that on one or two occasions it moved u complete lane through the attacking columns, it did rery little. The Germans were on the guns before the guns could do anjthing. Tliero wns no seat- tering motion; and I harc seen men here and therc simply riddled with bullets. The Jlontignp gun, I think, prored its lneflcieney during that Tar. Since then, thc fir& gun inrented-the Gatling gun--has been thc mosb genernlly adopted ; and from nhat we hare heard this erening, it seem3 that the gun before us is rcnlly and truly a,&tling gun. I can scarcely see any diffcreneo between the IIotchkis3 and Gatling gun, and the systems appear to me to bc exactly the same. We know the history of new inventions is rcry curious in many case3. Herc we have, SO to Bpeak, a Gatling gun with D large borc. It is perfectly competent to the inventor ON IlOTCIKHSS’ REVOLVLiG GUXS. 291 of the Gatling to gire us n weapon of any calibre. In this gun that TOU hare before you there is ouc defect., I think, ~ou\rill all detect. Supposing the cxtraetor fail& act, by drarring off tlie head of the cartridgc, there ~rouldbe no remcdy ; you %.auld hire to cea~efiring till you had rcmcdicd tlm defect, for that barrel could not bc used, and there i3 no mcans, so far as I can me, of continuing to fire with the rcmaindcr of the barrels. In the expcriments I witncssed the other day at Shoe- buryncss, a Gatling cartridge did jam, and 1 sa~lhc lock remorcd in about two wconds and thc gun continued with firc barrels, just as well as if tlie other one rra3 in use, with this exception, that one cartridge am continually being throw1 out. That, I tliink, is a fact that should be takcn into consideration in discussing thc qucstiou of these machine guns, bccanrc machine-guns, as a rule, mill mostly be used, I snpposc, at close quarters; and if, just as the enemy is’making a ru311, your gun beeoluea disabled, he is on your guu before you cin do any damage. In many cse3 during the &*rcncliWar from the esplosion of Gcrman stiell in the JIontipy bntterics, 1 m\r the French mitnillcuscs temporarily disabled. I examined many &ortly after they were captured, and found they wcre not permanently disabled, but they had been disablcri for n sufficiently long pcriod to enable the Gcrmans to bc upon them, and the position to bc capturcd. In the msc of this Hotchkis3 gun, if the extractor simply takes off the head of s cartridgc, I do not sec irhat you can do until you hare extracted the rcmaindcr of the caw, and to do that you aould lmre to take out thc ~rliolcmechanism and use an extractor or other tool mliicli I suppose vould be supplied for the purpose. In the Gatling, as I hare seen to bo the caw, the lock ~oiddbe taken out, and tlic gun could be fired in about trro seconds with tlic same rapidity a3 before, the ono mrtridgc being thrown out. Then, again, rritli regard to the rotarymotion in this gun. The axe3 of tlic barrels arc not parallel ; but in the Gatling the am3 arc all parallel,,and the targets I have seen made at Shocburjncss stow conclusircly that the rotary motion does not affect the accuracy of tlie fire. It is not the same thinn as trundling a mop and whisking off drop3 of water. The axe3 of the barrels beizg pamllel, and the bullet having to trarersc the length of the barrel, alien it docs lcarc the barrel, wliicli i3 in motion, it retains it3 direction, and, ns the targets I hare sccn shorn, makes very good firing indeed, and fire3 with great efficiency and occuncy. With regard to penetration, I sax, the other day, a report of some tr$s at Whale Island,and it aas =id the Nordenfeldt gun pcnctmtcd n I&-inchplate. As the inrentor of that gun happcns to be behind me, 1 dare E~Jhe will be able to corroborate my statement. Thc Hotclikis3 gun, ire arc told, only bulged the plate, the shell exploding and doing no further damage. Then, again, you hare in this gun a hand scattering motion. I think, in action, an automatic scattering motion, only to be used when required, aould certainly be more adranta=eou3 than haring to depend upon n man accuiutcly working his body to point and scatter; because n man in action is disturbed from rarious muses, such a3 ehcll whizzing orcr hi head and bursting around, bullets, dust, stones, kc., all fljing about