The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1898-05-04
SMOKELESS CARTRIDGES.
DESTRUCTIVE MISSILES FOR THE
NEW ARMY MAGAZINE RIFLE.

Gun Before Giving II to the Regulars.
The work going on at the Frankford
arsenal, Philadelphia, founded by the
United States government in 1916,
should be now of more than common
interest. Exact scientific experiments
have been in progress at the arsenal
for years, and, while much of the
work is secret, enough is made public
to show the great importance of the
results sought. There is an elaborate
laboratory filled with the most deli
cate instruments, and all sorts of de-
structive inventions are tested at the
| factory. There is proof-house,
where over three hundred kinds of
smokeless powder have been expert
mented with, and hospital ready to
receive any unfortunates who may be
blown up accidentally. The workmen
in the factories take their lives in their
hands daily.
One of the most important works
| performed at the arsenal in recent
years has been the testing and manu-
| facture of the new thirty-calibre
smokeless powder cartridges for the
so-called United States magazine rifle.
| This is the rifle used in our army. 1t
is really modified Krag-J orgensen
rife, but it is superior to that instru-
ment. 1t is peculiarly an American
magazine rifle, and its design is not
generally known outside of army cir
cles. The rifle weighs only eight and
half pounds, but it carries five cart
ridges in its magazine, and 1t eau be
reloaded so rapidly that soldier can
shoot forty times in minute.
The cartridges for this rifle are now
being manufactured as rapidly as pos
sible. Yankee ingenuity has invented
the most complicated but effective
machinery to turn out these cart
ridges, and it is worth visit to the
arsenal to see them made. The shell
enters the machine in the shape of
small disc of metal, and after passing
automatically through fifteen different
perfect machines it drops out finished.
Then the shells, powder and bullets
are all fed into another machine, which
is almost human in its actions. As
each shell comes into the machine a
certain quantity OF smokeless powder
pours into it from large faring fun
mel, and then the bullet is inserted
mechapically and the neck ofthe shell
crimped. Each cartridge is tested be-
fore it is turned over to the authori-
ties for use.
Before these cartridges were select
ed, long series of tests was made
with them at the arsenal. 1t was
found that the small cartridges would
travel much further than the old-fash-
ioned forty-five calibre bullet, and
that they would penetrate deeper, and
be less likely to kill. They weigh only
900 grains against the old 500-grain
ball, and they require only thirty
seven grains of smokeless powder
against seventy grains of the old.
Thus, n soldier can carry seventy. five
OF the new cartridges as easily as he
could 100 of the old. The shooting
range of the new magazine rifle is 1000
yards.
As IN illustration of the technical
work performed at the Frankford ar
senal, mention should be made of the
experiments in trajectory" made
with the new rifles. When soldier
takes one of the new magazine rifles
and attempts to hit mark at certain
distance of, he is pretty sure to miss
it unless he has been drilled. This is
due to his ignorance of the trajectory
of the bullet, which simply means the
curved path of fight the bullet must
take in shooting at distant mark.
The old Springfield rife would send
its bullet over forty-three feet above
the line Of sight in order to hit q mark
1000 yards off. Similarly the new
magazine rife must be so sighted that
allowances can be made for this up
ward curve.
All of the rifles have to be tested at
the arsenal to see that they are perfect
in this respect. To make the sight
exact, screens are set up 100 feet apart
and the bullet is sent crashing through
them. The first screen is struck near
the middle, hut each succeeding one
is perforated higher mp until the upper
side of the curve is reached, and when
the line of curvature is downward.
Then the height of all the holes from
the ground is measured, and by a
mathematical formula the trajectory
curve is ascertained. Soldiers first
drilled with these rifles find great
difficulty in hitting the mark, but a
little familiarity with them creates a
remarkable change. When accus-
toned to handling one soldier can
do more effective work than with an
old Springfield.
In an emergency about half mil
lion cartridges per day can be pro-
duced at the Frankford arsenal, and
pretty near that limit has been reached
every day since the destruction OF the
Maine. Atpresent the arsenal is max
ing over many Of the old forty-ive
calibre cartridges into the new ones
for the magazine rifles. After the
civil war millions of the old-fashionetl
cartridges were sent to the arsenal to
be broken up and smelted over into
new forms. Now this same process is