Abstract
WE have hitherto refrained from referring to the experiments carried out in December and January last on the 38-ton gun, which was removed from the Thunderer, in the hope that the Heavy Gun Committee would have ere now published their report. The report, however, has not appeared, but in the mean time many most illogical and probably erroneous conclusions have been drawn from the results of the experiments, and circulated amongst the public, apparently with the object of reviving confidence in a system of gun construction, to which, unfortunately, the nation is very deeply committed. These conclusions have latterly been called in question by several competent authorities, notably by Mr. C. W. Merrifield, F.R.S., in an able letter which appeared in the Times of the 8th inst. We consider it, consequently, to be an opportune moment to draw the attention of our readers to the extremely unscientific manner in which the experiments were carried out, and to the grave danger which may result to the country, from accepting too hastily, the conclusions which have been circulated by those interested in defending the existing system.
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The Recent Gunnery Experiments . Nature 21, 437–438 (1880). https://doi.org/10.1038/021437a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/021437a0