him, togctlicr aitli comrades fall- ing bcsidc him. iU1 this must, to a ccrtain extent, iinnerrc n man, and he m3y not kecp hi3 eye exactly on the enemy, he may fire too high or too low. But if you haw the automatic mattering motion, you arc obliged to firein a direct line, because iron has no nerrcs, wKdc D man has. ‘flint this gun ~hddbo able to inflict damage on any class of ressel trill of course depend on the position in xrliich the pni3 placcd with respect to that ressel. If the gun is in the tops of an enemy’s ship it would of coursc be able to swcp the Seeks, as we E~Wdone in the “ IfuMcar” the other day j but on board ship you hare the rolling of the resscl and screral thing3 to take into consideration. There is no doubt, if you can get accumfc aim on a port, and c.m keep up a constant fire on that port, it would to a ccrtain estent impede the Lire within thc battery ; but such n regular fire ~ould,I think, bc rery uncertain and dilficult to obtain. You might, perhaps, send one shot out of 200 or 300 into the port, but I do not think you would bc likely to send more. They would strike about and around the port. If it is eimply claimed &lint this gun k firing a hcaricr shot than other qstcms, I do not see that can be claimcd as any improvement orer other sptems for this gun, for tlie simple remon that other systems me just as likely to increase their calibre pi the present inventor has been to incrcaec hi.*. He haseen the demand for a hcav calibrc of yn cnuscd by thc. 292 ON IIOTCUKISS’ REVOLVINQ GUNS. advent of torpedo-boats, nnd he has brought out a gun wry similar, in my opinion, to the Gatling. In doing so, he has, perhaps, gone ahead of the inrentor of the Qatling, but I do not think he has donc anything which it is not equally competent for the Gatlingto do. The calibrc can alrrays be increased in any system eo long a3 weight is no object. You could hare n machine-gun of nny size of bore ir you had the means of moring it about. In action, safety h of coursc the great thin; in all fircarms. If the k not safe to the man handling it, he can have but very little confidence in it, nnd you do not get the use out of it that you should. This gun, with the exception of jamming, which i3 possible, nppcan to be perfectly safe, because the principle, so far as it goes, is exactly similar to thc Gatling. The Gatlin; has t~oinrerted spiral3 by irliich the plunger is driren forward, as in this gun ; the only differenbe being that in one part of the spin1 JIr. Hutchkiss has n straight line. I do not secwhat advantage that is, because nrrestinz the barrels in their motion is simply losing time ; as long as you hare sutlicient fi&g surface to prerent any backnard motion froin the dkchargc, I do not think we should arrest the barrels to fire the gun. Ail goii want is to ensure the cnrtridgc not being blown back or nny escape of gas igniting any other cartridge. Here gou arrcst the barrel ; whercas, if gau %ere to go on, sou would gain time and fire morerounds, and, if your aim is accurate, do more damage. With regard to the stowage of ammunition, I would onlj remark that I do not think thcre would be much adrantage gained by this sgstem owr the small-arm ammunition. On the other band, when sou arc at close quarters go11 would throw more bullets of the small-arm type than of these large sheh ; gou rrould handle smaller nmmunition more readily, and it nould be esier to store in the tops of resseh. Small-arm ammunition, on thc nliole, I think would far more dcmorolize a crew exposed to it9 hail than would the few shots you would bc able to fire mth t% gun in the same time. Lieutenant CAXPBELL,R.N. : Without attempting to take up the time of thb meet- ing in comparing this with other m8chine-guns, I think that this gun gocs rcr3 far to gain the good opinion of naval Officers, on the ground of simplicity of arrnngemcnt. If inrentors would always remember that requirement, I think they would bc more successful. The lecturer seemed to confine his gun entirely to repelling attacks by torpcdo-boats, but I think it has a much higher business heforc it. I think in 5 fleet action in approaching the enemy the power to sseep his decks is a rcrF important one, and thcsc rerolring guns ha~ea great work before them in