The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-10-25
new GERMAN GUNS
FOR SIEGE WORK
Krupps Works at Essen Reported
to Be Building 56-Centi-
metre Weapons.
EMPLOY NEARLY $4,000 MEN
No Attention to Rumors That
They Are Intended to lombard
England From French Coast.

! correspondence of Associated Press)
| THE HAGUE, October 15.--To the
rumors that the Krupp works, at Es-
sen. are building 56-centimetre guns
| has row been added another-thc claim
| that the same plant is turning out
! j6-ccntinetre pieces. While 1t liz hard
| to believe this. IL must be borne IN mind
! that a Siege piece Of AZ centimetres.
| The existence of which was doubted be-
| fore the war. has become n convincing
| reality. as has also the Austrian 3U.5-
ccntimctre piece, which even after the
! outbreak Of the war was looked upon
as tho object of a very interesting,
| fable.
| To be sure a 30.5-centimetre tabout
! novelty But that the Austrians would
! be able TO make such n piece mobile for
| field purposes was thought out OF The
! question. The Same process Of reason
] ing was applied to the German i2-
| centimetre or 1G I-2-inch gun. \
| mathematical relation OF cause and eff
| feet. In this instance. the ability OF
steel TO withstand the shock Of ,he
! propelling explosion. and the weight
would have. led TO the conclusion that
| Il II l-2-inch gun while possible could
| not be transported easily enough TO
! permit its use in the Held Neverthe-
| less, 1t Was shown that, though the
| German 42-centmetre gun weighs
about twcnty-siS tons. transportation
/ difficulties had been overcome largely
| with the aid of motor traction and
! other devices
Since the increase in weight OF a So
! ccEtimetrc or 2o-inch gun over a Az
Z centimetre gun would not be very great
! and since the increase in q 60-centime-
/ tire or % l-2-inch gun over a 22-!ncher
would be an almost negligible quantity.
! the existence of such pieces need not
| he doubted in this respect. If IL IS posi-
| siblc TO move over ordinary roade and
| across soft fields n Cotton piece 1t is
not unreasonable to expect that.a gun
! weighing thIrty-ive tons would offer
| no new transportation problems. The
case Is one of increase in motive power
| instead OF new aspects in transporta-
| ton. =.
/, NO ATTENTION PAID
\ o+. 20, POPULAR RUM0RS
| No attention need he paid to popular
| rurnors making the rounds in Ger
many that the new pieces are designed
+, TO lombard the En2lish coast from the
coast of France. The extreme flight of
! the lG 1-2-incn shell has recently been
| given as about twelve kilometres for
I the "krumba I'm" or high trajectory
! pieces, and sixteen kilometres for those
] having II fiLtter course. Since the in
crease in calibrc from l6 . to a3 l-2
! does not necessarily mean n proportions
ate lengtherinG Of range, il is not at
| all likely that the English coast cities
/ opposite Calais and other channel
| points Will make the acquaintance of
/ the "Brummers'--as the Germans have
! come to call their large siege pieces
The 56-centimetre and G0.centimctrc
pieces. should they actually exist, would
| sind their uses, and these, more or
/ less wellinformed circles here assert
would consist of arming some naval
/ base on the channel which the Germans
/ hope TO establish during the course Of
| this war. 1t is maintained that Cnlais
/ has been decided upon as the best To-
| cality fol such base, and that the
great activity in the Krupp works is In
! n measure due to this.
| There Is an authentic report that in
| this establishment over $4,000 men are
busy day and night turning out. war
material. While "a large percentages OF
1 this force must be employed in supply
| ing current demands OF ammunition
| for the field pieces and replacing losses
| In this arni,'f is only reasonable to
| assume that this huge force could in
| part be employed in the making of new
and larger "Brummers" That the
works are turning out new additions
| to the 42-centi:netre equipment is
knnwn, for only Il few days ago six new
/ pieces OF this class were taken to the
! vicinity of Antwerp.
| GUNS MADE BY FRENCH
TO OPPOSE THESE PIECES
! 1t is of some interest to know with
/ what the French oppose these heavy
| pieces According to an article in the
! Eerlinger Lokal Anzeiger of September
! IS, the French use a 27-centimetre
imortar-smaller than the Austrian NOR
| tar piece-and Il 120-millmetre and
| 150-millimetre fiat trajectory gun. In
| addition there is a -milllmetre gun
| OF older pattern. To facilitate compar-
| ison. the Austrian, French and Ger
| man equipments are given in table
| Of millmctres:
/ Calibre.
| Austrian motor-battery piece 305 nm.
| German siege mortars and
| howitZers ................ 400 nm.
| French mortar .............. go nm.
| French fiat trajectory piece.
] heavy ............... -. $50 nm.
French fiat trajectory piece,
| lighter 40 nm.
| French fortress piece, old type las nm.
! German piece said to be In
course of manufacture -. $50 nm.
4 German piece said to be I'm
course of manufacture :. GOO nm.
! AS already stated the 56-centimetre
and 60-centimetre pieces OF the Ger
mans have still to prove their existence.
| hut the rumors concerning them are too
PERSISTENT to he ignored, especially
when 1t Is remembered that even the
| i2-centimetre piece was looked upon MS
(, u myth until II was brought into action
| at Liege and other points.
/ Between the French mortar of 81
| centimetre calibrc and the German AZ
! ccntimetre there Is difference of mr.
| teen centimetres, while between the
| much -heralded 56-centimetre gun and
| tho original "Brumme err" there is one of