alternatehistory.com

3 December

Robert Whitehead at Stabilimento Tecnico Fiumano experiments with the use of wet guncotton as an underwater explosive charge instead of gunpowder. The result is an effective explosion for a smaller mass than the gunpowder charge he has been working with to date, making it an important step in the process of refining the "coast-saving ship" - though it has already begun to be called the "locomotive torpedo" instead. The hope is that it will have a range of a few hundred yards, and that it could be used either by very heavily armed vessels (to close through the gun range of an enemy ship) or by small steam launches released during a battle.


5 December

The first Dahlgren XX-inch gun's casting is completed, and the gun is prepared for proofing.
Dahlgren admits to himself that it is fortunate he employed the Rodman method for casting this gun - his own process would have seriously hampered the strength of the gun, as it reaches the limit of the metallurgy at about a 9" gun - but nevertheless this is the moment of truth. The gun is loaded with a 100-lb blank charge, and fired.
Nothing happens.
After some considerable strife (and embarassment) the charge is pulled and the bore inspected from the inside by a man. It is found that the problem is the vent hole, which is so long (~23 inches) that the friction primer cannot reach the charge.
A process involving fine powder is set up, and the blank cartridge fired successfully.


6 December

The tests on the Dahlgren XX-inch continue. A solid shot weighing half a ton is made ready to fire (which once again reveals the key deficiency with the system of enormous guns, which is that the charges weigh too much to be efficiently loaded) with half-charge behind it.
The shot is successful, and throws up an enormous cloud of spray - one which looks to be as large as any ship. The muzzle velocity is estimated at about 1,000 feet per second, though this is without any particular data to it.

The second firing of the day (which takes place around an hour later, a considerable fraction of the time being the time required to move the gun back into position) involves a 100-lb powder charge and another 20 inch shot. It is fired at maximum elevation, about 25 degrees, and the recoil drives the gun and carriage back a very long distance.
The result of the firing is impressive to behold, as the ball goes flying about three and a half miles before splashing into the water with a great plume of spray.

The third and final firing of the day uses a shell (725 lbs empty, 25 lbs of filling) and fires with a 7 second fuze. This turns out to be a minor embarassment, as the shell detonates in mid-air well before it would hit the putative target - thus suggesting that the muzzle velocity is substantially below expectations, possibly because the gun is belching forth a considerable mass of unburned powder.
Nevertheless, the gun is considered acceptable and Ericsson requests that Dahlgren provide the guns required for Puritan as soon as possible. (It is felt that, even if the armour of a target rejects the ball, the sheer momentum of the impact will crush the sides of the ship back into it.)
Dahlgren says he would prefer to do proof testing with larger charges, but Ericsson somewhat sarcastically asks how many XX-inch guns Dahlgren is planning on destroying to verify the safe charge.


9 December

James Maxwell presents a paper on electromagnetism to the Royal Society. This is the first time in human history anyone besides James Maxwell has known what light is.



11 December

At Hythe, after much debate the annual musketry qualifications are adjusted to include an extra component. In addition to the file firing, rank firing and individual firing, there will also now be a "rapid firing" component. The rules for this one are fairly simple, with the rifleman having one minute to hit ten targets. One point per target, no points for a miss.
The dictum here is that rapid firing must still incorporate accuracy.


14 December

Elections for the Consultative Assembly take place in Mexico. As expected there is a wild riot of parties elected, with several states producing state-only parties (e.g. "Chihuahua Liberal Party") but the result of all this is that people generally feel that their vote has been counted.



18 December

The Paraguayan War is formally declared.

Also on this date, Dutch control over southern Sumatra is soldified.


20 December

Most of the parties to the Consultative Assembly have begun making alliances, thus solidifying the chaos into a number of political blocs. Among those of note are the "Conservatives", "Liberals" and a group called the "Crown Loyalists" - those who feel that Maximilien I is actually quite a good choice for Mexico and who wish to make their opinion clear.


24 December

The slave ship Jessiebelle is stopped off the coast of Nova Sintra by the British sloop Chanticleer. The attempt by the slave ship to put up a US flag completely backfires and the Jessiebelle is found to be a slaver - thus, promptly captured.


25 December

The men of the 44th Regiment of Foot have a decidedly odd Christmas, spending it in Hawaii at Pearl Harbour as the current garrison. As part of the festivities there is a demonstration by a number of Hawaiians of a sport involving riding on wooden boards in the waves - something which intrigues many of the men of the regiment, and which will shortly become a major leisure time activity for the Fighting Fours.

Also on this date, Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel conduct the first in a series of Christmas Lectures on Evolution and Inheritance. Mendel's accent in English is rather thick, but working with Darwin he is able to cope - and the resultant lectures cover the full science of Evolution And Genetics as it is currently understood.
Mendel shows some of his peas, which are well remarked upon, and Darwin exhibits some of his examples of variance. (In particular, Darwin gives the example of the peppered moth as a potential case of evolution in action, showing a population captured in Manchester and one captured in the countryside around the market town of Aylesbury.)


28 December

First Confederate Supreme Court ruling, upholding the rights of the Louisiana Native Guard to bear arms in the defence of their country. The ruling is split, and the arguments long, but ultimately the principle of state autonomy wins through - in Louisiana the Native Guard (as a very well drilled, self-organized militia regiment) is considered to actually be the best unit in the State Militia, and they are viewed as an "exception".


31 December

Conclusions are reached on HMS Research - to whit, she is a poor sailer and a poor combatant. She would be effective inshore, and indeed her armament is somewhat more survivable than that on a ship of the monitor type, but it seems as though Research is too small to make an effective armoured vessel.
Reed determines that future vessels of this size should only be armoured sufficient to keep out common shell.