The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1898-08-31
RIFLED STEEL MORTARS.
THE ARMY'S NEW ORDINANCE
TESTED BEFORE SANTIAGO.

They Are Little Compared with NpvaI
| Guns. Have Accuracy OF Fire and Are
| Destructive IN EHcct-pinycd mn tmpor.
tnni Part In Forcing Torni to Surrender.
There is no more important piece OF
ordnance used In our war operations
than the little rillcd mortars tina,
threw explosives, shells, aud heavy
steel proieciiles with destructive effect
against the Spanish intrenchments
and rifle pits between the American
lines aud Santiago. The field mortnrs
nre believed by the army men in
Washington to have played an impor-
tnnt part in compelling the surrender
OF the Spanish troops aud TO have
assisted in the capture Of strategic
points which otherwise might not have
been taken without severe loss 10 the
invading soldiers.
These li.tIe mortnrs have not been
generally adopted in armies, except
In this country, aud never had an
actual trial against the enemy until
the recent fight between Shafter's men
and those Of General Toral. They
ARE light, can he readily transported
with mn advancing body Of men, are
quick of fire, aud are almost M accurate
M the rilled field piece. Although tho
shot fired by them describes n ira
jectory that takes II soaring hundreds
OF feet up in the mir, the accuracy Of
fire is 10 great that an exploding shell
can he dropped two miles away with
In space no larger than a good sized
ballroom.
When compared with tho old
smooth-borc muzzle leaders Of the
civil war period, which shot far but
with no certainty as to where the shell
would fall, the new mortnrs like those
Mt Santiago are M great nm improve.
ment IA the modern small arm is over
the old Springfield.
With the modern mortar provided
with n riiled chamber and breech-
londing apparatus the ordnance ex-
perts claim that they can plump a shot
into any ordinary sized rifle pit and
knock the top on any house Mt which
IL is aimed within the radius Of its
action. Although the proiectile goes
high in the air aud then takes plung-
ing course, the range can be accurately
reached by reducing or increasing the
powder charge. The explosion of n
7-inch shell in rifle pit should kill
or severely injure every man in il, and
II one fell behind an intrenchment
whore men were assembled thickly
it would have the power to wipe out
practically half company.
Mortars, howitzers and field guns
were the heavy ordnance used by the
army in front of Santiago. but for
shelling a city no piece was believed
by the officers to be better adapted for
effective work than the mortars. Two
kinds are used in the army. the heavier
being the 7-inch and the other the
3.G-inch. The heavy mortar has n
weight of 1715 pounds and a total
length Of only 5S inches, the length
of the bore being seven calibres. A
projectile weighing 100 pounds is used
for tho important work Of clearing
rifle pits, and can be sent accurately
to distance Of considerably more
than three miles, and dropped within
n space 100 by IL feet three times out
of five. 70 send this shell through
the air only five and one-half pounds
Of powder is required, which develops
an initial velocity for the proiectile Of
about $50 feet second. The pressure
excrted is 18, 900 pounds to the square
inch, which seems high for so small a
charge, and the range Of the mortar is
placed Mt 43i0 yards, or nearly three
miles The fighting range which
will be generally employed, however,
is not expected to exceed two miles.
In the operations before Santiago it
was less, although when General
Shafter determined to lombard the
city if Toral failed to comply to his
demand for surrender, the mortar
batteries we're not less than two miles
from the centre of the town and were
to he fred at that distance. Inside
the 7-inch mortar shell is 121
pounds of powder whose explosion
throws hundreds of small pieces of
the shell in every direction. A fuse
ignites the powder as the shell strikes
the ground, and il the explosion is
instant the destruction in its imme-
diate vicinity should be terrific.
Should the shell, however, hit soft
earth and bury itself before exploding
its effectiveness is practically lost.
The experience in firing mortars at
Santiago showed that this occurred
frequently.
These mortars are adapted to fire
the pro. .ecties of the Finch howitzer
as well as the shells. Besides the
ordinary shell the mortar is intended
to fire as well steel she'll of $50
pounds weight and approximately of
five calibre length, charged with high
explosive for great destructive effect.
This piece supplies the heaviest calibre
that the army regards as necessary for
field purposes and is intended for Just
such purposes as those to which it was
put at Santiago.
The 3.6-inch mortar is fired from a
soljdly constructed platform weighing
200 pounds. The platform is held in
position by stakes, the recoil being