Russia’s Monster Guns

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 25, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 12.

Russia’s Monster Guns

The London Times says that monster Russian guns were sent recently to Sebastopol for the purpose of being placed in the new iron-clad Sinope. The guns are 12-inch pieces, weighing 50 tons, and throwing projectiles of nearly half a ton. The powder charge is 270 pounds, and the initial velocity 3,000 meters, while the distance of the cannon's range is said to be 20 versts, or over 13 miles. Two men suffice for each gun, as they are worked by hydraulic machinery. All such facts are especially interesting in view of the present exceedingly threatening aspect of the European war cloud.