that respect. In tahing vessels into action, the Captains and Admirals hare to be some- nhere on deck, nnd must keep their head3 cool, and manacurre their shipa EO as to eounternct thc manacurres of their enemies. They have to do thi3 in a rery short time, and they hare to do it while they arc exposed to the fire of these guns. KO doubt in future n-ars these rerolring gun3 will hare a rery considcmblc something to ~ayin deciding the issue of an action. I think that this gun seems to meet all the requirements of the Navy, so far a3 it has been explained by the lecturer this erening. Capkin BEO~X,R.N. : Would tho lecturer explain by the rti3,mm what n-ould happen if n cartridge became fired prematurely, especially with reference to damaging nny portion of the mechanism, and also the action of the explosion upon any other mrtridges feeding the gun? Admiral JASPEILSELWYS: I think ~e ought to discriminate betmen this gun ns brought before us noxr, after the torpedo-boat attack has been rery largely developed, and the gun made before that time and nitli totally dzercnt riews. Eridently this gun is wry much fitter to be used in defence against the attack of torpedo-boats for many reasons, but at the eamc timc, I should utterly demur to the statement that any shell frngmcnts hare an equal range or power to a stream of bullets. There nrc two distinct things to bc kept in mind : the one i that the shell on exploding distributes its fragments around it prrttg nearly in x eirclc, gorerned to n slight extent only by the relocity.with which the shell i passing through the air; nnd the other is that a stream of bullets has n rqlarge parallelogi2rn of effect. TVhether the guns nre to be large or small of course depends entirely on thc facility with which the nmmunition can be cnrrieil, because the question in all such cases is, how you can carry our nmmunition more thnn how ~oucan carry your gun. Thi3 i. ON HOTCHKISS' REVOLVIX'il GUNS. 293

more the case in the field than with ships, because on board a ship you hare nothing to considcr as to carrying the gun and very little a3 to the ammunition, but with trmp the question i3, who i3 to carry the ammunition ? When you gire me a gun that will fire 60 ehots a minute, whether a breech-loader or a Gatling, I hare to con- sider wry closeIy how I can keep up that fire SO as to be of my use. I object Tery to the form of cartridge adopted here, for it is a recurrence to that most objeetionahle form, that compromise betwcn the Dan and tlic pure metallic cartridge knoim as the Boxer, in wbich sercral metals are uscd, and galrnnic action & to be feared, and the base cup k attached by a raricty of means bcst known to the inrentow, but all more or less objectionable. The effect is very much superior vith the simple metal, and there. is much more room for powdcr. I prefcr the aimple American cartridge for all kinds of ammunition. The foil was adopted by ifr. Daw iThcn he gained the 5001. prize from Cforernment, and it was rery speedily follosed by other persons, but as they had not the knowledge of practical work vllich he possessed, they added bron-n paper, and bees-rrax, and varnish, and one thing and the other, till they made up the most despentc specimen of a cartridge that ever was got together by men who had neither practical skill nor inrentire brains. w'itli regard to the question of tho facility with which this gun could be pointed and used, that is very largely a question of training. After all, each gun has its merits, and we must thank ah. IEotchki_~sfor haring taken us a little further in advance than Dr. Gatling had donc. Whether Dr. Qntling mill not turn the tables on him, and by-and-bye produce something better, is a great question for thosc who hare to be shot at. 1 shall be rery glad to find that we arc still making advances in wcapons of war; what TTC all beliere must be the result of the pcrfcction of weapons of war, namely, a unirersal peace; but I am quite sure the riralry of inrentor3 i3 not to be considered at all in an Institution like thi3. Let them cacli do the bcst they an, I prcsume they will take all tlic protection they can get from the law, and lie shall then all benefit by their operations. I am always rcluctmt to see in an Institution which