The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-06-02
new H9RsELEss ARTILLERY:
FULLY MOTORIZED FIELD BAT.
Terry HAS JUST BEEN DE-
VEIIOPED BY u, S. ARMY.
Believed to be First Complete Uni( of
HOrseless Artillery Created--Early
Substitution of Tractors for Ani-
mails In Handling Nearly all FOlms
of Ordnance Predicted.

oped what is believed to be thes4 4lfst
completely motorized field battery of
medium caiiber guns in the woRld.
The problem of eliminating tho horse
entirely from the work OF dragging
such guns to the front is one on which
both European and American e1gi-
neers were working for years befbre
the outbreak of the great war. 8 be-
cessful experiments by the govatn-
ment authorities now seem to prdm-
ise an early substitution Of the 1fa.
chine for the horse in handling nahr-
ly all forms of ordnance. 4
The experimentation was carried1on
first with various types of tractbrs
under the direction of the Field A1kil-
lery Board at Fort Sill. Okla, andHby
the Ordnance Department of the army
at Rock Island Arsenal, followed later
at Fort Bliss. Tex. with ascompletely
equipped battery. The work has been
in charge of Mai. Lucian B.aMoody.
The tractor standards committee of
the Society Of Automotive Engineers
was enlisted at the outbreak of war
and has been actively cooperating in
the study of the problem.
THE success Of the experiments at.
Fort Sill justify us in believing that
the mOtorizatiOn of most medium cali
Der guns which have previously been
horse drawn will come in the near flu
ture." Maj. Moody says. 1.-The large
howitzer types are sure to be motor
lied. The mOtorization of the light
types. such as the French 75s, will
have to wait for the development of
tractors capable Of developing a COM
bination OF speed for emergencies ca6
pulling power in mud equal to that of
horses. This probably will not come
Immediately. but we shall continue our
experimentation with the light types"
European armies have already re-
duced greatly the number Of horses in
artillery use. but II has not proved pos
sible SO far to eliminate them in haul
ing certain of the smaller and medium
types of ordnance because of the lack
of q proper tractor combination of
speed and power. The big creeping
type tractors capable Of handling the
heaviest guns which have so far been
In
meet the demand for making the oc-
casional. bursts Of speed necessary 70
getting the light field guns into po-
sition and using the minimum of space
which conditions on the firing line fire.
quently make vital.
The new creeping or self-tra OK lay
ing type of small or medium size de-
veloped by the American army is
built without the steering arrange
ment in front. and while possessing
relatively as much power as the typ
now used In Europe is at the same
time capable of turning within it's own
length by simply reversing or stop
ping one Of the creeper drivers while
the other side continues to move
ahead. The development in this type
In tractors powerful enough to hau
the heaviest guns will make them en-
tirely available for making the sharp
turns and corners and fitting into the
innnnVantnnt III
have so far had TO be used at the very
front. The experiments have proceed
ed far enough to justify plans for the
successive motorizatiOn OF all Ameri-
can artillery units except the smallest
calibGrs required to move at very
high speed over bad ground.
The new developments in ordnance
traction make up another phase of
the valuable experience the American
army gained on the Mexican border
as they are direct OutgrOwth of
experiments in mailing field guns with
American tractors made at that time
The reasons making it highly de-
sirable to substitute the tractor for
the horse i'm all ordnance traction arc
both scientific and humane From
scientific and military standpoint the
tractor is much more efficient than
the horse. II lasts longer is capable
of performing more work i'm Il day,
ana costs less for repairs and fuel
than the expense of upkeep of the
horse. a tractor can, If necessary he
used "a hours i'm Il day, while the !
horse has To stop for rest, sleep and |
feeding. and can seldom he worked
more than 10 or IL hours per day 1T !
the best. Repairs on tractors eve"
at the front are usually comparatively
brief tasks unless the mochinC 10