152       The Russian Navy in the
for me, I am entirely opposed to such mistaken views.
We must not count upon the bad condition of the Japanese guns.
It is the case that large guns of 10 or I2po calibre, roundly speaking, only fire eighty to a hundred shots, and it is quite possible that the large Japanese guns may have reached about that number. But it is scarcely accurate to say that a gun cannot exceed this maximum.
In reality, a gun is composed of a thick external casing, and of a thin internal tube into which the shell slides; and it is this interior tube alone which can become worn out in course of time. However, it is quite easy to replace it, and, indeed, even the construction of the gun lends itself to its being replaced. As to the external casing and all the mechanism for regulating the firing of the gun, these would not, under ordinary conditions, require to be renewed.
Under these circumstances, can we for an instant suppose that the Japanese, fully aware of the paramount importance of their victory over Admiral Rodjestvensky's squad-