is dcrotcd to scientiEc purposes, the discussion of an inrention on any such grounds. The lesson we may very well learn from our American cousins is this, that they use machinery so largely in the production of erery weapon. and in nlmo~tevery other piece of machinery they turn out, down to D Waltham watch, and EO surpass crerflhing our sliiicd artizans can turn out in lightness, elegance, and adaptation of materiah to their proper uses. Close con- sideration and liberal inrestmcnt of capital precedes the manufacturer's mauipula- tion, and the result is, when we see a piece of American workmanship of whatercr kiud, a chuck for a lathe, a pair of parallel pliers, nhicli hare nerer been seen in Engllnnd before, n gun or a firearm of the smaller description, we arc all struck dththe bcautiful adaptation of the means to the end. Here we hare an instance of the same thing. In tnkino to pieces this gun, no one eon fail to hare remarked the extreme ease with which% nas dismounted and put toguther again. There is great merit in that, for when we know that, whatcrer myhappen, there is no great difficulty to be anticipated or time to be lost in taking the pieces apart and putting them together again, it gives great confidence in the gun. The lecturer spoke of a matter rrhich I am wry ghd to hear about, when he referred to the material uscd in the construction of the gun. He says, that the sliding parts being made of gun-metal, it is impossible for them to rwt j but we know the chlorine of the sca water creates another form of rust even on yn.mctal, and it is important that all surfaces should be designed 80 IIS to meet the conditions which we must expect to hare at sea at times. It is not nlwnys that you can keep guns in the Ingest ship perfectly freo from Erik rrater, in fact, from being under water half the time, and particularly so if we build hips a3 we are doing nom, we must expect to pass a good deal of our lires in going throunh the mter instead of orer it, suns and all. Erery inrentor, thcre- fore, who cons?ders thosc questions closely, merits a rery large share of approbation at the hands of seamen. The great cril is, that wry few inl'entors nil1 tnkc the knowledge of seamen and make use of it; they give us something that they can use beautifully on shore, but which, whcn it comcs to bo uscd at sea, fails, because they hare not considered these questions. I think Mr. Hotchkiss has donc a @cat deal for us. He has &en us a power of simhting and firing in a single hand. It is quite certain that the one man who is guigng and directing at the 3amc time can 2‘34 ON HOTCHKISS’ REVOLVIXG GUNS. do much morc than can bc don; by any mmhiiery sith a rolling ship, or by ang combination of men, somc of whom liarc to do one thing and somc another. If the wholc pan-er is concentntcd in the captain of the gun, mcrc accuratc work nil1 be donc and better results obtained in all cssc3. Mr. NOXDESFEIDT:In reply to the question put to mc by Lieutenant drmit, 1 may cay it -as not a It-inch plate thst vas fired at, hut a $inch. It mas not penetrated by my 1-inch solid bullet weighing 7 om., and it was not penetrated by JLr. IIotchkis3’ lk-inch bullet weighiig 16 023. They both struck at 300 yards range. Xr. Iiotchkiss’ shell made an indent of ’2 of an inch. We must cot forget that system i3 one thing and calibre i3 another. The sjstem of a projectilc may be said to mean thc differencc bctwecn thc solid bullcr, and thc shell, which i3 extremely important. The lecturer hoj held forth tlib great adrantage of shells, but I feel rather strongly in favour of solid bullcts for naval use. Insteadof hi3 shells I vould rathcr fall back upon ampid-firing gun,firing solid bullets. Ican hardly bc cxpccted to praisc a rerolring gun, bccawe 1 do not likc them j I can hardly be expected to pmisc a gun thnt fires singlc shots, because I think guns firing volleys arc so much morc powerful for nard usc; but I am afraid of getting into a discussion a3 to other systems of guns than that of the lecturer, and that I do not mean to do. I think JIr. IIotchkisa has an esccllent gun, but he hw failed in onc or two wry important points, ewn leaving out the question of single shots cersus TOllCJS at sca. The ballistical condition of a l&-incli gun