The Washington times., 1914-01-31
NEW GUNS CAN KILL
800 WITH ONE SHELL
Weapon Fires 15-Pound Shrap-
mel Over Range of Six Miles
Without Exposing Gunners.


hre made possible by it's development
should serve to make an enemy look
cautiously to his concealment.
On account of the extreme elevation
which is possible with the new gun car
risses the range is far in excess of
present possibilities. The marvellous
ease with whicn Tie gun can be trained
on several targets in a short time al
most doubles the efficiency of artillery
in battle.
In days not so very long past an artil-
leryman hardly considered himself in
action until he was within eight hum
dred or thousand yards OF the enemy,
a matter OF half to two-tkirds of mile.
II this new gun were planted in the
shadow of the War College, at Wash
ington Barracks, IL could open fire on
an enemy at Alexandria and, with tell
ing accuracy, burst shrapnei after
shrapnel in his ranks-and the enemy
would never know where the fatal hre
came from.
Range of Six Miles.
One of the most wonderful features Of
the gun is the small size Of the shell it
fArls over a space of six miles. Three
inches in diameter. about foEt long
and weighing Sut fifteen pounds, IL car
ries a death-dealing potency that is
hard to estimate, for II has not, as yet,
been tried against human flesh and
It Is possible, should the enemy be
found Ia a suitable formation, for every
one o fthe 800 bullets composing the
IrOdern shrapneI to ind its billet, each
10 lay low an enemy in death or dis
abIc1rent-and this at one Siivr'
Multiply his devastation by the tate
Of fre-about fifteen shots a minute
from each gun, four guns to battery
and the result will show the stupendous
toll of Is 900 men-at-arms 10 fall beneath
the resping Of this grim scythe Of Mars
These figures show only the highest
possibility of hits; such slaughter never
would occur in battle, but 1t !s poSi'tf!e
under ideal circumstances. Divide the
total by zen, for an average, ana we
have 1,SOO, two regiments, almost bri-
gade, wiped out by one minutes firing
from a battery of these terrible weapons
Secret of Efficiency.
The split trail is the secret of the new
efficiency. In the past the trail
was IN one piece. q timber or fanged
steel rest, which, projecting to the rear
of the gun, rested its end upon the
earth and formed the third point Of rest
of the gun carriage, the wheels beinS
the other two. The breech Of the gun
could not be depressed sufficiently 70
aliCw a high angle Of fire, for the solid
trail prevented.
with the split or double trail, a sec
tor swings to each side, not only per-
hitting the breech Of the gun to drop
nOKn between IIle S6CllOuS dS lON 90
necessary, but bracing the carriage
more firmly than ever before, oVercom-
ing any inequalities of the ground to
the rear and permitting a greater arc
OF fire.
Al An elevation of 45 degrees the long
est range is obtainabIe This carriage
permits an angle of so degrees, permit
ting high angle fire almost equal to
that Of a mortar. Thus, the plungins
fire and burst of shrapnel VIII reach
IL hakF IND H.
ments and barricades, where, though
protected from a direct fire, their para
pets will avail them naught. Coming
straight down from the skies, the
screaming missiles Of death VIII search
out every nook and Granny Of the fora-
fications, and there will be safety for
the defenders only in bombproof case
mates, IL there are any.
Defense Against Aeroplanes.
Again, the great elevation possible
with this new tool Of war may be used
TO combat a menace of recent origin;
defense against Quick-darting aero
planes and spying. dirig!ble balloons.
With muzzles slim and threatening,
pointed skyward, these guns may send
their messengers of disaster hurting up
into space, TO burst in the path Of the
sky craft, to wreck them and crush
them, and send their bold pilots and
observers plunging to earth.
= distinguished officer in the French
army, Colonel DepOrt- Ever since the
Franco-Prussian war, France, singing
and burning under the humiliation of
the defeat, has bent every energy into
equipplng for war with the most mod
ern, deadliest weapons on earth, to
keep it's splendid army prepared for the
inevitable strife which must come.
Alsace and Lorraine still are mouun-
ed, not as lost provinces, but as alb
HhfIdrPn NJ rhs- rDnThar
and in the travail of grief OF desc
Lation. and determination, biding the
day this invention was born.
Invention Not a Secret.
Military secrets are 1calousIy
guarded whenever possible, but it was
impossible to keep this without
sequcstering the entire field artillery
II the French array, so Colonel De-
port, realizing the hOpeleSsncss of
SecrecY, permitted his invention TO
come before the eyes of the martial
world.
The gunners are thoroughly shield
I'd. Plates Of hardened steel of sur
l'riSing thinneSs curve upward and
outward and protect the men work
.rg the guns from the. fall OF rifle
g nd shrapnel bullcts- Although these
l''stes are only one-hfth of an inch
JhicE. higd- pG weIed steel-iacketed
.ullets fred from rifles a hundred
ards away, VIII ShatteT themselves
gGinst the shields and fail harm
less 10 the ground.
The gunner Who sights tho piece is
not even exposed while taking his
aim, for the new telescopic sights,
by q system of mirrors and prisnIs
extends up above his head and he
Teeps through u sliding port cut in
the steel snicld.
a great advantage Of the carriage
is the Increased field OF traverse
= hat is to say, the gun may he swept
from side TO side without moving the
carriage from its locked position,
where the powerful brakes and trail
spades, beaten into the ground,
clamp IL securely.
Gun Swings At Will
In battle this often becomes Of prime
importance, as for instance. when it
becomes desirable to fire upon q fly
ing battery, momentar1ly exposed by
GONE fault of the ground. II it werv
necessary to swing the whole carriage
and relay the gun, so much time
would be consumed that the target
probably would have reached cover
before effective fire could be directed
upon it. With the new carriage, a
whirl Of a hand-wheel rapidly swings
the muZzle to the right or left as de-
sired. and while the proper elevation
Is being taken, the direction is being
given, too. and in less than FIVE sec
onds. shell will be screaming to-
ward the objective.
The carriage has been adopted by
the United States, and as rapidly as II