Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-15
MODERN ARTILLERY
NOTES PUBLISHED BY THE WAR
DEPARTMENT.
Discussion Of Field Guns, Rapid Fire
and Observation-Disclosures and Nor
tars-Automatic Pistols.

| Stored with complete and interesting In
| formation concerning every branch of every
| army IN the world, and replete with fine
| Illustrations and maps, Notes of Military
| Interest for 1901 made public today by
| Lieutenant Colonel w. A. Simpson. chief OF
| the military informa ton division, is one OF
| the best volumes of It's kind ever issued
| from the War Department. The matter
| was compiled and arranged by Captain E.
A. Edwards. 25th Infantry: Captain J. 8.
Heron, I'd Cavalry: First Lieutenant II. B.
| Ferguson. Corps of Engineers. and Second
Lieutenant r. s. Clark OF the 9th Infantry
| with the assistance of our military attaches
| at the various foreign capitals.
The first pages Of the volume are devoted
| to the military budgets of the various coun-
tries for 1902 with interesting comments
and comparisons. The organization of mill
tary establishments is then taken Up, and
the changes in the makeup of the British
Russian, Swedish. Servian, Brazilian and
Argentine armies are dealt with at length.
Types of Field Guns.
or especial interest in view of the efforts
of the United States army to settle upon a
type Of field gun, is the chapter upon field
artillery 1t is pointed out that there are
only two general types of modern field
| guns, namely guns on rigid carriages and
and 1t Is stated that neither of these types
has yet obtained unanimous preference. The
greatest possible rapidity Of fire Is not OBJ
tanned with the guns on rigid carriages, but
they possess marked advantages in smplic-
ity, strength and lghtness of material and
their faults are stated to be the failure Of
the carriage to maintain the exact first fir
ing position and the uncertain action of the
spade in hard ground. With the recoil car
riage guns. which mechanism returns the
gun TO the original firing position. great
rapidfty of fire is obtained. but the weapon
has Its disadvantages in the way of COM
plexity of mechanism, increased weight and
liability to fatal injury in action.
Rapid-Fire Guns.
France and Germany are the only coun-
tries whose artillerdes are actually armed
with rapid-ffre field guns. France uses a
gun with recol on the carriage. Germany
uses the rigid carriage type. and Russia,
Italy, Belgium and Sweden have also
adopted the guns with rigid carriages Nor
way mas adopted a gun OF the recoil type,
ana Spain has purchased abroad an assort-
ment OF both types. In the new Japanese
field gun. 1t Is stated. the recoil seems to be
taken up on the carriage. Other countries
have not yet made final decision. Drawings
and several pages of reading matter de-
scribe the new French field pieces. after
which the Lewis gun, recently tried by
our board Of ordnance and fertilization at
Fort Riley and Sandy Hook. is generally
supposed to have been modelled, but care
has been taken not to touch upon the recoil
mechanism which, after ALL is the dis
tinctive feature of the gun.
Howitzers and Mortars.
The Importance of field howitzers and
mortars for high angle firing and as a
part Of the field artillery, It Is stated is
generally recognized abroad. France has a
12centimeter field howitzer, but It has
proven too heavy for field use and lighter
Of ba
adopted soon. Germany has both heavy
and light field howitzer. and Russia has q
1526-centimeter field mortar. Great Britain
uses the 5-inch siege howitzer as a field
weapon. Austria Hungary and Italy have
only their 15-centimeter siege howitzers,
which are too heavy fer field work. Mexico
has an S-centfmeter mountain mortar.
In chapter on machine guns attention
is called to the fact that the practical gun
Of this class dates from the primitive type
of Calling used in the war of the rebellion,
and the Reffye mitrailleuse, secretly manu-
featured In France prlor to the war of
1870, and until quite recently was limited in
caliber to small-arm ammunition. The l.
FOUNDER Maxim machine gun, more
Familiarity known the "pom-pom," and
used with such deadly effect by the Beers
in South Africa. is the first machine gun
OF caliber' ever used in the field.
Explosive Proectiles.
By INA chine gun of caliber," 1t is stated,
is meant a machine gun throwing ex-
ploSive shell, whose weight is just low
enough to allow of the narrowest margin
permissible by that clause in the st. Peters
burg declaration of 1865 which enjoined
that no explosive projectile less than four
teen ounces in weight would be tolerated in
civilized warfare
AS some confusion exists In regard to the
names "rapid-fire gum and machine gum
a detailed comparative description of each
is given, bringing out the fact that the
distinguishing difference between them is
that the rapid-fire gun Is loaded by hand.
while the machine gun is loaded and fired
by machinery.
Automatic Pistols.
Minute descriptions Of the various types
weapon appears to be only an experiment
as yet in most Of the foreign military es'
adjustments. However, confidence Is eX-
pressed in its future in these words:
THAT free-hand pistol firing will again
come into greater repute when the army
discards the old revolver and adopts a
modern arm of precision is evident, and we
shall then soon have the pleasure Of seeing
an art revive which has long remained in
a backward state"
Other important subjects taken up arc
explosives, in which tribute Is paid to
smokeless powder, ammunition supply, the
use Of carrier pigeons and mechanical
transportation. The volume closes with
fine descriptions of and comments upon
the military field maneuvers of the great
foreign armies last year.
Burial Of Capt. Fuller.