The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-04-17
MAKING GOOD ON GUNS

, these guns to supply all the Axneri-
can soldiers without stinting its own
troops. Our war department &C
cepted the offer of the French to
furnish the French machine guns to
our first conungents In Farnce, and
went ahead with the preparations for
quantity production of the new
Browning machine guns that were re-
garded as superior to the French
weapons
The navy had chosen TO use the
English Lewis gum our marines ar
rived in France armed with Lewis
guns. And these guns were also used
in our aeroplane service. On General
Pershing's orders. our marines were
rearmed with the French guns as
better fitted for trench and field ser
vice. The Lewis gun was retained
only for our aeroplane work by the
war department. Any criticism OF the
department for not using Lewis guns
is therefore another criticism made
! in ignorance. The department elect
ed to use the French guns, as a bet
ter weapon than the Lewis and it
choice was sustained by experience
/ in the field
Meanwhile. 10 each cantonment OF
the draft army 1873 rnichine guns OF
different types were delivered for
practice work. before the machine
guns corps were ready for them and
for each camp OF the national guard
$50 machine guns were provided.
Work on the new Browning guns
I proceeded. They proved superior to
both the English and French arms.
and the policy of the ordnance bureau
was justified The English Lewis
weights twenty eight pounds; the
light French gun twenty pounds, the
/ light Brewing fifteen pounds. The
| Browning has stood up under service
tests that si1enced all it's rivals.
| Busted with corrodlng chemicals
and blown full of abrasive metal more
clogging than sand. 1t has continued
to function perfectly The heavier
| browning has similarly outclassed all
competition by firing 10000 rounds
in forty-five minutes and sixteen sec
onds with malfunction. Deliveries OF
the light Browning gun began in Feb
ruary and will reach maximum pro-
| duction in June. when thousands a
week will be turned out. The heav-
ier Browning will come to quantity
production few weeks later
That is to say. our machine gun
program has provided supply of
the best machine guns on the bat
tie felds for our soldiers in France
and it has prepared and brought 10
quantity production still better
/ machine guns TO arm our troops for
( the coming year, 1t has. during the
. year, supplied 1900 machine guns
! to our soldiers AT home and so accel
Grated the manufacture of machine
! Guns in America that instead of 90
600 year we are now producing al
/ the rate OF 225. 900 a year. This is a
record of achievement that cannot he
j discounted by a hurried" reference
TO wooden guns.
/ There remain only the big guns to
! eb considered. IS in the case ot
machine guns, the French and. Brit
/ ish authorities offered to furnish our
eypeditionary forces with heavy ar
! tfilery, in order to place the mini
mum strain on available tonnage. .
/ The offer was accepted Orders foy
| shells and cannon. amounting TO a
! billion and a half dollars. were placed
! i'm England nv our war department in
seven months
Al the same time. our Ordnance
I bureau prepared for the production
. of heavy guns in America It order
/ cd three-inch guns Of 4 new Ameri
/ can model II obtained FROM France
/ facturer OF the famous French guns
, There was no machinery in this coun.
| try capable of making the re~oi
rechanisrns 81 the larger guns For
! these, castings must he fooled witt
! such accuracy that<they will not be