Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-10-22
GIANT GUNS ARE
BEING BUILT BY
KRUPPS At ESSEN
56-Centimeter Guns, Which II
Is Claimed Are Now in Pro-
cess of Construction, 10 Be
- u Used r 70 "Er1T fNd7df"Bdse-

IHf itHkNtt bcit q Ito tNt III
mofs that the iNrupp works al Esse
are building s0-centimeter guns, has
now been added another 49, the
claim that tho same plant is turninl
out 56-centimeter pieces While IL IL
hard 10 believe this, It must be borne
IL mind that a siege piece Of & cent?
metefs the existence OF which was
doubted before the war, mas become
H convincing reality. as has also the
Austrian 30.5-centimetcr piece which
even after the outbreak OF the war
was looked upon as the object of q
very interesting fable
To be sure 30.5-centimeter
tahout l2-inch1 gun was not In itself
"a novelty. Eut that the Austrians
would be able To make such q piece
mobile Tor field purposes was thought
out of the question. The same pro-
cess Of reasoning was applied to the
German 42-centimeter or 16 1-2-inch
gun. A mathematical relation OF
cause and effect, in this instance, the
ability OF steel TO withstand the shock
of the propelling explosion, and the
weight which such q machine OF de-
struction would have led to the con-
clusion that 1G i-2-inch gun while
easily enough TO permit its use in the
field Nevertheless it was shown
that. though the German 42-centime.
ter gun weighs about twenty-six tons,
transportation difficulties had been
overcome largely with the aid Of mo-
tor traction and other devices
Since the increase in weight OF
a 56-centimetor gun, or 22-inch. gun
over 42-centimeter would not he
very great. ana since the Increase in
a 60-cenumeter or 23 1-2-inch gun
over 22-ineher would be an almost
ncglible quantity, the existence of
such pieces need not be doubted in
this respect i is possible to move
over ordinary roads ana across soft
fields a twenty-six-ton piece, it is not
to expect that gun
weighing thirty-fiye tons would offer
no new transportation problems. The
care W. ore Of Increase in motive pow
or instead Of new aspects IN trans
portation.
No attention need be paid to popu-
lar rumors making the rounds in
Germany that the new pieces are de-
signed TO lombard the English coast
from the coast Of France The ex-
tremc flight of the 10 1-2-inch shell
has recently been given as about
twelve kilometers for "krumhahnn or
high trajectory pieces, and sixteen
for those having flatter
course. Since the increase IN CALDER
from lG i-2 to 90 H. does not nee
assarlly mean a proportlonate length
,ning of the range. il is not at all
likely that the English coast cities
opposite Calais and other channel
points Will make the acquaintance of /
he "Brummers the Germans
awe come to can their large siege
pieces.
The stem. and GO-cm. pieces /
'hould they actually exist, would find I
heir uses, ana these, as more or less /
circles here assert
would consist of arming some naval
5ase on the channel which the Ger T
mans hope 70 establish during the
curse of this war. 1t is maintained f
hat Calais has been decided upon as
he best locality for such base, and
hat the great activity in the Krupp
works is in Il measure due TO this.
There is an authentic report that in /
his establishment over 49, 900 men
ire busy day and night turning out +
var material. While large percent
lge OF this force must be employed /
II supplying current demands Of am I
for the field pieces and re-
placing losses IN this arm, it is only {
to assume that this huge +
cree could in part be employed in the /
making of new ana larger 'Brum- /
ners' That the works are turning /
,ut new additions to the i2-cm. equip.
nent is known, for only a few weeks
lgo six new pieces Of this class were
AIKEN to the vicinity of Antwerp.
1t is of some interest to know with !
What the French oppose these heavy
lieces According to an article in the /
ierliner I.okal An2eiger of September
IS. the French use a -om-mortar--
mailer than the Austrian mortar
liece--and a 120-millimeter and 150- /
nillimeter flat trajectory gun. In adj /
lition there is It 13S-millimeter gun
IT older pattern. To facilitate COM
,arison, the Austrian, French and
ierman equipments are given in a ta-
he Of millimeters:
Calibre in I
mllimeters /
AUSTRIAN motor battery piece =. sos
German siege mortars and how
tiers ...... ............... 420 /
french mortar ...... ..........2f0 /
french flat trajectory piece,
hehNy ........ ......-....-. .lb0 Y
french flat trajectory piece,