LIFE-SAVING GUNS AND ROCKETS. Ordnance u-ed to tire line carrying projectiles from the shore to a wrecked N'? r vice \ersa. The Lyle gun. which is mere generally used in the l nited States than any other. is described under LIFE-SAN !No: SERI le ocean going steamers 3 re required to be sum lied with some approved means of tiribg lints to the shore. The ]bunt gun ;Ind Cunning! • m Let are em ployed by many for such a port The former.
which was devised by Edmund Hunt. of :Massa chusetts, is mounted on a tht wooden carriage, to which it is fastened at the eas•abel by a hinge. Elevation is obtained by use of a quoin between the forward part of the carriage and the under side of the gun. The projectile is the chief fea ture of the apparatus, and consists of a cylindri cal tube of tin, into one end of which is soldered a solid hemispherical shot which rests on the cartridge in the gun. About half the shot line is coiled in the tube, from which it pays out dur ing flight, the balance of the line being in a can, or on a reel, placed on the ground or deck.
When the gun is discharged the weight of the line causes the projectile to reverse similar to the Lyle method. The Massachusetts Humane So ciety uses the Hunt gun, which has a range of more than 700 yards. The rocket, which is the invention of Patrick Cunningham. of the same State, consists essentially in a head carrying the projectile charge, in combination with a tube adapted and arranged to contain a coiled line. The latter is connected with a shore or deck line in the same manner as the Hunt system. This is a powerful rocket having a range of 1000 yards with a small line. It is tired from a stand. Guns, rockets, or mortars, of various designs, are used by all life-saving institutions for effecting line eommunication with stranded vessels. For other life-saving appliances. see LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.