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The transition from sail to steam happened FAST, and that whole era was indeed one of all sortsa' dynamic engineering stunts,.....



The U.S.S. Vesuvious was one such intriguing venture,.....

from Wiki......

"Vesuvius carried three 15-inch (38-cm) cast iron pneumatic guns, invented by D. M. Medford and developed by Edmund Zalinski, a retired officer of the United States Army.[3] They were mounted forward side-by-side at a fixed elevation of 16 degrees. Gun barrels were 55 feet (17 meters) long with the muzzles extending 15 feet (4.6 meters) through the deck 37 feet (11 meters) abaft the bow. In order to train these weapons, the ship had to be aimed, like a gun, at its target. Compressed air from a 1000 psi (70 atm) reservoir projected the shells from the dynamite guns. Two air compressors were available to recharge the reservoir.[1]
The shells fired from the guns were steel or brass casings 7 feet (2 meters) long with the explosive contained in the conical forward part of the casing and spiral vanes on the after part to rotate the projectile. The explosive used in the shells themselves was actually a "desensitized blasting gelatin" composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. It was less sensitive to shock than regular dynamite but still sensitive enough that compressed air, rather than powder, had to be utilized as the propellant. Shells containing 550 pounds (250 kg) of explosive had a maximum range of 1 mile (1.6 km), but range could be extended to 4000 yards (3.7 km) by reducing projectile weight to 200 pounds (100 kg). Maximum muzzle velocity was 800 feet (250 meters) per second. Range could be reduced by releasing less compressed air from the reservoir. Ten shells per gun were carried on board, and 15 shells were fired in 16 minutes 50 seconds during an 1889 test. The shells employed an electrical fuze which could be either set to explode on contact or delayed to explode underwater.[1][3] "



and,....

Spanish-American War[edit]
Decommissioned on 25 April 1895 for major repairs, Vesuvius re-entered service on 12 January 1897 with Lieutenant Commander John E. Pillsbury in command. The ship got underway from Philadelphia Navy Yard, bound for Florida, and operated off the east coast through the spring of the following year, 1898. By this time, American relations with Spain were worsening. The American Fleet gathered in Florida waters, and Vesuvius hurried south from Newport, Rhode Island, and arrived at Key West, Florida, on 13 May. She remained there until 28 May, when she headed for blockade duty in Cuban coastal waters. Vesuvius performed special duties at the discretion of the Fleet Commander in Chief and served as a dispatch vessel between Cuba and Florida into July 1898.
On 13 June, Vesuvius conducted the first of eight shore bombardment missions against Santiago, Cuba. The cruiser stealthily closed the shore under cover of darkness, loosed a few rounds of her 15-inch dynamite charges, and then retired to sea. Psychologically, Vesuvius's bombardment caused great anxiety among the Spanish forces ashore, for her devastating shells came in without warning, unaccompanied by the roar of gunfire usually associated with a bombardment. Admiral Sampson wrote accordingly, that Vesuvius bombardments had "great effect." Although the dynamite guns were relatively quiet, detonation of their large high explosive shells sounded different from contemporary gunpowder-filled artillery shells; and soldiers observed the explosions "made holes like the cellar of a country house."[1]

The US Naval Institute proceedings did a historical piece on this ship in the mid 50s,.......I cut it out and it was one of the more dog eared treasured components of a voluminous scrapbook,....armored cruisers and dreadnaughts were a real focal point for me, in those years.

Probably has something to do with a lifelong recreational artillery bug.

GTC