Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-23
Nevs of the Army and Navy

more powerful. thereby giving a
greater range and fiatter trajectory
almost eliminates the possibility of a
i jam In feeding the cartridges into the
chamber. is the same cartridge used
/ in the Springfields carried by many of
the men in the Regular Army and in
the National Guard. and provides the
Army with only one type of ammuni-
ton for all the small arms. The same
cartridge is used in all the United
states machine guns, and the rimless cart
ridge is far superior 10 one with a fiange
or head for guns of this type.
The British government prior to 1914
had recognized the disadvantage of
! its old model Enfield. which used the
! Hanged cartridge, and had decided TO
abandon il for new and more power
full rifle that used rimless cartridge.
Its ordnance officers had prepared the
design for the new piece and the draw
ings were ready. but their sudden en-
try into the war found them without
and with their arsenals and private
manufacturers stiil equipped to turn
out the old model in greater or less
| volume. The imperial government i'm
mediately sought the markets of the
, world 10 increase its supply OF mill
| tary rifles, and, of course, came to the
American makers. who, of course. were
commercially in the market to manu-
factare and sell their wares.
The British, in order to have only one
| type of ammunition. decided that they
must stick to the old inferior trimmed
| cartridge. with all its liability to cause
/ a jam in the chamber. at the same time
they preferred the new model OF the
| Enfield. Accordingly they sent TO the
American makers the designs of the
| new model with instructions to modify
them to take the trimmed instead OF
| the rimless cartridge
The American experts made these
changes while the tedious factory prep
arations were going on: and the new
model thus modified was the rifle the
American makers had been turning out
for Great Britain and Russia when
! this country. wholly unprcparred with
rifles arsenals and means of obtaining
them, found itself involved in war.
! Three factories were producing these
rifles and each of them had made sub
stantially the same changes in the designs
/, of the new model Enfield. but not tho
| identical changes, and consequently the
parts of the three types were not inter
changeable. When the War Department
decided to modify the drawings of the
rifle the American factories were max
| ing, to let them accommodate the rim
| less cartridge, it was thought best tC
add further notifications SO as to make
| at least seven of the most important
parts absolutely interchangeable. Fur.
| Their consideration led TO more changes
! 50 that now ffty-seven parts are ident1
| cal. and the spare parts for only one
of the three types are necessary.
The new model rifles have a longer
range, use the rimIess cartridge ths
| changeable parts. To gain these quail.
ties in the gun, the men in training
camps have been short of rifles for drill
and target practice, although they nov
| have them in sufficient numbers fol-
both purposes. The factories are turn
| ing out new product in such number:
| that the future supply on this side ant
the other is assured.