Page 5 Advertisements Column 3

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 297, 25 May 1915, Page 5

According to an artillery expert, writin;,' in a (li'-rmim artillery magazine, tl: latest naval gun, if the ballistic dat which lie gives are correct, is a truly astonishing weapon. The gun, presumably of 15i" calibre, is reputed to fire a she'll of more than 20001b weight with a velocity of more than 3000 ft a second. If the' Krupps have produced such a piece, they must have developed a steel and a powder altogether Bupi to that of any other nation. Velocities of 3000 ft 'per second for large guns were tried and abandoned several years ago, because of the severe erosion due to the high powder pressure and accompanying heat. To avoid erosion and prolong the life of the gun, the tendency is to increase the weiglvt of the shell and decrease the velocity. The United States 1-tin naval guns, for instance, have only •2HOO foot-seconds velocity, and the 14in army guns only 2250 foot-seconds. It is known that one of the leading naval Powers of the world recently offered the Krupp agents a very large and remunerative order for guns of tlie 15in liigli-veloicity type, if the company would guarantee a certain accuracy and life, l)nt the guarantee was refused.