ought to be about 2lbs. bullet, and 1,600 or 1,700 feet relocity. Xr. Uotclikiss ha3 been persuaded to go away from his original idea hy cutting short hi3 barrels, and diminishing the power of penetration of the 16-02. bullet to tlis samc that I harc irith my 7-oz. bullet, and thereby I consider destrojing the greatest ndvantage3 nliicli lie otherwise would harc had with the gun. -A smaller calibre of gun is not nllo\rcd by. thc International Conrention to fire shells, consequently in a 14-inch borc you can harc shell3 vhicii you cannot 11a.r~in rr smaller bore. But I speak about the great adrantage of machine-guns, not only a3 against torpedo-boats, but in general use, and n shell of this calibrc, and Tit11 Xr. Hotellkiss’ low enetratirc power against a plate at 5 short angle, i3 utterly ulcless. A ~olidbulfiet is not. Xr. IIotchkiss ha3 also steel pointed bullets j hc admits thc fact that solid bullets Iiarc grcnt adrantage for certain special purposes, but when he has a solid bullet of I$-inch bore he ought to hare a bullet twice its wight, and of threc times its penetrative porrer. I cannot help thinking if you harc tlic eamc penetration with the 7-02.bdllet a3 you hare mth the 16-02., and if sou can fire 7-02. haets four or fire times morc quickly, there i3 a distinct adrantage in the smaller ealibre, admitting of coursc that when Xr. Uotehkiss camcs to his longer barrel, he i3 getting much nearer perfection than in tbc sea gun as now cxhibited. As I said, sptem and calibre are entirely different. Ik rerolving system I do not Likc hceausc he fire3 single shots, and becausc if one barrel gcb damagd the gun becomes useless. In his gun the laying arrangement looks very conrcnient, and i3 rery “taking,” if I may vsc the word. It Etrikes people as exccssirely convenient, but it i3 really far from conrenient. It is extremely clificult to lay from thc shonider with accuracy and after each singlc shot, 8 gun fixed on a pirot, like the onc befcrc us. I do not like to epcak about what we hare clone, because Mr. Uotehkis3 and I are now pitted ngainst onc another at Ports- mouth, and rrc will talk it orer in a month or two, but I beg to be allowed to refer to thc triah in Denmark which he mentioned in the leeturc that I was thorouglily beaten, and so I was appnrently for thc vcry simplc fact tliat tlic clcrer Danes fired iny gun for accuracy at sea at ranges up to 1,200 yard3 vithout haring my sights gmdwted, andnitliout the slightest idea. what eleration \ras required for it, whereas they had checked the eleration on the Ilotehkies gun and adjusted thc sights. Dr. GdTLIXC? : I am not in the habit of speaking in public. I merely wish to say this : in 1868, eighteen rear3 ago, I first conceired thc ides of the machine- gun, and I think 1 may say rrith safety I was the first .rho ever made a gun that loaded metallic cartridges automatically into thc chambers of the barrels, and fired them continuou:ly as you arc airare the Gatling gnn does. I see in the gun before me, aa has been obserred by SCTCEII speakers, the iery striking features of the Gatling gun, though it i3 not a Gatling gun in all its detail3 ; it k also a gun of lsrger calibre than the Oatling guns hare been made heretofore. I belierc that therc,will be need of ON IIOTCEKXSS’ RETOLYING QUKS. 295 maeliiuc-gun~of small and large cnlibres,and I would Say in connectionwith this detail, that thc Gatling gun admits of calibres of any size ; it is simplyaquestion of weight of metal. The Gatling, bcing the fir3t of its kind, was ahead, if I may sny so, of the mmunition, for ercn in America no onc could make ammunition that was perfect, and I can say with safety that the Gatling gun 11x3 fired morc \rorthlcss ammunition awn7 than perhaps any gun in the world, and it had to takc the disrrcdit of all thc bad ammunition that iras made ycars ago. It as, horcrcr, the best that wc could do. They did not know in America how to nnneal thc copper, and thcy did not knorr that certain kinds of coppcr wcre bcttcr than other hind3 of copper. One of thc little secrets thcy hare in America is this : the coppcr “ mined purc,” in thc Lalie Superior district, haring no foreign substnncc niircd nitli it, is of much greater ptrcngtli and duetilit7 than ordinar! coppers, and