The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-21


arm of its kind in the world. 1t is
the rifle with which the million young
men chosen by CONSUMPTION to form
the national army will march against
the German.
When war was declared with Ger
many the United States governm ent
was confronted with the Stupendous
problem of furnishing an enormous
army with modern high power mill
tary rifles in the shortest possible
time. The Springfield. model of 1908,
with which the regular army, navy
and national guard were armed, has
long been admittedly the finest all
around military rifle in the world.
And altho the war department would
have preferred to arm our entire
forces with the Springfield, it became
at once apparent that the output of
the Springfield and Rock Island ar
senals, where the service rifle is made,
would be inadequate.
To have installed the necessary ma
chinery for the enormously increased
output demanded would have caused
at least a year of delay, for the me-
chanical precision necessary in a
modern military rifle requires, literal
~, thousands of accurate tools.
Take Over Machinery.
So it was in such a crisis that the
government decided to take over the
TOOLS and machinery, already installed
III three of the largest gunmaking es-
adjustments in the United States for
the manufacture of arms for the allies.
and with them produce a weapon
based upon the British military rifle,
model of 1914, which was being man
ufactured there.
Therefore, the United States gov
eminent, in taking over the factories
manufacturing the British rifle, deter
mined to so alter the English weapon
that it would shoot the ammunition
manufactured for the United States
oprlngfleld. In this way a weapon
omblning the best points of both
types would be obtained. The United
States rifle, model of 1917, built along
the British lines, but shooting the
Springfield cartridge, is the result
Kill Hun at Three Miles.
The United States rifle shoots five
times with one loading. 1t sends
of cupro-nickel. from the barrel at
rate slightly greater than 400 feet
a second. Carefully aimed shots can
be made to hit a target 1900 yards
away, but the bullet retains sufficient
force to kill a human being at a dis
lance Of nearly three miles from the
muzzle of the rifle.
me weapon is strong enough to
resist a pressure of $4,000 pounds on
every square inch of surface in the
chamber where the cartridge rests in
the breach.
The rifle is 46.3 inches from butt
plate to muzzl Equipped with
bayonet it weighs ten pounds and
eight ounces. The stock is made with
what is known as a pistol grip"
which not only gives a steadier hold
while shooting, but provides an ex-
cellent grip when the weapon is used
in bayonet fighting.
Receiver Peep Sight.
The sighting equipment is what is
known as receiver peep sight"
which means that the rear sight is set
back on the receiver of the gun as
near as possible to the rifleman's eye,
which results in making careful aim
much easier, since the shooter has
simply to look thru an aperture about
one-tenth of an inch in diameter in
the sight proper, place the front sight
on the object at which he is aiming
and pull the trigger.
Bullets, even when propelled with
sufficient force to carry them nearly
three miles, are still subject to the
laws of gravity. The moment a bullet
leaves a barrel of the Springfield type
gravity begins to draw it toward the
earth at rate of sixteen feet during
the first second, forty-eight feet dur
ing the second second and so on in
ratio. In order to adjust that, when
the rifle is held normally the line of
the barrel is at such an angle that a
bullet sent to the 2S00-yard range,
the maximum sighting distance, de-
scribes an arc which at its greatest
height is 397 feet.
Another force which acts upon the
bullet is known as drift" which
means a deviation to right or left,
caused by the twisted grooves in the
barrel known as rifling. At 1850
yards this drift is about thirty five
feet. third force which is always
exerted is wind. A wind of but mile
an hour, which is hardly more than
a zephyr, if blowing at right angles
to the line of the bullet at the extreme
sighting range of 2,S0O yards, will de-
fleet the bullet seven and half feet
Such obstacles as these must be
overcome, so that when the soldier
sets his sights according to rule for
anv given range his bullet, if properly
aimed, will reach the target truly, I'M
affected by any of these forces