Driggs-Schroeder was the name of several naval guns designed by US Navy officers William H. Driggs and Seaton Schroeder for the United States Navy in the late 1880s, fitted on ships built in the 1890s. Driggs later founded the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company ca. 1898 in partnership with Samuel Seabury, a retired US Navy officer.
Driggs-Schroeder weapons included 1-pounder, 3-pounder, and 6-pounder naval guns.[1] All were rapid-firing, what today would be called "single shot", with brass cased ammunition. They were among numerous models of these guns equipped on US Navy ships of the 1890s. Other manufacturers' designs included fully automatic 1-pounder and 3-pounder guns, but not Driggs-Schroeder. Most Driggs-Schroeder weapons were manufactured by the American Ordnance Company, with some manufactured by Driggs Ordnance Company.[2][3][4][5]
Some of the ships equipped with Driggs-Schroeder guns included USS Texas (1892), USS Maine (1893), and USS Olympia (C-6). Olympia is preserved with her Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders intact at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sources indicate that Driggs-Schroeder designed a 3.2-inch gun for the US Army, possibly the M1897 and perhaps the same gun later manufactured by Driggs-Seabury.[6][7][8] An Army 4-inch/40 caliber Driggs-Schroeder rapid-fire gun also existed, probably derived from one of several Navy guns of this type. Only four were emplaced by the Army in coast defense mountings.[9][10][11] Driggs-Schroeder designed 6-pounders designated Marks II and III for the Army; they do not appear to be the Navy Marks 2 and 3, as these were Hotchkiss designs.[12]
References
- ^ Lohrer, George L. Ordnance Supply Manual, U. S. Ordnance Dept., 1904, p. 282
- ^ Executive Documents of the House of Representatives, 1889-90, Washington: Government Printing Office, pp. 440-441
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony US 1-pounder guns Mks 1-15
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony US 3-pounder guns Mks 1-12
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony US 6-pounder guns Mks 1-13
- ^ Blueprint for a Driggs-Schroeder 3.2-inch gun from Winchester Repeating Arms Company, at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West
- ^ Ordnance Dept, U. S. Army (1917). Handbook of the 3.2-inch Field Battery. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office.
- ^ Scientific American Vol. 79, Issue 6, article on the 3.2-inch Driggs-Seabury field gun
- ^ Berhow, pp. 84-85
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony US 4"/40 guns Mks 1-6
- ^ Lohrer, George L. Ordnance Supply Manual, U. S. Ordnance Dept., 1904, pp. 259-262
- ^ Lohrer, George L. Ordnance Supply Manual, U. S. Ordnance Dept., 1904, pp. 282-295
- Berhow, Mark A., Ed. (2004). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide, Second Edition. CDSG Press. ISBN 0-9748167-0-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Munsey's Magazine Volume XXVI, October 1901 to March 1902, p. 880. Article paragraph covered the Driggs-Schroeder 6-pounders carried on the USS Olympia, USS Brooklyn, and USS New York.
External links
- William H. Driggs entry at arlingtoncemetery.net
- American Ordnance Company, The Driggs-Schroeder System of Rapid-fire guns, ca. 1900
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