Home Wiki Docs Sources Contact
Manual of Gunnery (Volume II) for HM Fleet 1917

Manual of Gunnery (Volume II) for His Majesty's Fleet

1917

Repository
Document ID
Pages
Dimensions
 Plates Tables
ADM 186/220
559 including index

15cm x 25cm
43
12

My copy of this manual is a black and white reproduction of copy number 1197 on file at TNA.  It supersedes a 1902 version.

I was so dismayed to receive this large, expensive copy only to discover that little it contained would be helpful to me at all and was the primary motivation to put index data for my collection of documents online.  It deals in great detail with the fine points of internal ballistics (the things that happen in the gun as it fires) and external ballistics (what happens to the shells in flight), but not on practical use of the information for sighting and fire control.

 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
Page
Materials use in Gun Construction.  Testing. 1  
 
CHAPTER II.
Explosives used with Artillery. 79  
 
CHAPTER III.
Rifling. 112  
 
CHAPTER IV.
Recoil. 144  
 
CHAPTER V.
Principles of Gun Construction 175  
 
CHAPTER VI.
Internal Ballistics
 
Part I.
 
Section
   1. -- Physics of an Explosion. 210  
"
   2. -- Fundamental Thermo-Chemical Formulae 223  
"
   3. -- Specific Heats of Gases 232  
"
   4. -- Dissociation of Gases at High Temperature 242  
"
   5. -- Calculation of Explision Temperature and Pressure of Cordite 247  
"
   6. -- Comparison between Theory and Experiment 258  
"
   7. -- Heat Contents of Products of Explosion, and Curve of Adiabatic Expansion 264  
 
Part II.
 
Section
   1. -- The Ideal Indicator Diagram and Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Gun using Mark I. Cordite 273  
"
   2. -- Ditto, with M.D. Cordite 281  
"
   3. -- The Variation of the Pressure developed during the Explosion of Cordite in Vessels of constant capacity 286  
"
   4. -- The Variation of the Pressure in a Gun during the burning of a Charge 293  
"
   5. -- The Influence of the Resistance of the Driving Band on Maximum Pressure and Muzzle Velocity 308  
"
   6. -- Instructions for the Calculation of Maximum Pressure and Muzzle Velocity 314  
 
CHAPTER VII.
External Ballistics
 
Section
   1. -- The Unresisted Motion of a Projectile 327  
"
   2. -- The Flight of a Rifled Projectile 335  
"
   3. -- Resistance of the Air 351  
"
   4. -- Equations for Direct Fire 378  
"
   5. -- Calculation of the Ballistic Tables 387  
"
   6. -- Accuracy of the Ballistic Tables 391  
"
   7. -- The Compilation of Range Tables 393  
"
   8. -- Examples of the Calculation of Trajectories 417  
"
   9. -- The Calculation of Trajectories for Anti-Aircraft Guns by the Method of Small Arcs 428  
"
   10. -- The Calculation of High Angle Trajectories by Lieut. Littlewood's Method 441  
"
   11. -- Approximate Solutions of the Problem of High Angle Trajectories 445  
CHAPTER VIII.
Accuracy.  Probability of Fire 451  
 
TABLES.
Table
   I. -- Numbers frequently required in Ballistic Calculations 508  
"
   II. -- For converting the Densities of the Charge expressed in Cubic Inches per lb. into Gravimetric Density 510  
"
   III. -- Of Densities and corresponding Cubic Inches per lb. 522  
"
   IV. -- Giving in Foot-tons the Energy stored up in a Mass of 1 lb., moving at any Velocity between 10 and 3,000 Feet per Second 523  
"
   V. -- Tenuity Correction for Temperature and Pressure of Atmosphere two-thirds saturated with Moisture 538  
"
   VI. -- Extract from Glaisher's Hygrometrical Tables 539  
"
   VII. -- theta = integral(sec theta d theta) = 1/2 sec theta tan theta + 1/2 natural log(sec theta + tan theta) 540  
"
   VIII. -- Values of K., Cr., and of Resistance of Unit Shot in lbs. Weight 541  
"
   IX. -- Squares, Cubes, Square Roots and Cube Roots of Numbers up to 100 544  
"
   X. -- M.D. Cordite, Reduction in Diameter in .001 second at 80 degrees F. (Mansell) 546  
"
   XI. -- M.D. Cordite, Reduction in Diameter in .001 second at 60 degrees F. (Mansell) 547  
"
   XII. -- Pressure and Densities, M.D. Cordite, Specific Gravity 1.58 (Mansell), for use with Tables X. and XI. 547  
 
LIST OF PLATES .
 
To face page
Plate
I,
 -- Specimens of test pieces 16  
II.
 -- End view of fractures 18  
III.
 -- Bessemer steel plant 36  
IV.
 -- Regenerative gas furnace, elevation 38  
V.
 -- Regenerative gas furnace, plan 39  
VI.
 -- Open hearth steel plant 40  
VII.
 -- Carbon steel heating and cooling curves 64  
VIII.
 -- Nickel steel 64  
IX. to XIV.
-- Microphotographs of gun steel 67 to 69  
XV.
 -- Diagram illustrating Sir A. Noble's experiments with modified cordite 95  
XVI.
 Ditto. second series 96  
XVII.
 Diagram showing fall of velocity with 6-inch B.L. Mark VII. gun 97  
XVIII.
 Type of grooves of rifling 117  
XIX.
 Rifling of 6-inch B.L. Mark XII. 117  
XX.
 Rifling of 13.5-inch B.L. Mark V 117  
XXI.
 Rifling of 6-inch Q.F. gun 122  
XXII.
 Valve key for 13.5-inch B.L. Mark V. mounting 161  
XXIII.
 Velocity of recoil diagram for 13.5-inch B.L. Mark V. 161  
XXIV.
 Pressure diagrams from recoil and run-out cylinders, 13.5-inch B.L. Mark V. 161  
XXV.
 Valve key and pressure space curve, 9.2-inch Mark X. 162  
XXVI.
 Recoil cylinder for 4.7-inch mounting 167  
XXVII.
 Valve key and retarding ram, 4.7-inch mounting 168  
XXVIII.
 Velocimeter curves, 4.7-inch gun 168  
XXIX.
 Pressure diagram from recoil cylinder, 4.7-inch mounting 168  
 
XXX.
 Powder, initial and firing stresses 185  
XXXI.
 Graphical construction of gun stresses, Fig. 10 202  
XXXII.
 Graphical construction of gun stresses, Fig. 11 202  
XXXIII.
 Graphical construction of gun stresses, Fig. 12 203  
XXXIV.
 Wire-winding machine 207  
XXXV.
 Graphical representation of Sir A. Noble's experiments 259  
XXXVI.
 Theoretical indicator diagrams for explosion of M.D. cordite 284  
XXXVII.
 Indicator diagrams for explosion of M.D. cordite in 15-inch gun.  Effect of initial pressure 312  
XXXVIII.
 Indicator diagrams for explosion of M.D. cordite in 15-inch gun 312  
XXXIX.
 Explosion of M.D. cordite.  Comparison between theory and experiment 312  
XL.
 Curves showing loss of heat contents as a function of temperature 317  
XLI.
 Shadow photograph of bullet in flight 339  
XLII.
 Bashforth's chronograph 354  
XLIII.
 Nomogram for tenuity correction 370  
 
 

 

NOTES