its use is one of the aecrcts of the BUCCCIS of the cartridge makers in America. Another is, that thcy hare learned to anneal the coppcr, and not to burn or destroy tlie material. I hare sccn cartridgrs made so pcrfectly that there is no tronblc now. The day of bad cartridnes in Amcrica has passed, unless now and then they usc up nn old lot that nerc re‘jcctcd ~I-Yago. On one occasion I was inritcd to a trial of a Gatling gun, nhich thc Navy liad purchased, at Fort 3Iaddison. They fired 100,OOO rounds without a Iiitcli or any interruption in the mcchanism, G1,OOO being fired continuously in the prcscnco of a large number of OfficcrsGf the Army and Xary without their rriping the barrcls out or etopping to clean the gun. That is an onlcal such ~3,in my judgment, no otlicr gun has bcen put to. In IIcr Najcsty’s scrricc they hare not improred Gatlings, for the guns in the English serricc are all fed on the side, nhcrcas the feed ~houldbe right in tlic centre. Ton will pardon me if I do not desire to firc the Gatling gun with the Borer ammunition. Thatwas no doubt good in its day, but it is not the best ammunition now. ‘l‘hc solid-dnm case i3 :lie cartridge adopted by all the leading nations in the world care and except England, 3nd the dny is coming when that Borer cartridgc unqnrstionablc nil1 bccome obsolete. &ehine-guns ma^ be of differcnt calibres. A light gun that sou could pick up and more about quickly to nn~postion, and place it anyn-here, is That is much desired. For instance, I have a little Gatling gun wcighing 103 Ibs. that I nould firc ngainst any gun that Mr. Hotchkiss can produce at a thousand or tnclre hundrpd yards ranges, and bcat him in the number of hits. Furthermore, my solid bullets, made of hardened lead, will girc more pcnetntion than the fngments from hia shell. I sh~uldlibc to hare a fricndly contcst with him upon the suhjcct, but I will use the tnctallic cartridge. With that I can firc a thousand rounds a iniiiute when the men understand their work, and there will be no intcrruption. I say, Iiowcrer, if the Gatling gun could not be made of larger calibre, BLr. IIotchhks would hare the field entircly for torpedo serricc, bccausc it is absolutely ncccssary to hnrc larger calibres for sinking torpcdo-boats. There is, horerer, no trouble in mnbing the Gatling gun of any size. I am nor constructing some Gatlings of large calibrc, and I may also statc, for thc informntion of gentlemen prcscnt, that I have a particular gun, not embodjinp tlie principle of tlic original Gatling, which I intend to bring out TCV soon. This gun I think will firc missiles of marc than a pound rreiglit, and will do the rrork of the IIotchkiss gun, or the largc Gatling, if sou please, and this new type of gun will not ircigli EO much, nor will it be SO expcnsire in its construction as is the case in cxisting sjstems of lnacliinc guns. Major FRASER,R.E. : I should like to nsk what evidence thcrc is that continuous rotating motion in a machine-gun causcs a special dispemion of the cartridgc. Is there any experiinental evidence of that? illy reason for asking the question i3 that the othcr day I saw a 0’45” Gatling gun tried, and at a nngc of 3,100 yards 50 per cent. of the bullets fell in a \ridtli of ’7.6 yards. Tlizt seems to show that tho tannential motion due to the barrels does not cause anmy appreciable dispeAon. Yr. hxm~~~,in rcplr, said: As to a similarity between this gun and the Gatling, the Gatling gun liar a separate mechanism for each barrel, whilst thiq gun has oce set of mechanism for all the barrels ; that i3 one dilferencc. Then, in the Gatling gun, the Kordenfeldt, and most otlicr michinc-guns, the cartridge bcars on some part of the mcchaniim, gcncrallj the lock wliicli carrics blic extractor, the spring and tho Bring pin or vhatercr is necessary to work thc gun, and this lock has to sustain the continual shock of discliargc ; but in this gun the cartridgc itself stands during the 206 os IIOTCHKISS’ REVOLVISG GUKS. time it is bcinl fired against a solid mass of iron. Wo beliere that that gires greater safcty than is obtained in other guns in whieli the firing takes place on the lock, and which thercforc has to support the ehock of the discharge. 