. How armies fight. ll (s) in the chamber, and push it well into thebore, afterwards placing the cartridge (o) in the chamber. You then close the breechagain. By jerking the friction tube (f), a flash is sent down the vent (v), which firesthe cartridge. This drives the shell down the bore of the gun, which has spiral groovescut in it. These grooves—called rifling—cut into the copper band shown on the shell,as the band is slightly larger in diameter than the bore. This causes the shell to revolverapidly as it passes down the bore and after it leaves the gun, which results in its travellingpoint
. How armies fight. ll (s) in the chamber, and push it well into thebore, afterwards placing the cartridge (o) in the chamber. You then close the breechagain. By jerking the friction tube (f), a flash is sent down the vent (v), which firesthe cartridge. This drives the shell down the bore of the gun, which has spiral groovescut in it. These grooves—called rifling—cut into the copper band shown on the shell,as the band is slightly larger in diameter than the bore. This causes the shell to revolverapidly as it passes down the bore and after it leaves the gun, which results in its travellingpoint foremost. He takes a little thing shaped like a T, which he callsa friction tube, sticks the end through a hole in thebreech-block, attaches a cord with a hook to an eye on thetube, and gives it a sharp jerk. That fires the cartridge, he says. Supposing you forgot to shut the breech-block tight ? *you ask. Then you could not fire the gun, replies the bom-bardier, on account of this little safety catch which you. ARTILLERY, see here. That used not tobe the case, thoigh. Whenour battery sergeant-majorwas a recruit, twenty yearsago, he was one of a detach-ment firing for practice. Thebreech was not properlyclosed, and blew out. Hehad a narrow escape. Themen on each side of himwere killed; and one poorchap, who was standing overtwo hundred yards behindthe gun, had his brainsknocked out. You wouldhave thought hed have beensafe there ! The field artillery shell iscalled a shrapnel, and hasa small brass instrument,called a fuse, screwed in itspoint. {See Fig. 37.) Whenthe gun is fired, a little trainof powder in the fuse islighted by the shock of thedischarge,and this eventuallyexplodes the bursting chargein the shell. The bombardier shows us
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, booksubjectmilitaryartandscience, booksubjectwo
