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| Fig. 14.—Fuze, Time and Percussion, Nº. 80, Mk. 1. |
Later the priming powder was ignited by a piece of slow match held in a lint-stock (often called linstock). About A.D. 1700 this was effected by means of a port-fire (this was a paper case about 16 in. long filled with slow-burning composition which burnt rather more than 1 in. per minute). Later again the charge was exploded by paper tubes (sometimes called Dutch tubes) filled with powder and placed in the vent and ignited by a port-fire. In comparatively modern times friction tubes have been used, while in the latest patterns percussion or electric tubes are employed.
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| Fig. 15.—T-headed Friction Tube. |
In most B.L. guns it is essential to stop the erosion of the metal of the vent by preventing the escape of gas through it when the gun is fired. For this purpose the charges in such guns are ignited by “vent-sealing tubes.” For M.L. guns and small B.L. guns radially vented, especially those using black powder, the amount of erosion in the vent is not so serious. The charge is fired by ordinary friction tubes, which are blown away by the escape of gas through the vent. In all guns axially vented, vent-sealing tubes, which are not blown out, must be employed so that the men serving the gun may not be injured.
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| Fig. 16.—Electric Tube. |
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Fig. 17.—Wireless Tube. |
The common friction tube is a copper tube, driven with powder, having at the upper end a short branch (called a nib piece) at right angles. This branch is filled with friction composition in which a friction bar is embedded. On the friction bar being sharply pulled out, by means of a lanyard, the composition is ignited and sets fire to the powder in the long tube; the flash is conveyed through the vent and explodes the gun charge. For naval purposes, in order that the sailors should not be cut about the face or hurt their feet, tubes of quill instead of copper were used. If friction tubes are employed when cordite or other smokeless powder charges are used, the erosion of the vent is very rapid unless the escape of the gas is prevented; in this case T-headed tubes (fig. 15) are used. They are similar in action to the ordinary type, but are fixed to the vent by the head fitting a bayonet joint formed with the vent. The explosion blows a small ball upwards and blocks the coned hole at the top of the tube and so prevents any rush of gas.
The vent-sealing tube accurately fits into a chamber formed at the end of the vent, and is held in place by the gun lock or some similar means. The force of the explosion expands the tube against the walls of its chamber, while the internal structure of the tube renders it gas-tight any escape of gas through the vent being thus prevented.
In the English service electric tubes (in the United States called “primers”) are mostly used, but percussion or friction tubes are in most favour on the continent, and electric tubes are seldom or never used. There are two types of electric tube, one with long wires (fig. 16) for joining up with the electric circuit and the other without external wires. The first type has two insulated wires led into the interior and attached to two insulated
