New-York tribune., 1918-09-08
ME smoke screen which has been
used at sea to confound the Ger
: man scanning the waves through

man scanning the waves through
the U-boat periscope has been
adapted for use in land warfare A
writer in The Illustrated World" credits
the perfection of this land screen to the
Americans, and recounts how it foiled the
enemy:
"The smoke shell is said TO be the product
Of British ingenuity, but it took the Amer
lean to make it one of the dangerous
weapons of the war. Originally an ex-
pertinent, and not taken seriously either
by the British themselves or by the Huns
across No Mans Land it soon dropped into
disuse, only to be jerked out of the discard
by the Yankee and awarded it's rightful
place alongside its busy little brother
shells, high explosive shrapnel and gas
Encouraged by the excellent results
obtained in using smoke screens to con-
protect the maneuvring sea fighters
against accurate observation by enemy
sunners, the British set about to devise
land smoke screen, or barrage, for the pro-
lection Of their soldiers
Smoke projectors were first tried, but
soon proved themselves ineffective and
certain They were as likely to blind
friends as foes
"Sm0ke shells were next in order, but
still greater difficulties were encountered
With them BY the use Of heavy crude oil
1t was an easy matter to food great clouds
Of heavy smoke out of the snokestAcks Of
mannuvrng cruisers, but this method
utterly impracticabe with sheIls- The smoke
viii have to be the result not of physical,
but of a chemical action.
First heavy blush black smoke was
produced, but this was so much lighter
thsn air that it burst upward with the
poding of the she'll. The scientists next
evolved a eraysh greenish smoke. the
result Of a different combin alton of chem
icals but this clung too close to the
ground, following the habit of the deadly
German gas, and filtered into the trenches
and shell holes 1t seldom offered screen
OF greater height than twelve or fifteen
ieet~ This was practically worthless
FINALLY, however, there was developed
brownish smoke that will hang TO the
ground for Il few minutes and then float
slowly upward thus furnishing most
effective screen. But it had two faults.
flrst, II required chemicals that were hard
10 get IN large quantities and thnt we're
prohlbltlvely expensive, and, SECOND, gas
was produced at the same time that made
dangerous curtain through which TO attack
SO the British gave it up as bad job,
or at least said nothing further OF their
experiments along this line, and practically
discontinued the use Of smoke shells
10 the Americans, however, it seemed
'nat tne British had great idea, and they
started few experiments of their own
@ong TINS line. Not long since they came
o"' with smoke shell the smoks Of which
apparently had all tho physical features of
nrtaln's last product, but without it's chem
'ea' and financial objections, the only diff
Terence being that within minute after
me shell exploded the smoke started to
ascend clearing from the ground
10 onset this lifting Of the fng belt, the
A"ercans have resorted to ErsgIant's SEQ
una dscovery-the greenish smoke that
"0sged the ground SO condensation bar
iage OF the greenish and brown1sh smokes
assures thick smoke screen that win float
Upward Tor thousand feet or more offer
"'s ample protection to the troups that
advance behind it.
ru'tlng down a smoke barrage enough to
souuce such curtain naturally requires
~ snfcwing OF great many shells. thou
Isau 1s OF them in fist. and battery must
constantly opping more shells to