Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-18
CERTAIN GERMANY HAS
42-CENT|METER GUNS
Reports Brought From War Zone by
American Army Officers Settle
Doubt Of Their Existence.

According to reports brought home
by American army officers who have
been in the European war zone, there
appears to be no doubt that Germany
is in possession Of the forty-two centi-
meter guns. about the existence OF
which there has been considerable
speculation ana discussion.
This gun 10 tho product Of the Krapp
works. and 10 considered the last word
In modern ordnance. It Is . howitser
almost twenty inches In diameter. and.
as near as can be learned. carries a
proJectile weighing between 1900 and
400 pounds. When this explodes II
has force enough to wreck or practi-
cally wipe out a three-story brick
house. On level ground It digs a hole
eighteen feet deep and sixty wide. It
is not definitely known whether any
poisonous substance has been intro
duced into tho explosive charge. but the
effect of the fumes Is fatal. If shell
explodes inside a walled Enclosure It
makes the atmosphere unbeatable.
and, as tho force Of tho explosion rom
ders a man insensible at 100 yards, II
has deadly effect on the garrison or
fertilization against which the shell IS
used. The gun is supposed to carry
fourteen miles. and while the howitzer
shell is slower in fight than the shell
OF a naval gun. 1t is rapid and deadly
enough for all practical purposes.
Would Not Be Needed Here.
There is little prospect that such a
gun will be built in this country. al
though there are three places capable
of turning them out, one OF them being
the Washington navy yard. The OBJ
Ject of the gun. however. is for use
against permanent land Qualifications
such as are common in Europe, and
there IS little prospect of needing such
weapon on land in this country. The
size is a sixteen-inch gun now installed
on Roman shoal. New York ha-ho-
This gun is long enough to accommo-
date fifteen men standing side by side
on top Of 1t. 1t is more the type and
shape Of an immense navy gun than
is the German howitzer So far this
sixteen-inch gun has never been fired
but Is counted as one Of the most pow
erful projections to New York harbor
1t is understood that the ordnance
department has photographs and
working drawings Of the German gun
but owing to diplomatic and political
considerations. no official information
is available from this source.
Thirty Horses to Haul It.
The German gun is so immense in
weight that 1t takes thirty horses to
haul It Travelling on first class Euro
pean roads. II can be hauled by power
full motors, but for CROSS country trans
portation horses are relied on. It has
to have a special foundation from
which to be fred, and until recently a
concrete foundation such as was nee
essary for the gun took two weeks to
dry and harden. Some Of the ex-
pert chemists Of the Krupp works, how
ever, formulated a new brand Of con-
crete, much too expensive for ordinary
commercial use but effective enough
for military purposes. This concrete
will set within forty-eight hours. The
foundation necessary for this immense
gun Is thirty feet in diameter and four
teen feet deep.
Germany recently was experimenting
with another monster gun capable of
shooting across the English channel
and covering the English coast for six
miles north and south. One of these
guns was actually built and work was
commenced Installing 1t on a height
| back Of Calais, which Is the narrowest
practical point on tho English channel.
Tho work was noted by aviators and
some Of the British naval vessels man
aged to creep in and destroy the gun
by shell fire before It was ready for
use.