New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-09-09
NEW FRENCH FIELD GUN
Feature of the AUTUMN ManeaUres
Hoo 1t Is Operated.
Paris. August rs.

The great feature of the French autumn
manRuvres, now in progress. is the new 6-inch
calibre quick firing field gun. known technically
as the "155 r." capable OF being maneuvred
with cavalry and light artillery. which has an
effective range OF four miles and. owing to the
absence Of recoil. thereby avoiding the delay
Of reaiming. easily be discharged at a rate
Of FIVE shots minute. The projectile weighs
ninety -four and three-quarter pounds C43 kilo-
gramsl and contains twenty-eight and three
quarter pounds C13 kilograms) of melinite
I'm the operations last week near Langres these
projectes. dropping in a field and fired from a
point three miles distant. made tunnel shaped
holes in the ground four yards i'm diameter and one
yard deep. and scattered stones and debris over
a space exceeding eghty-five yards from the
spot where the terrible projectile fell French
artillery officers claim that this new large cali
hre quick firing field gun. which is already dis
tributed for I'm the army. is totally different
from anything adopted by other countries. and
marks tremendous advance in the science of
destruction Foreign military attaches ques-
toned IN regard 10 the utility OF this formidable
weapon admit that # enables the French field
artillery 70 retain its superiority that of
Germany and indeed over that of any army I'm
Europe
The new weapon was perfected by Major
RimailhO. Of the French artillery. who has thus
Of utilizing heavy artillery with dying columns
Of infantry or cavalry. As the gun with its car
riage weighs nearly nine thousand pounds C42OO
Kilograms, the gun itself and the carriage
with the hydro pneumatic brake are separated.
and are united only when IN battery position
ready for action. Consequently. three carriages
required for transportation The carriage
bearing the gun itself is drawn by eight horses
that transporting the gun carriage and the nom
recoil breech by six horses and the caisson by
six horses, so that twenty horses altogether are
necessary. This and the rapid exhaustion Of
heavy ammunition are the chief objections TO
the new weapon Critics point out that at a rate
OF four shots a minute the "l55 r" would use I'D
ton OF ammunition in six and a quarter
minutes and that this far exceeds the resources
OF the latest system adopted for the supply OF
large projectiles ar the fighting line. IL is also
noted however. that a similar objection was
made IN 1865 in Austria and in France when the
Prussian breechloading rife Cthe needle gum
was under consideration.
The new field gun is the immediate result of
the lessons OF the recent Russo-Japanese War
Not only the official reports OF the French ar
tlery officers who followed the Manchurian
campaign. but the observations OF General de
NegTier IN France and OF General Won Balm in
Germany, convinced the best authorities in Eu-
rope that in the war OF the future the siege gun
in field operations is indispensable. and will have
decisive effect. This was invariably the case in
Manchuria, and the rapidity with which the
japanese artillery pushed forward their heavy
guns is deemed one OF the most important causes
OF their success. Major Rinailho is the first 10
solve the problem 81 giving 10 heavy guns the
mobility hitherto exclusively possessed by field
batteries Of light artillery intended to manruvre
with cavalry. This is considered by experts to
be the most important invention in artillery
since the adoption Of breechloading cannon.
The '155 r" gun Is fitted 20 a sliding cradle
attached 20 a hydro-pneumatic brake. which
acts both as a buffer. neutraliZing the recoil
and as a means Of recovery. It is Joined to the
carriage by two horizontal trunnions; each wheel
OF the carriage is fitted with a steel shoe. and
the trail IS provided with a spade wedge. At
the first discharge the gun recoils on the slides
OF the cradle. COMPRISING the air contained In
the brake. Then the air rebounds and. assum-
ing IT'S former volume. brings the gun tube back
exactly 20 its original position. At the same
moment the spade wedge and the steel shoes are
driven firmly into the soil. The gun is then
fixed and can be discharged dozen times with
out readjusting the aim. The gun is sighted by
means OF two theodolites. This enables the
piece 20 be concealed in a ravins or ditch. from
which II can discharge its ninety-four and
three-quarter pound protectiles. and hit objects
Fenious invention that is kept profoundly secret
can be fred at an elevation higher even than
that OF a mortar Indeed. 81 can be discharged
almost perpendcularly without danger OF burst
ing, and the projectile thus attain sharp
curve. passing high over hills or other obstacles
between the gun and the object fired at.
During the recent operations near the camp OF
Mailly a dense fog prevailed preventing any
attempt 20 make OF the ordinary field gun
OF 20 nillimetres calibre. The general com
handing the artillery informed Major Rimailho,
who had under his orders battery Of the "l55
r." that IL was necessary 10 open fire on
point shown the map, and which was three
miles distant, but could not be seen from the
battery. Upon this simple information. Major
RimaiIhO calculated the direction and elevation,
and the stan officers who acted as umpires
found 10 their establishment that at the third
shot the projectiles from the four guns Of the
battery fell with overwhelming effect upon the
desired spot. although the mist was so thick that
objects only twenty-five yards away could not
be detected by the naked eye. c. I. b.
MOTIVE IN MURDER.
Discussions OF tho singular murder case that IS