New-York tribune., 1918-07-17

conceals multitude of virtues
One of its chief uses is against MA
t,iIe cnime gun .emplacements-the concrete
pill boxes" first developed bv tho Ger-
mcns in Flanders during the British
atIacKs OF last year and now uniyer-
sally used over the front. At 1900
metres single high-explosive she'll,
wnlcn Is little longer than the armor
o. p'lcrclng type, will go straight thrnug,.
me loophole OF pill box, destroy It;
machine gun, and kill the crew. 4
few more shots will close the loon,
holes cn,'rely. The "s7" will iis har.'ty apop
pulversize the whole empiacemnn,
mat takes Mt least "7n'--but i. wi;
put 1t 1emlorrr,ly out of bus;,..>
The "37" is also handy weanon
against working parties, observation
posts, Tor enfilading down trench
and tor use, like heavy machine gun.
N m tne short rushes of an offensive.
,Nlnety.fve per cent of it's work is done
oy nolrect hre, when the gun pointer
Is directed by telephone from an OBJ
server, or even two of them, out
ahead: Even under these conditions,
though 1T is not an automatic weapon.
lts mechanism is so simple that it can
hre as fast as the Enfield rifle. IF
mere speed is required and the gun
does not have to be aimed it is good
Tor shot second
A Gun Without a Tool
The little cannon is issued in threes
to each regiment of infantry, in
present proportion of one to each two
trench mortars. 1t is moved to the
battle line by mules, but as it only
weighs ITS pounds, including the trail
1t can be readily transported by it's
own crew. It's accompanying ammuni-
ton cart carries fourteen boxes of six
teen rounds each. The crews like this
gun because it is swift, accurate, hard
hitting and because it is "a gun with
out tool It's parts are standardized
and interchangeable and it can be read
ily repaired right on the field. And as
for wear-well. some of these pieces
which have fired 10000 rounds apiece
are still on the firing line.
The "37" is now being manufact-
ured in the United States alone. The
design is French-model 1916-devel-
oped and improved from a piece first
used away back in 1885. The French
have had the greatest success with
it and all American infantry abroad
carry it as a regular part of their
equipment. We even have two schools
for instruction in this particular
"eaPoH - one III InlS country and
one in France.
Swift developments of a year of in
tensivc warfare have assured an ex-
traordinary future for the infantry
cannon. No less an authority than Cen
Temps" has stated that more than any
other factor a wide use of infantry
cannon was responsible for the great
German success in Picardy. Reliable
information received in Washington
reveals that the Germans used these in
calibres up to n mm., which is about 3
inches. In the mist the Germans,
intiltrating. the British line past Cen
eral Coughs machine gun emplace.
ments, were able to drag their smaller
infantry cannon along and so attack
the British from the rear. unques-
tionably the Allies were surprised by
the numbers in which these cannon
were used but it may be stated that
in the future the balance of production
will rest against the Germans. And
the chief dependence of the Allies in
this type of weapon will be upon the
37~mm. gun.
No doubt it will be modified and de-
veloped as special requirments arise.
For instance, gun of this design
would not add to the comfort of low
flying aeroplanes swooping down to at
tack infantry. Nor would it take more
than couple of shots from some es-
pecially designed type of small calibre
gun mounted on an Allied plane to dis
pose of one of the so-called "hying
tanks" which brought down Lieutenant
Lufbery.
Beyond question the "37" will come
more and more into prominence And
whether or not it fulfils every sanguine
expectation for it's specialization, it
will always stop a German tank.