Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-11-02

7 " v
perfect rotation, unequal district on OF stress,
and vibrations Of the barrel These results
affected the accuracy OF the arm. With the
increase In twist The magnitude OF these
faults also Increased. The consequence WIS
a change In arm IN cal ber and In The mate
rial Of the Frencn bullet-a change which
most modern ma ions interested in the sub
ject Of small-arm development have initiated
or viii initiate.
The new French rih, and bullet are called
the Lebell. from the inventor, Co. Lsbell.
BY some IL Ia cal ed the Iramond- LebelL The
rifle is single loader or repeater a. VIII. Ga
~ the government possesses "a vet the requis'
ite plant Tor turning out the Lcbell pattern
rife, aud this wss imported from the United
States. The rifle has a tubular magazine,
ding eRht cartridges, unier the barrel,
aud The cartridges are 80 small that each sol
der carries 30 rounds OF ammunition. The
bullet Is ~ low grade steel weighs 3Sj grains
aud the calioer is mlimetres, or. by our
Classification, .3lj inch. The length of tue
bullet Il about nine tia s its caliber pro-
jcctite of this leng b can onlf he given stead
mess by incr, asing It's rotation This can
only be eI cted by Increasing the twist. The
DIV oEs effect Of increase OF twist is to in
crease the retardatIon. Another fact Is that
for a bullet ~ given number OF calibers In
lengl h n decrease oil caliber causes an increase
retardation. Now, as each red ictlOn OF cal!
Der 8 at the expense of "A sacrifice OF power.
the mot We force mnst be increased, otherwise
there will be loss OF power. Increase OF
power Is not necessarily attained by increased
recol One OF the latest deyeopmcu ella IN.
Ell by France Is new motive power IL Is
called "s'aol.elcs," 30 der lis compOs L OH
il kept secret II is said that in addition 10
the absense OF smoke there Is also
very lite sound 1t being d flicut
to hear the report - yards. An in ital velocity
OF >, O3i feet is C aimed for the l.. b II bullet.
IL is said to revolye al speed Of l,O)) revOu
tons second aud it is ella med that the gun
has no recOil whatever. carry power is
attributed 10 II greater than any ile hereto
fore In use. II l. = id 10 deliver bullets with
precis on and rapidltv hitherto unattained.
At an elevation OF ID degrees a range OF near
" 500 yarls Is elaine for the Lebell. Our
! knowledge of the details Of Ibis arm Is not
complete aad tue data gwen here are from
French sources
TIE French government Is paci Gcally MAX
ing these guns at s.. Etirnne Uoire) Qua
te lleraut, ani Tu,le The entire French
army is to be endowed W th this small b. re
repeater. The Ftcnch soldiers call IL I he
little gum II is sail to bc surpasse by
the Pralun, another French rifle which car
ries steel Jacket ii bullet. The Lebcll
cartridge is IS per cent lighter than the Gras
bullet and its trajectory Is infer or to the
Pier reeoil r fc OF italy. Tue Leb II is be-
ieved to he deficient in shock" all light
bullets are. In illustration of the meaning
or this term one must consider the difference
between perforation and demolition. III
a light projrctile OF small CALDER but great
armor 1t may make a hole as cl an cut as
though II had pierced a pumpkin and the
| hole Is easily pugLed up. Bat IL large
heavy ball OF low velocity having a fair
amount OF energy and momentum, hits the
armored vessel IL nav make only an indenta =
! ton In the particular plate struck, but Will
! loosen dozen other y atcs aud start as
many bolts and So create leaks In MANY
places The "shock" If the last proiectile
| will prove more damaging ~ the ship Than
i he T. tcn nf
obtained at the sacrifice ot power and
shock.
In 1912 large part OF the Prussan infantry
was armed with the breech-loadiug need!e-gun
which may properly be termed the original of
tho modern military rifle. The needle gun
weighed twelve pounds. The peculiarly of
! the cartridge-case then used by Prussia was
! that 1t was paper, not metal, hence could not
stand exposure; escape OF gas was great and
the relations between the charge, caliber and
| bullet such that its baliistc properties were
poor. An admirable feature OF the cartridge
was the fixing OF the point Of ignition at the
front instead OF at the rear OF the charge. To
reach the illuminate, however, a long needle
had to penetrate the entire length OF the
charge aud was naturally Liable to rust, cor
rode and break. The existence OF the needle
gun failed to disturb the equaninlty OF the
nations Of the world using the muzz 'e-loading
system. twas crit cisel because II perm tied
the escape OF gas at the breech and because
ii allowed the sold ier To waste his ammunition,
the latter especially being looked upon as a
fatal defect In 1859 Prussia had two rifles
In use--the needle-gun, caiiber 81, bullet 45l
grains, length in gathers |. So twist As inches,
and the sharpshootcr's rifle, caliber $40, bull.
let 4Sl. length In calibers 81 twist 81 inches.
In SG4 occurred the DanoPrussian war
Em,n military men and militarS
due more To their soldiers than TO the
rifles. In 1886 the repeated success of the
Pruss'ans wi h their h-loaiers occasion.
ed a general rush by all important military
powers to small arms loaded from the breech
not from the muzzle. The hammers and
anvils OF the evil Esd world we're set al work
10 make the weauous of death more deadly
The German fgltin s-machine OF 1901 was
inferior to the thassepot, but the Prussian
behind the machine was in discipline and
perseverance, superior to the FrenchInan The
genius OF American invention was applied
and the needle gun discarded for the Mauser
The machinery necessary 10 be used 10 a ter
Ing the German Mauser is now at Erfurt,
Suhl, aud Spandsu, but the machinery was
made after the drawings of American patents
aud American Inventions. The cartridge for
the Mauser had the American Bcrdau pattern
primer The inter, or OF the cartridge she'll
was covered with a coating OF varnsh TO pre-
vent the metal from acting injurious on
the powder charge. This varnish was applied
bv means OF IN chimes devised and made at
Hartford Conn.
Germany next adop'ed our Winchester idea
In attempting tn alter about !, $40 q % Mauser
rifles by placing tubular magazine under
the barrel This conversion is the principle
Of the Winchester Henry rifle and was invent.
ell in America before the Prussians had
abandoned their Dreyse needlegun. The
Mauscr first adopted b. Prussia was a mod fl
cation of the Chsssepot and weighed 96j
pounds 1t was adop ell to the use of the
metallic gas-check cartridge. The ballistic
properties OF the Mauser conver ed magazine.
gun are so far behind the modern standard
that total change Of armament Is now
under consideration. The Mauser is csllber
433, bullet 3s6 grains, cartridge G63 grains
length of bullet in calibers 242 twist one
turn In 81. 66 inches. 1t can be used either
as single loader or repeater and carries
eight cartridges.