subdivided, like those
employed in the German guns, in succession to the breech, the hydraulic
rammer forcing them home.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.]

[Illustration: FIG. 6.]

The simplicity of the arrangement is apparent. The recoil always acts
parallel to the slide. This is much better than allowing its direction to
be affected by elevation, and the distributed hold of the steel bands is
preferable to the single attachment at trunnions. Theoretically, the recoil
is not so perfectly met as in some of the earlier Elswick designs, in which
the presses were brought opposite to the trunnions, so that they acted
symmetrically on each side of the center of resistance. The barbette tower
is covered by a steel plate, shown in Fig. 1, fitting close to the gun
slide, so that the only opening is that behind the breech when the gun is
in the forward position, and this is closed as it recoils.

The only man of the detachment even partly exposed is the number one, while
laying the gun, and in that position he is nearly covered by the gun and
fittings. Common shell, shrapnel shell, and steel armor-piercing
projectiles, have been approved for the 1101/2 ton gun. The common shell is
shown in Fig. 3. Like the common shell for all the larger natures of new
type guns, it is made of steel. It has been found necessary to support the
core used in casting these projectiles at both ends. Consequently, there is
a screw plug at the base as well as at the apex. The hole at the base is
used as a filling hole for the insertion of the bursting charge, which
consists of 179 lb. of powder, the total weight of the filled shell being
1,800 lb.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.]

[Illustration: FIG. 7.]

The apex has a screw plug of larger diameter than that of the fuse. This is
shown in Fig. 4. The fuse is a direct action one. The needle, B, is held in
the center of a copper disk, C C, and is safe against explosion until it is
actually brought into contact with an object, when it is forced down,
igniting a patch of cap composition and the magazine at A, and so firing
the bursting charge of the shell below. E E E are each priming charges of
seven grains of pistol powder, made up in shalloon bags to insure the
ignition of the bursting charge, which is in a bag of serge and shalloon
beneath.

The use of this fuse involves the curious question of the physical
conditions now existing in the discharge of our projectiles by slow burning
powder. The forward moveme