The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-08-24

L
Es,e:sa=aaa;eaa7aelal1
An aviator. flying over Germany pz
observing the more modern type oil
France might see what he took to be
Ethe backs of huge tortoises, lyfns
i prone upon the ground with only their
black rounded shells showing above
1 the earth level. From distance OF a
few hundred feet the pent up possibi.-
i tiles of these rounded objects would
mot appear. but when Uncle Sam sent
3 number of military observers abroad
lat the commencement OF the present
lstudy carefully these fortihcations.
The tortoise-Hke objects are the
visible portions of the modern turret
fort the outgrowth OF the obsolete
forttfication which rose with sheer
walls like the castles of old.
The evolution OF the fort. the de-
Termination of its modern possibilities
particularly the lessons to be learned
regarding construction and placing,
ranks among the most important of
the problems that are TO be determined
If the United States is to increase its
military strength. Uncle Sam has the
facts.
Turret Fort the Latest.
OF all the lessons hammered nome
by experience In the present war zone
is more important or more revolution
airy mar the impotence of he old-
style fort against modern artillery.
The sheer-waMed fort. which has come
down to us In only modified form
since the baronial castles defied the
puny attacks of poorly armed enemies.
no longer offers material resistance to
modern gunuery and an entirely new
method of fort-construction had to be
evolved to keep pace with the inn
#provement In gun manufacture. The
turret fort with its doomed roof am
novel method of handling guns, is tho
latest step in this evolution.
The reason for the curvature OF the
steel "skin'' of the fort is to offer the
least possible resistance TO the pro-
jectiles OF the enemy. To the lay
man the thought of fort con5ures up.
ideas of inpregnability by reason o;
thickness OF walls. the stopping of
shells by sheer weight of protecting
armor. But modern Notifications have
followed the line OF least resistance
and the turret fort is designed, not to
stop the enemy's projectiles, but to
defect them so that they viii do little
damage. shell striking the curved
dome OF turret fort will be so de-
flected that it will expend but little
of it's energy upon the fort itself but
will fly of at tangent, almost with
out damage to the fortsfication.
Then again. the domed construction
allows OF another revolutionary devel-
opment. The modern turret fort is so
CONSTRUCTED that it can be reyolved
power, thus making 1t possible for the
muzzles OF the huge rifles to be point
ed in any direction. The rifles them
selves are mounted very much like
naval guns and the entire operation
of serving and loading the pieces APP
pears to have been borrowed from
naval usage The entire fort becomes
but an enlarged turret that may be
turned about by the simple device OF
throwing a switch.
Breeches are Moved.
The method of aiming such a battery
is as interesting as 1t is novel. The
dome or barbette of the whole fortress
is rotated until the guns are in line
with the target and then these are
elevated or depressed until the proper
range is attained. Ordinarily, this
would require large aperture or slit
IN the rotunda, like that which per-
mits of the operation OF telescope in
an observatory. But this slit would
also permit Of the entrance of shrap-
mel or fragments OF other shells which
would be extremely dangerous to the
gun crews In order to obviate this
danger, the guns are mounted in close
fitting embrasures and. instead OF
pointing the rifles up or down as was
formerly done. their breeches are
moved forward or backward and the
desired result is attained without dan
ger to those inside the turret.
The sighting and loading mechanism !
of the big guns, together with the ma
chinery which rotates the barbette, oc-
cupies the entire dome. The ammunf-
ton magazines and HOSTS, the en-
gines which supply the electrical pow
err and the quarters OF the gun crew
are all situated IN concrete vaults be-
meath the surface of the ground. In
ths manner space is economized and
the fort is therefore made much