Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-06-25
june24- 25-26x

felt any recoil. / do not think that
the firing of the gun affected the sta
bility of the biplane in the least. In the
ordinary way we had arranged an cleo
tric signal apparatus of lights, but this
got broken before we started, so Lieu
tenant Stellingwerf had to direct me
by pulling my jacket. On the after
noon fight also we experienced no re-
coil from the firing of the gum
The tests of this gun from an aero
plane at the American aviation
grounds, College Park, Md, in June.
1912, using service ammunition as a
real target, marked the beginning of
q new era in warfare. 1t was the first
successful attempt of its kind, and
because of the easy manipulation and
great accuracy of the. gun, as shown
by the official report of the test, the
event challenged the immediate at
tention of army and navy experts in
every civilized country. No arrange
nents were made to have the gun
adopted in the United States, and 1t
was taken abroad, where 1t was dem
enstrated in France, Germany. Austria
and England. The Russian Govern
ment has Just closed q contract for q
supply of the guns.
Very Easy to Assemble.
The gun is the invention of Col
onel I. N. Lewis, late of the United
States army. who showed the gun first
Of all in pieces and explained every
detail. The parts were then assembled
by one of his assistants, and it was
noted that the only tool required to
fit and tighten up the parts was the
nose of bullet. Both the dismantling
and the assembling were done with
ease and quickness. Great simplicity
marks every device in the gun. Col
onel Lewis claims for it: Simplicity
Of design; light weight Git is only
twenty-siX and a half pounds); it is
gas operated; there is positive air
cooling; the cartridge feed is from
balance drum magazine and operates
with the gun in any position; it can
be assembled or dismounted in thirty
seconds; it can fire single rounds or
bursts of any number of shots up to
the full extent of the magazine CAT
rounds), which can be placed in posi-
any existing service ammunition; nor
NAL rate of firing five hundred rounds
pevninute, which may be increased or
decreased by adjustment of the gas
inlet part; air cooling is so effective
that the gun may be fired continuous
ly without over-heating and without
replacing barrel or the use of any sup
Elementary form of cooling; no appre-
ciable recoil; can be fired in any posi-
tion; is particularly adapted for mr.
ing from aeroplanes or from motor
cycles or automobile mounts.
No Water Needed for Cooling.
Colonel Lewis pointed out that no water
Is required and no change of barrel Is
necessary in any contingency OF service
There are few extra parts, and these are
all small and easily carried. and there is
no tool kit. On the barrel is close Mt
ting sheath or jacket of ALUMINIUM with
radiating longitudinal fms, surrounding
which is a thin tubular steel casing four
inches in diameter This casing extends
beyond the muzzle of the jacketed bar
rel, and as the gases of explosion emerge
in a conical blast behind the bullet they
act as a kind of pump plunger inside
this tubular extension and suck currents
of fresh, cool air through sector shaped
passages along the exterior
of the barrel The air ejector thus
formed serves to cool the barrel, and it
may be said that the experiments tried
by a number of officers who used the
gun bear out the claim that the temper
allure curve is a low one. During the
4. 10 wis q
rises rapidly until 1t has
reached about 800 degrees Fahrenheit,
and then more slowly until at the end of
a 1000 rounds, fred at full speed, 1t does
not exceed 440 degrees Fahrenheit. 1t is
obvious that under ordinary service con-
ditions the temperature would be much
lower.
The Magazine Remarkable.
The most remarkable feature Of the
gun is that the magazine is of a bal
anced rotary type, and can be quickly re-
moved when empty and replaced by a
full one The aim need not be disturbed
while the exchange takes place The
cartridges are fixed radially in this shall
low circular magazine, which is laid
upside down over the breech opening
and held in position by pivot stud The
advantage of this is that grit and dirt
enter the gun with the cartridge.
while balance is maintained during firing
and the load on the operating mechanism
is lghtened. This mechanism embodies
the use of a spring removed from the
heat Of the gun barrel. The energy re-
qured to load and fire is obtained by
trapping some Of the gases of the ex-
piosion through small hole located a
few inches from the muzzle. While the
bullet is passing from this orifice to the
a period of about one nine-
part of a second, the gases
deliver a blow to piston connected to
the srssch operating mechanism. and