Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-02-07
The MAA. Il uU u.
\ WEAPON WHICH DISCHARGES 600
ROUNDS A MINUTE.
IN Idea as Simple as the Result IL Won.
derful-DetaiIso Of the MechsnIsm-
Wheels g. shIeIas for
the Gunner.


W. tlNt u NedHbu NCIgulHS pllN May
e "unds mounted upon | ghi tripJl.
"a eau lie owe ed raj ed. move
ral win me hand as easily as
rien nose an which pours out Ia.
aialy ~ sh Is a minute, There l.
crank to turn there is no abor e feed
az. ne man simply sets tue frightlul
,iream Of bullets gong. and then directs
at will. raking whole regiment r nj
he likes. or heeping the fire within a
anse of i've feet or hve inches This Is
gun. too. which can not am, which can
nj get overheatei. and which could 60
or firing .ust the same if its operator was
shot down al the start.
The basis of it all is the utilization of
the recoil force to fire the next shot
being wasted in kicking the gun over, is
used 10 eject the empty cartridge, cock
the gun, place the next cartridge and fire
il. The idea is as simple as the result is
wonderful. The cartridges are taken In
from the bottom in chain, just as the
perfecting press takes paper from the roll.
Each of these chains has 1888 cartridges
packed in box which is set In q groove
under the gun The operator has simply
to start the gun-a matter of seven turns
of the hammer crsnk-and then, when
the chain of cartridges is nearly
exhausted, fasten q new chain to
the hook al the end. and push
out the old box with a new
full one For the rest he can de-
vote his attention solely to training the
weapon. This contemplates the possibil.
ity of its being worked by one msn-s
thing entirely feasible Of course with
two men, the one to point the gun around
at will the other to connect the chains and
shift the boxes at intervals of half 8
minute or so, the maximum speed could
be kept up for an hour if necessary with
out fatigue or intermission. In quarter
of that time, resisting a charge for ex-
ample. 5000 balls would be hurled out of
q barrel which was sweeping the line as a
telescope sweeps the sky. One need not
see the gun itself TO be able to realize
what destruction such capacity implies.
Din.cult as 1t is to portray mechanism
with words. some idea Of the Maxim
guns peculisrities may be gained by inn
agining low set Photographic camera.
with long tube in front, and. instead of
bellows like arrangement, black. coffin.
SHAPED box stretched out behind. The
tube is of brass. and contains not only
the 45-inch barrel, but q casting for
water. which prevents heating. The box
is made of hardened steel and its lids lift
up from two ends. disclosing the ma
chinery. On the right side of the box,
well in front, is an indicator running on
q half-guage. which has number of fig
ures on il, from ten on the right to 600
on the left You push this indi.
cater to ten IL you want that
number of shots minute, or to
100 OF 600. Its position regulates the
speed precisely Then, on the same
side. but at the back, there is little crank
with half motion To start the gun the
the tape of cartridges is attached under
meath, and with the hand the crank 10
pushed backward and forward in seven
motions That takes up six cartridges into
the magazine and puts one in position to
be fired Then you put the indicator
where you want it. and the firing begins
II it be at q slow rate, the crank at the
side slams back and forth with each revo-
luton of the machinery and report fol-
lows each slam II il be up to 400 or
more the crank works so fast that the eve
can with difficulty follow it. and the rattle
Of the firing is like thousand packs Of
being set Of at once
On the left side of this coffin. shaped box
is an aperture through which the empty
shells are tossed At its fastest
there are always six of these shells in the
air at once At the end Of the box is
brass handle with which the operator can
move the gun about Underneath are
two simple systems Of screws by which
The levels Of the gun may be accurately
fixed and fine sigi sing done. When this
Is not needed. as in q charge or similar
turn of these screws releases
the gun so that it may be trained instan-
to any point ANOTHER feature
is an arrangement by which limited
range between two given points can be
fixed so as to sweep bridge or ford or
section of road, and then the operator
could push the gun sidew:se between
these stops in utter darkness If necessary.
md still be sure Of his range
The forty-five inch gun Of which have
spoken is for the field. and Mr.. Ma im
has invented for it Q carriage which is al
most as remarkable in its simplicity and
novel value as the gun itself With all
the other machine guns the trouble and
difficulty of transporting shield has been
great Mr.. Maxim makes his wheels two
solid steel disks. and has these fixed on
he axles that can be swung forward
when shield Is needed. and by meeting
In front can cofApletely mask all Of the
yun except the muzZle. The prince of
Wales said this was an even more remark
lble discovery. considering its entire sim
plicity. than the gun itself. and the au-
thorities at the Horse Guards are enrap-
ured with It