BACK-FIRE OF NAVAL GUN

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 576, 3 August 1909, Page 5

BACK-FIRE OF NAVAL GUN

SEVERE INJURIES. . MISHAP ON A 'DREADNOUGHT,: IBy Telegraph.—l'resa: AaSaclatlotj.nOotiyrlcbU > . ■ . — LoncJotii August 1. '■ During the Royal saluto in the naval rcivipw, on Saturday the backfire -of one of tho quick-firers on tho Tenicraire: (thb third Dreadnought) ignited a second charge •before the, breech could, be closed.' V An explosion ensued/ .injuring, three .sea-,I men severely and one slightly? V. ■ '.. ■ ■ > ... r-'- !■■■ ■ ■ ■ V , ' THE, DEADLY FL/^RE-BACK. "■ AND "THE VJCKI.ES AIR-BIAST. • 'The back-fire, or. "flare-back," is' Hie irisiiji-' ous tongue, of flame rtbatViotncftimcfc 'licks/oiiti • 4 of, the; breech, when the' latter.', is ,opened; to ;r<Sceive-. the.. next, charge: . .l.The! flare-hack-is '•the result. bf fombustion of 'iesidnal gaSes and . particles,...that remain iii Mho.' gun. after-,the* lef.t' tho niuz2lo. :-> If :tlio wind is ■Wotting .down; the gun-muzzle;, the fraught •resulting from' the', opening : <Jf tlio breech; is the more ; likely .to caus<}'.'a- flare-back;'.Vnd ■ against:time, on a quickfirer,"; loading, in - a -steady stream, the, premature ignition', of tho now chafgo io' ever a matter to guard against;-. .'• Tho Antidote. ' . > It has been oontended that tho .British Navy lias guarded against this peril special in-vention;-but-it as not eleari whether tte',latter' has been- applied to tho smaller : guns , and quick-iii'er!i. According' to a well-known naval authority, it is "very extensively ;e)nploVed for all medium and heayy ordnance in'the,'l3ritisli: Navy.'i; It jis ,a Vickers: invention, and consists. in the main of an. .air-blast, fti.r 'clearing .tho gun of '■ smoke and residue after: firing, vthe -.'same]'.through the; inuzzlo. That is to Say, the process of. tlie flare-baok— I a draught down the muzilo drawing the-'flariie through the breeoh—is reversed:.' h-j '■":■' :V i According to .the same.'authority, ' "the air is, introduced "through a small ■' orifice, projecting inwards from the rear" end of the gun, immediately, behind .the obturating pad, .and: thd_ apparatus is so arranged that the air will begin: to , issue, into tho gun, automatically immediately, the.breech block >is just; !clear,; and" wilUcoritinue to operate tthile the.'ljreech is swung open., in some cases it is arranged that the actionMvill be semi-autpmatio,- as, with the .improved, system of breech-'gear' manufactured by, tho. same (Vickers) company, the action of swinging the ,breech block is vory .Vapid,' ■and might' not give; sufficient period- for the action ,of the air. to clear tho guns, and when ; this is so tho air is arranged to be shut-'off by- hand. Surprisingly Successful. "This . air', blast, system., has' ' proved. itself surprisingly successful.No smoke of combustion is visible in tho turret even after 1 a con-, sidorablo number of rounds, thus permitting the turret to be entirely enclosed, without tho air holes at one time usual in the roof-plates of the shields or turrets. ,Only a small admission of a few. seconds is to clear the guuateaoh round. The compressed air for'the system is carried in-the revolving turret ill air flasks, which can.be charged periodically from the ship's air-pressure system. Tho air is connected from these flasks by suitable 1 flexible pipes to the automatic admission valve attached to the breech of the gun." .Tho .four-inch guns of •. the - later Dreadnoughts, one of which caused the present accident, are not in the original . Dreadnought. She. the first of the all-big-gun ships, was criticised on the. ground of tho lack of a secondary armament, hence tho twenty 4-inch guns of her sisters. , i A Picture in the Turret. -v - ' Tho flare.back, it is contended,-takes on' a still worse phase in the .United States Navy, owing to the fact that if the "spotters" (who direct the range observations) wero killed, tho turrets .would , havo to fight with Rims minus collars, giving admittance to tho wind. Hero is a hypothetical picture (abridged) of the sequel: "Death borne on the breath of an | enemy's cannon-olast is grim enough; perhaps the sting' in tho tail of your own gun 'is worse. A tongue of lire licking round a con- . fined chamber to which chargee "of powerful explosives are being applied every few seconds is an awful thing to; contemplate. With tho wind blowing right down the gun-muzzles, and tho Vickers air-blast (thieved from Britain) , roaring through tho interiors of the big guns to clear them of (lame, shot after "shot is fired. To make doubly sure, the officer perhaps, places : his cap in the breech, and away it goes, blown olean out through tho muzzle and into tho sea. But it is a pale.and pallid time for all that; The blast may tlirow the. yellow sting 1 out through the muzzle,' but ! som<i« of H>r> . American turrets gape- pretty, widely^', What." if the wind should carry- one: : of .' those lurid' streaks back through tho gun-ports? Ah- what if ?" ■' . ; ,