4 second point wns niscd as to xhnt would be the result if, for instance, the head of a cart- ridge was torn off. Should a cartridge head tear off, and the case be left in the barrel, by opening thc breech you cnn push tlie ramrod completely through the barrel and elcar it in a moment. Should such an accident arise in the Gatling it is always necessary to take out n special lock, and whilst you are tnhing out the lock you can just as wcll open the bmcch door and run the rammcr through to clear the barrel. As to the panllclism of the barrels. In this gun, as in the Gatling, they are nll panllel to each other ns far as they can bc brou-lit, of course not mathematicall-f 80. And when I spoke of the particular cliaraetekstics of the gun, and said that by the barrel standing still wlicn firing we suppressed tlie tangential motion of tlic projectiles, I did not mean scattering motion, because if the barrel3 me rotated rrith equal speed in the Gatling, the deristion of the shots caused by this tangential motion would be about equal for each shot ; so that I do not put this as a particular adrantage of this gun, I only pnt it ns a particular feature, supposing in any cnse it should eentter them, there wouId be no other diG. culty about it, but if the Gatling gun is rotated by jerks, it may gire a eliglit irregular deriatioa to the shots. With regard to the supcriority of bullets Orcr the shell for srrccpinn the decks of a ship, that L a matter of opinion. We imagine that the esplos?ons of the sh?lls and the enormous amount of fmpents 5ying about, the Emoke, flash, and ercrything will hare a greater deinoralizing effect on the men employed on deck than bullets would hare; but certninl-r bullets can do a patamount of damage too. Another point was as to the quantity of ammunition to bc transported to get similar effects to those of a bullet gun. It is certain that we do not require the same weight of ammunition, that has bccn tricd rcq often. For instance, I read in the Times that for a Nordenfeldt gun in the English senice, the dotation of ammunition is 8,000 rounds for each gun on board a rcssel, xrliilst the dotation in the French Naq for the IIotcltkiss is only 1,000. Commander Brom asked what would be the effect ir a cartridge was to explode beforcit ww struck? That is a thing which is hardly possible to occur. By reason of the construction of the gun, the cartridge is not pushcd home into the barrel mpidl7. This is the only machine-gun in which it is done in this manner. It goes in quickly at first, but afterwards there is aninclined plane that carries it fornard gradually and without hock, until it is ‘I home ” in the chamber. Dr. GATLISQ: That is the same kind of morcment that is performed in the Gatling ; the gradual spiral morement. ah. KOERSER: It is done in a similar manner. Supposing it did explode, the breech at the bottom between the barreh is open so that the gas simply comes out at the bottom, and bcsides, the man firing the gun lias the protcction of this liemy breech. Eren if n barrel burst, he would be protected, because the barrel that burst mould be the firing barrel at the bottom, and there i3 h:irdly any possibiEty that the man could be injured. On one occasion, before ne useci Whitworth steel, n barrel burst irhen I was firing the gun. Four or fire men were around it; one was feccling it, and Xr. Hotchkiss and otlicr gentlemen were looking on. The bottom barrel buret, but it absolutely did no injury to anybody. It burst down: wards. The otlicr barrels are on tlie top, and the breech is behind, EO that in tki3 manner the men were protected to a great extent. Admiral Sir COOPERXEP: I do not think Captain Brown thought of the men bciug damaged only, but that, when onc wrtridge exploded prcmaturcly, the chances are some of the others would explode d30, and that would damage the gun. Mr. KOERSEU: It depends on where it explodes. If it wns to explode in the reccirer, you would hare the cliance of the others which were on the top exploding ; but the further they explode down to the bottom the less danger there is, and when it is on the bottom it is impossible to do nny damagc,. because the cartridge is standing against the breech, and this is closed. The cartridge is not constructed on . the Boxer plan; there is no