The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-14
FIELD GUNS IN WAR.
They Are the Favorite Weapon
Among Military Men.
From the Chicago Times-Herald.

Among Military Men.
From the Chicago Times-Herald
The betterment of the modern field gun
branches of military armament. 1t has
been especially rapid within the last
dozen years. The work of specialists and
the results of extended tests have ended
in the production of a weapon of great
accuracy and of Titanic force. The field
gun of to-day is the favorite weapon of
the military man, and he expects from IL
some very remarkable demonstrations
when opportunity to use it occurs Ma
polean is credited with the remark that
Providence is always on the side of the
heavy artillery, but the artillery. which
Napoleon knew was not worthy to be men,
toned on the same day with the light,
graceful and deadly arm with which the
moderns are prepared TO do slaughter. The
first great step forward was taken when
the breech-loading action was invented.
Well-known scientific rules of boring and
the Improvement in projectiles and pow
ders have done the rest. The field gun
now in use by the Powers is as accurate
at its range as rifle and has tremendous
energy.
The United States has no better field
of Germany and France are armed but
they are every bit as good Like our
other ordnance, they are all made on this
side of the water. The American manu-
facturer yields to no one in ability to make
a perfect weapon. Indeed, many of the
chief improvements in field guns and in the
larger. sizes, sometimes called "siege"
guns, are the products of American brains.
The field guns of the United States army
ara do
the large guns for the navy and for coast
defense are turned out at Washington.
They have a caliber of little more than
three inches. are, of course, breech-load-
ing, are rather lengthy for their width and
are lightly but strongly mounted. They
use pointed shell which explodes either
on conclusion or by time fuse, generally
the former. and are fired with great rapid
lily. Eacn gun of a battery is in COM
mand of a lieutenant who, under the eye
OF his superior, sights it and directs its
working He has his elevation. depress-
ion and wind-gauge formulate at his fin
gers ends, and with him good shooting
is mainly question of care. The pow Ter
used IN these guns is of the smaller
grained brown hexagonal kind, though the
spheroidal is preferred for some cali5ers.
The recoil of this gun on level ground
is twenty-six feet with the wheels I'M
five feet and is run forward and resighted
very swiftly. It's point-blank range Is
200 yards. 1t can be made effective at a
much greater distance, of course, but
officers prefer that range for accurate
shooting.
1t fell to me some seven years ago 10
report the first field trial given the Water
viet guns. Three of them were sent to
Fort Sam Houston, at San Antonio, Tex,
II1-I,e
was stationed under command of Mai.
James z. Burbank. a most capable Off
Ger, now attached to the staff of the Gov
ernor of New York Maj Burbank was
instructed to try them out thoroughly
and for this purpose selected an ideal
range on Ganahrs ranch, sixty miles
north of San Antonio The guns were
planted in line and twenty feet apart on
the side OF a green hill and pointed across
a shallow valley. On the opposite hill,
1900 yards away, a tent fly was put up
as a target. It was 10 by feet in dimen-
sion, and was stretched on two poles.
At that distance it looked like nothing in
the world somuch as a mans pocket
handkerchief. One shot was fired as
range-finder, and that shot proved the
range was found. Then the work began.
For half an hour these guns pitched
shells through or under or over the target
accuracy as man would use Winches-
ter rifle at 100 yards. The work was done
with the precision of a clock. There was
the rush of the piece into its first position,
the quick command to load, the rapid aim
and discharge, the faint scream of the
shell, the puff of smoke and dull report as
it struck and the dust rose up in pillar.
When it was ended we rode across the
valley and up the opposite slope to the
spot where the tent fly had stood. Bits of
it lay about here and there. One of the
poles was bitten short Off For fifty yards
below the other pole, for thirty yards on
either side Of it and for 100 yards above II
the earth was not ploughed-it was har-
rowed An ant could not have lived on
the ground.
1t was not difficult to imagine what
would have become of an opposing force
Men and horses would have been dead and
guns dismounted in five minutes after the
firing began. There could have been no
better illustration of the absolutely fatal
character of these pieces. 1t was found
that they did not become unmanag eable
through heat, that the breech mechanism
displayed no sign of strain, that the recoil
was not greater than was calculated and
that accuracy was as perfect with the last
shell as with the first. These findings
were reported 10 the Washington author
tiles and the manufacture of -the guns
went on. The regular army is now thor
oughly supplied with Them and If they are
sent Cuba they will be found to be the
most convincing takers in favor Of Cuban
Independence ever devised by man.
-s-e-s----