Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-08-25

700 r., 10. The walls Of the shrap.
mel shells are thin. only a small
bursting charge Is necessary to teai
open the wallis and release the bullets
"shfapnei IL burst over and short
Of the object fired at, and Ii de-
signed especially for use against
troops in the open Or sheltered be-
hind light screens. BY being burst
over eafthworks, the bullets will
search out the troops sheltered be-
hind. The Beers found the English
shrapnel 80 searching that they had
reeourae to digging theIr trenches al
slope toward the enemy.
French and Eelgmns place the
gun eaissoDs alongside the guns, and
not more than two to three feet away.
-'Eo guns are provided with shields,
and after the first shot the gun Is rig
idly planted in the ground. Two men
eperate the piece, one 10 train and
fire and second TO load ana eject the
empty cartridge case.
The gun caisson or timber is up
ended much like dump cart, only
the ending Of the caisson body is
made compiete: thar is to say. IL
stands Utmost perpendicular to the
ground and not az a slant. The pro-
jectiles when carried on the march
have their heads down, but with the
running OF The caisson into battery
and Impending the cartridges lie
parallel to the ground The top Of
the caiss0n consists Of two doors.
which swing outward when the
enisson is appended and form wing
predictions for the gunncrs who
serve out the ammunition.
''fhe bottom OF the eaisson and
the wing doors are of light steel
construction. not over one-quarter
inch IN thickness. and are imper-
vious 10 steel-iacketed bullets Of the
standard military rifle.
Gnnners IRE Sheltered.
Three gunners kneel behind the
protecting bottom 81 the calsson.
They are completely sheltered from
rifle fire. Two Of these men pass
out the ammunition: the third cuts
the shrnpneI fuse TO the required
number of seconds. As rule the
time Of flight does not extend be-
yand % seeonfs. and for ordinary
shrapnei Service 10 to 2 seconds are
employed. Il al depends on the
distance Of the enemy. Good pfac-
tice demands that the shrapnel be
burst ah n point about 1850 yards
short of the object fired at. The ef-
feet II 10 release The small balls With
In. The bullets then rush on at the
full remaining velocity Of the shell In
the form Of q sheaf, and strike the
ground within q reotanelp about the
size % an ordinary company forina-
ton.
In the Belgian and French plan
Of placing the eaissona when in action
ainIRaide % the guns there IL gained
ereat rapidly 81 service. and rate of
II to rs a.lne1 shots per minute Is
readily obtainable. An even higher
rate Of fire can be conducted, but IL
aimed shots are perfectly practlcahle
under varying conditions. ny keep
Ing The eaisson close up to the guns
there y avoided any exposure or men
IN running with ANNEXATION to the
runs.
Trial Shots Made.
@foth the hegians and French
resort 70 indirect fire: that is 10 say,
gums are sheltered behind knoll or
ridge. OF, lf necessary. sunk in pits,
and The file is directed by the lat
terry commander frcm wherever he
can best see II Is not necessary that
The Ennners have more than The range.
time ~ flieht and direction Of fire.
The battery commander watches the
burst Of the shrspnrl. II Il Is too
short he forks the object fired at by
m increased range, and then reaches
the object On The third shot by taking
q mean Of the two ranges. ss'sss:ca: