The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-04-09

of which so much has been heard | There are the 4,7-inch quick firer and the 12-pr. quick firer of 12 cwt The Civil and Military Gazette points out that neither of these weapons is es- sentially naval. They are common to both services, being almost as much used on land as in the navy. The latest of these guns are of wire con-
 struction. The weight is about 41cwt
 The shell weighs 45 pounds, common; lyddite common and shapnel being used. The velocity of one of the com monest types of this gun is 2,150 feet
 per second, and the range extends up to 10000 yards, the remaining velocity
 at this extreme range being 567 feet per
 second. The accuracy at all ranges is
 very good.
 The sole remaining piece of which
 experts expect to hear anything is the
 5-inch howitzer with the field batteries.
 It is short piece weighing only some
 9 cwt. very little more than the 15-
 pound gun, but it throws a powerful
 lyddite shell of 50 pounds weight.
 With the full charge good shooting can
 be obtained up to ranges of close on
 three miles. The destructive effect of
 the high explosive shell has been ampiy
 shown at Omdurman and in various
 cases during the present campaign.
 There are also number of absolute T.
 pounders in South Africa with the
 local forces details regarding which
 will be of small value.
 In describing the armament of the Boers one finds lack of authentic infor-
 nation, but it is believed that the
 heaviest gun actually in the field on their side is a 15-centimetre (about G. inch) piece. This gun is made at Creu- sot in- France. It weighs probably about five tons and throws shell of 94 pounds, filled with bursting charge of some pounds of melinite. There are probably six of these in the field. The Boer 12-centimetre howitzer is sim liar in power to the English field how itzer, though it's shells do not appear to burst very well. These have been in position around Magersfontein and Colenso. Eight, four each from Krupp and Creusot, are known to be with the Boers, and the chances are there are quite double the number. The shell, charged with high explosive, would weigh between 40 and 50 pounds and the range would run up to some 5000 yards. The howitzer is on field car riage and is, therefore, fairly mobile. Two of these pieces have been destroyed by the Ladysmith garrison during the investment.
 Another weapon of importance with the Boers is the 7.5 centimetre gun, of which they have a number, probably 1 thirty or more. Some are Krupps, some are Creusot. They are practical ly of the same caliber as the English field gun, and probably throw a shell of about the same weight 12 or 13 pounds. The muzzle velocity would be about 1,575 feet per second. The enemy also have in their possession a number of Maxim -Nordenfelt field guns, of the so-called quick-flring class. The cali Der is about inches, the shell some 12 | pounds, and the muzzle velocity from | 1 500 to 1,700 feet per second Fixed | that is cartridge and shell | all in one, is used with these guns. The smallest guns, but by no means the least destructive, on the side of the Boers are the 37-milimetre Maxims lneSe are Selll-dutoHldtlc ana SO to a certain extent resemble the rifle cali Der Maxim They throw a shell of about one pound weight at a rate which may extend to 300 rounds per minute The Civil and Military Gaz- ette declares there Is no truth in the report of the allaged superiority of the Boer field equipment Gun for gun, it says, the British are as good as theirs.- Army and Navy Journal.