Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-10-26
NAVAL GUNS 0N
 WESTERN FRONT
 DO GREAT WORK Intended for Cruisers, But Were Deemed Unavail-
 able By Navy. THROWS HEAVIEST OF ALL PROJECTILES Incomparable in Destruc- tion-Shows Record Ac-
 curacy of Range.

WaShlngJOn, Oct. Z5.-DetallS Of the achievement of the Navy Depart ment in making available for use on the western front of the great naval guns, which press dispatches have reported to be hammering the Ger man railways centers back of the Oise-Serre front, were made made public tonight by Secretary Daniels.
 The naval guns, which have been in operation since Sept. 16, original ly were intended for new battle crui- sers. but a change in the design of the vessels left the guns unavailable fol the use.
 Rear Admiral Earle, chief of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance, recommen- ded that the guns be sent to the west ern front and he was directed to pro- ceed with the design and construct ion.
 The guns are manned and operated by officers and men of the United States navy, under the command of Rear Admiral Plunkett, former dir ector of the office of gunnery exer- cises and engineering performance The first party of officers and men to handle the guns arrived in France June 9; the first shipment of material left this country June 20, and the en- tire organization was completed and ready to move to the battle front in France late in August.
 The guns are said to throw heav- fer projectile and have greater muz- zle velocity tha many weapon ever placed on a mobile land mounting.
 The weight of the explosive used with each projectile is many times greater than that used in the freak German long range guns, and in point of their destructive force they are incomparable.
 The organization to man one gun requires an entire train, including the gun car itself, ammunition cars, a crane car, and construction. sand, timber, kitchen fuel, work Jkop berth ing and staff radio cars.
 Many of the cars were especially manufactured by the Standard Steel Car Company, and the locomotives, 83 ton types, with four pairs of drivers were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works.
 One car is a complete machine shop, equipped with forge, lathes grinders and drill presses.
 The gun car as we'll as the ammuni- tion cars are heavily armored 1,6OO square feet of plate being required.
 The gun car Is convertible into a form of pit foundation to make it fire at high angles and it was said the entire process of placing the gun in that position and restoring it to com- plete molibity requires only a few minutes.
 Under it's test on it's steel car moun- ting the gun has shown accuracy of fire at longer ranges than ever be- fore possible with guns of such great calibre.
 Direction of the fire upon any tar get is made possible simply by shift ing the position of the gun mount on the tracks.
 Plans for the gun mountings as we'll as for the trains were worked out at the naval gun factory in Wash ington within 30 days and contracts were let Jan. 25.
 The first gun was completed in Aoril and tests were held at the army "roving ground at Sandy Hook, N. J.. the only field large enough, in the presence of army and navy officials and representatives of the allied gov ernments.
 The training of the men to operate the big guns was of a most intensive nature.
 The gun crews, who are composed of officers from the regular naval fnrnoc ord fhn oc men taken for the most part from the Great Lakes Training station, were employed as inspectors at the plants manufacturing the guns.
 This training combined with ex- perience gained in handling heavy propectiles and power charges at the naval proving grounds Secretary Dan- iels said, made possible the obtaining of thoroughly efficient forces.