Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-24
NATIONAL DEFENSE PROBLEMS
Nelson's of the War-Turret Forts
By Frederic ]. Haskin

An aviator, flying over Germany or
observing the more modern type OF
fortifcations along the border or
France, might see what he took to
be the backs of huge tortoises, lying
prone upon the ground with only their
black rounded shells showing above
the earth level From a distance of
a few hundred feet the pent up possi-
bilities of these rounded objects would
not appear, but when Uncle Sam sent
a number of military observers abroad
at the commencement of the pres
ent war in Europe, he instructed them
to study carefully these fortifica-
tions.
The tortoise-like objects are the
visible portions of the modern turret
fort, the outgrowth of the obsolete
fertilization which rose with sheer
walls like the castles of old
Evolution OF the Fort
The evolution of the fort, the de-
termination of its modern possibtli-
ties, particularly the lessons to be
learned regarding construction and
placing, ranks among the most i'm
portant of the problems that are to
be determined If the United States is
to increase its military strength.
Uncle Sam has the facts.
OF all the lessons hammered home
by experience in the present war none
is more important or more revolu-
tionary than the impotence of the
old-style fort against modern artil-
lery. The sheer-walled fort, which
has come down to; us in only modi-
fed form since the baronial castles
defled the puny attacks of poorly
armed enemies, no longer offers ma
terfal resistance TO modern gunnery
and an entirely new method of fort
construction had to be evolved to keep
pace with the improvement in gun
manufacture. The turret fort, with
its domed roof and novel method of
handling guns, is the largest step in
this evolution.
Defect Projectiles
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 layman
the thought of fort conjures up ideas
of impregnability by reason of thick
ness of walls, the stopping of shells
by sheer weight of protecting armor.
But modern fortifications have fol-
lowed the line of least resistance and
the turret fort is designed, not to
stop the enemys projectiles, but to
defect them so that they will do
little damage. A shell striking the
curved dome of a turret fort Will be
so detected that it will expend but
little of it's energy upon the fort
itself but will fly off at tangent, al
most without damage to the fortifica-
tion.
Then, again, the domed construction
allows of another revolutionary de-
velopment. The modern turret fort
is so constructed that it can be re-
volved about Its axis by means OF
electrical power, thus making 1t pos
sible for the muzzles of the huge
rifles to be pointed in any direction,
The rifles themselves are mounted
very much like naval guns and the
entire operation of serving and load
ing the pieces appears to have been
borrowed from naval usage. The en-
tire fort becomes but an enlarged tur-
ret that may be turned about by the
simple device of throwing switch.
How Battery Is Aimed
The method of aiming such bat
terry is as interesting as it is novel
The dome or barbette of the whole
fortress is rotated until the guns are
in a line with the target and then