El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-22

! March 10, when It fired only one shot
I and then stopped. Il was then taken
I away and the defect discovered and
] remedied- Two days later il was
] tested again and since that time it has
shot 6394 cartridges, including the
misfire.
These shots were made by a large
number Of different people who have
visited the factory TO test the gun.
understand that the same percentage
Of efficiency has been shown in the
other BrOWnings so far made. In the
government tests one gun fired 90
600 shots in 4S minutes and Is sec
Onds.
This gun was the heavy Browning
Il weighs about "a pounds when
ready for action, and with the tripod
little less than so pounds. so that 10
can be easily moved about from place
TO place by a couple Of soldiers.
It is a water cooled gun. as I shall
describe farther on. and is made to
be used from the trenches OF at any
place where 1t can be put on the tri-
pod or have a support
Light Browning Gun.
In addition 20 this we have the light
Browning automatic rifle. which is
air cooled, and weighs only Is pounds.
This is fed by clips, each Of which
contains 20 cartridges. and IL is so
light that If can be fired from the
shoulder, although the usual way is
from the hip. against which Il IS sup
ported by a strap over the shoulders.
This gun is so light that the men
can use II in the rush over the top,
and in this respect there is nothing
that compares with it except the
French Hell-cat or Chauchat. which
weighs four pounds more, and is not
as efficient
The light Browning can send off
en-
the whole 20 shots can be fired in two
seconds, and another clip put in in a
few seconds more. 1t has been shot
at the rate OF 500 a minute II is abb
soluteIy a new thing in firearms and
it is now made only in the United
Description Of Newest Gun.
Tt IS difficult TO describe the mod
ern machine gun 1t is a rifle that
works by machinery il has a single
barrel just like that OF the regular
army rifle. The cartridges are just
the same as those used in the rifle
and they are sent forth from the muz-
zle at the rate Of 400 20 1000 shots
per minute.
The motive power Of the machinery
is the explosion The first shot that
goes Off gives the force that fires the
second. and The second the force for
the third. and so on IL must work
exactly. for the operations are per-
formed in the fraction Of a second or
in the splitting again and again Of a
watch tick.
Every shot in the stream Of lead
has to give the force which brings the
next cartridge into place and 20 move
the spring which fires IL and in turn
starts another. In some kinds Of ma
chine guns the force is the kick or
recoil Of the explosion, and in others
IL is the gas which flies back
through a tiny hole in the barrel
working a piston just like the gas in
the cylinder Of an automobile
The wonderful thing about II is
that it does this at the rate OF hun
dreds Of times TO the minute and that
the same gun viii keep Up this action
for thousands Of times without miss
Ing fire.
No PerceptibIe Kick.
In the heavy Browning which I shot
there was no perceuble kick The
tripod remained perfectly steady, and
my arm was not Jared. In this re-
spect the light Browning is some
what different, and for that reason IL
is fired from the hip. The gun may
he used also from an airplane. and il
can be speeded up TO 1000 shots per
minute
The speed with which the bullets
fly forth from the heavy machine
guns causes an enormous friction. and
the barrel would be red hot in a min
keeping 1t cool
For this reason there is a tube con- I
tanning water around the barrel Of
the heavy Browning 1t is known as
the water jacket, and IL holds seven
and one-half pints. After the first
500 cartridges the water is boiling.
and every 1000 shots thereafter I
causes the evaporation Of one pint Of
water.
The guns can be shot as long as
water is kept in the jacket The cart
ridges are fed to the gun in a belt OF
cotton through which they are stuck
much like pins in a paper There are
$50 cartridges in each belt. and the
gun automatically moves them, shoot
ing out the bullets as long as you
press the trigger.
II takes but an instant 20 start IN a
new belt and the shooting can 20 on
as long as the supply OF cartridges
lasts
Are Easily Taken Apart.
The new Browning gun has almost
4 VTO Go.