The firing from the 81-ton gun began at Shoeburyness on
Wednesday. The great gun was removed successfully last week from Woolwich, where the previous firing had given results even more satisfactory than had been expected. On Wednesday the firing began at an elevation of no more than 7°, and the range at that elevation was over two miles and a half. The ball, however, afterwards careered through the water to a distance of over seven miles. The experiments on the present occasion are not intended to determine the range—for that the elevation should be 304—but the fact is noteworthy, as showing the power of the gun. The accuracy of aim, too, was admirable. Five shots, which all fell at nearly the same distance, for example, would have gone through the principal door of a large hotel, had that been the target. The concussion caused by the discharges is described as extraordinary, and contrasts strangely with the slight disturbance that followed the Hell-Gate explosion. In the village of Shoebury scarce a whole pane of glass was left, and in some cases even the sashes were snapped asunder. The tents of the , officers and soldiers suffered still more. The results continue to be highly satisfactory.
Previous page
