Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-12-15
ISA WAR OF ARTILLERY
The Highest Praise Given By Experts to French
Light Field Piece and German Light Howitzer

effectively. Whatever successes the
German artillery have obtained with
this gun have been due more to guam
tity than actual quality. and when con-
fronted in equal numbers by British
and German guns of equal size the Ger
man gun has generally been outmatched
in all respects.
The German heavy field gun is SINH
! lar to our 60-pounder, being long
| range weapon with fiat trajectory. The
| bore is 4.2-inch, but the Germans seem
| to have made more extensive use Of
howitzers in preference to this gun.
Besides being used for land operations
the German 4.2-inch light howitzer
plays an important part in the defense
| of those Tristan Islands described in
",rhe Riddle of the Sands" The sandy
soil of which these islands are COM
posed has rendered the mounting of
heavy guns of position very difficult
It was reported some years ago that
an attempt to mount coastal artillery
at Borkum had failed completely, ow-
| ing to the progressive and uneven
settlement of the concrete beds under
the discharge of the guns. This defect
has been overcome, 1t is said. by the
| use of piles and caissons; at Wangeroog
there are at least 10 guns of 12-inch
size or over. But batteries of light
howitzers are known to exist on the
Tristan Islands and their presence may
be due to the difficulty and expense of
providing permanent defenses.
The light howitzer is the best type
of weapon the Germans possess, and
considerable ingenuity has been dis
/ played in the method of overcoming re-
coil with a high angle mounting. OF
4.2-inch bore. this gun fires "univer-
sal" projectile of 81 pounds, with a
muzzle velocity of $50 foot-seconds.
The weight with a 4-millimeter shield
is 221a hundredweight or 81 hundred
weights with the timber and IS rounds
| of ammunition. The universal shell
is of an interesting nature. The shrap-
mel bullets in the body of the shell are
I packed in trotyl. and besides the usual
base charge for spreading the bullets,
there is a high-explosive burster of
picric acid in the head. When set as a
shrapnel shell the base charge spreads
| the bullets and the trotyl packing in
which they are embedded burns with
out exploding. The exploding of the
base charge detaches the head of the
shell, which flies forward and down and
then detonates on the ground. 1t will
be seen that there are two separate
explosions; namely. primarily in the air
by the base charge for dispersal of the
bullets, and seeondarily by the detached
head on the ground by the percussion
of impact. But this shell can also be
set to explode wholly on the ground.
/ IN y, ial
base charge. trotyl packing In body of
shell, and picric acid in the head. ex-
plode simultaneously with powerful eff
feet. delayed fuse action increases
the destructive power of the shell by
acting slightly after the she'll has pene-
trated the object struck This fuse ae-
ton seems to have wrecked the massive
concrete structures of the Liege forts,
since accounts state that the shell ex-
ploded after penetrating for some feet
The German heavy howitzer fires a
90-pound projeetile and can be elevated
up to 65 degrees. But this high angle
of training does ont confer any appre-
| eiable advantage, as the accuracy OF
fire falls off over As degrees, owing to
| the windage and drift" of the shell
| The high elevation may be used for
attaining the highest remaining velocity
possible with a steep angle of descent
In attacking positions with overhead
protection. The German heavy howitzer
is not new model. as it is about 10
years old.
Finally we come to the heaviest siege
ordnance. Much has been written about
the great German 16-inch guns. When
in transit these colossal culverins are
said to be divided into three or fou,
parts and need the assistance of a fleet
OF 36 heavy tractors. This use of heavy
| siege guns has been heralded as a grea,
innovation in warfare. but, as the En-.
gineer points out, the Austrians used
two 9.4-inch guns in their 1912 maneu.
vers. Similar guns are said to have
been sent by the Austrians to assist in
the reduction of Maubeuge. The French
! themselves used a 9.4-inch and two
S.S-fnch howitzers in 1913. in which
year the Austrians are said to have
used 12-inch gun in the field How
Is the transport of these great German
guns and their fleet of tractors ar.
ranged in view of the fact that the
majority of bridges cannot support a
load much above that of 12-inch gun
The Engineer points out that 12-inch
gun and lorry would weigh nearly "a
tons, and this is close to the limit which
bridges can stand. The 16-inch CUR
would weigh about 80 tons. with lorry
These guns may be used against from
tier positions. to which they can be-
brought over German roads and Ger.
man bridges designed to support the
enormous weights.-Naval and Military
Record Of London