paper in it. Whcn Nr. Ifotchkiss first commenced iuakinn the revolving cannon, he used a solid-dram cartridge ; but it is absolutelJ- imposzble to manufacture solid-dram cartridges in which, now and then, a head ON HOTCHKISS' REVOLVING GUNS. 207 sill not come off ; from R flaw in the metal, or something. you will hare a cerhin pccntagc in which the heads break off. In a large cartridgo like this, if the head breaks off, there is a lnrgc cscapo of gas, and a grcat deal of damage may be done. Tho fccond cartridge nas madc of tin, but they had difficulties nitli that, and at last they atme to make tliesc rolled brnss cartridges. There is no paper of any kind ; it is a spirnlly rolled case, with reinforcing cups and an iron head, all rireted together. With these cartridges a head never comes off. During all the esfenaire trials that hare been made with this gun, during the last trro or threc years, and all thc trials made by rhc dserent Gorcrnments, there 113s newr been one single account of a lle&dcoming off or a cartridge bursting. This makes absolutely thc safest. cartridge. Sofid-drawn cartridges nrc liable to stick in tlic gun, which mahcs it di5cult to extract them. This, being spirnlly rolled, it wn open out a little, by the pressure of the porrder, and mould itself to the chambrr, but it gocs back ngain ; you can take out ercry cartridge after it has been fired, cren thc largest ones, with the finger- nails. In most CBSCS, you dlfind D largc solid-dnwn mrtridgc will stick ; it is only in tIic smaller ones that there is not so much difGculty in that rcspeet. Dr. GATLISG: wit11 re&+ to that matter, in the largc class of ammunition used for the inch Gatling, at first I was troubled by the head coming off, ercn nhcn they were made of solid matcrhl, but by using soIdcr in the basc of the 'wrtridge, that difficulty was rcmored, and since that the hundreds of thousands of cartridges IYATCbccn fired and nerer a head come off. There is no trouble about the ex- tnction. I would saj, 2w regards the trials of the Gatlings madc in France, that the )lumber of hits was less wit11 the Gatling guns and the same proportion of am- munition, but 1 esh to say that tlle guns used wcrc of the oldcjt type of Gatling gun. I do not know who pointed the gun, or anrthinn about it ; but I will only say the Frcnch bought somc old typc Gatlings, I think Tn 18C9,and I beliere it was these guns that were us&. Such results could not liarc oecurrcd with the improrcd Gatling gun. Mr. KOERSEE: ah. Xordenfeldt spohc as to our reasons for cutting down the balhticd power of the l$-incli gun. That was ncccssary, because n-c first con- structed this particular model for the French Kary, and the naval artillerists made up their minds that they would Iiave a gun that should not cscecd 200 kilometres in weight ; it sliould be possible to put it in thc tops ; it should be short, liavc no projecting parts to it, and, besides that, therc wa3 thc questiou of the rrcoil. In a gun limited to about 490 Ibs. weight, if you firc large charges and largc projectiles witli high relocities, the recoil on the man would be so riolcnt that lie would not bo able to witI13tund it, and for that reason we wcrc obliged to cut down ita power. But it garc ballistical rcsudts better than werc cren asked for by the French Xavy. In the It-inch gun, weighing 700 instcad of 400 Ibs., you ham mncli inore pomr. Ifr. Wordenfeldt said that in Dcnmark they madc a special sight for the min used in thc experiments; but that is not the cmc. The identical French sight nas used, and the uptain of thc gun simply corrected his firc by seeing wheru thc prcrious shot struck. The CIIAIIWAN: It. only remains for me to thank Mr. hoerncr for the full and exhaustire explanation of the gun which he has been good enough to gim to the mecting. I think our thanks are also duo to the other inrcntors who Earc been good enough to contribute 80 much to our information on general points connected with thc machine-gun. I underatand that R trial is shortly to bc commcnced at Portsmouth, which will, no doubt, dcrelop the nierits of both guns, and particularly of this new invention. I nm sure it cna on1-y be the wish of thosc who arc to use them that the palm shall be awarded to the most worthy.