The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-03-27
THAT SEVENTY MILE GUN

Grand Forks Herald: When the report came over the wires
that Paris was. being %bombarded from a distance Of 81 miles, the
confirmation Of the statement came Unofficial dispatches from Par.
is, Incredibly gaye way to annazement, which was increased when
P PARIS. In m the iUes absence s@e Of more g exact C. i in 21ann dGene the he m new d esG@
for throwing projectnes remains a mystery and all attempts at
explanation must be taken for what they are worth;
several hours on Sunday Sun ne explosive shells s, were dropped on M" Paris
at intervals Of about 20 minutes, and that these shells came from
miles distant. -~ '''S i'''' : 'e e''''s : '"e . -
SATURDAY was a clear day in Paris, hence the theory that the
The theory that the gun throwing these shells might be located
little attention, and te French rem authorities tho s. appear ears quite ut certain s1kd
that the gun is actually behind the German lines, and that it is op-
ordinance experts confess themselves to be mystified. - -
so, One I'll theory ,cy, suggested e 4be j is that the Germans have been able to
ed much Study in the past: The principle Which the : designers
1 fas's sought sought to o. apply g2tyi is that ,ath a pr sge E made up Of a number Of
pllosive upon which the next smaller shell rests. In the operation
in the usual way: At a prearranged distance the explosive in the
largest shell would be ignited. and the force Of this explosion would
repeated until the inner projectne would be sent on it's final jour
ney; The obstacle to this has been that no way could be found of
sRSy v sS S5 51sst and 59 permit It the the f 5as's to to be eh di. Rip5fetile' as each
the an san Tecs ss # theory e Fgn has been mad advanced yacfsl w The principle principle would eub1, be
gun, and given its initial velocity in this manner, receiving further
continuously against the resistance Of the air: '@'N "D' perez .
Thus far the only. eminent man who commits himself to a theory
that the new shell is constructed of extremely heavy material, thus
permitting the same weight to be contained in a shell Of smaller
"aIHCtcl, anu OHeIllg leS resistance TO the air.
The aerial torpedo theory has also been considered.
It may be that the result is reached by the combination of sew
eal features, such as heavy material, a long and very slender pro.
jecttie, a new explosive, and a gun Of unusual length and strength.
The use that has been made Of the gun-if it is a gun-indicates
that it was intended as a drastic accompaniment of the great drive
rather than for its practical military effect. It's use was coinci
dent with the delivery Of the blow against the British line, and it
was doubtless expected to strike terror into the hearts of the
French: In this it has failed. The Paris people went calmly
about their Sabbath affairs, and ignored the new gun entirely ex
cept that they expressed curiosity as to how the thing was done.
It would be followed with the evidences which we see around us.
to dismiss as impossible almost anything in the way of mechanical
e yge?mn Yet there is at this time little basis for belief in
the military effectiveness of such a gun as appears to have been
devised, Long range in certain types Of weapons is essential but
rmport az s. r There al, are now in use many guns with a carrying
half that distance. For heavy work the type sought is the gun Of
large caliber which discharges a large projectile loaded viii high
explosive.