The sun., 1919-03-05
EIGHTY MILE GUN
WAS MEYER USED
"Winston Churchill's Pet''
Had a Few Pills for
Cologne.
Special Correspondence to THE suS.


LONDON, Feb. 24.-Since Dora" the
British defence Of the realm act, lost
her sting stories OF mystery ships and
strange happenings in the war have
been published but at least one other
story remains to be told. 1t concerns
Winston Churchill's pet" as the proud
artisans of Sheffield named 1t.
'winston's Pet is not a mystery ship
or anything OF the sort that puts out to
sea. but a great land gun to Bertha
the notorious German big Bertha" 1t
was so called because the Minister OF
Munitions had set his heart on having
this gun Just to show those Germans
what the British can do when they
want to. When the Minister made his
last great muntion tour a few weeks
before the armlstice was signed he was
able to see his brand new pet on the
stocks in the famous vickers works
ready for going forth to battle. The
boys had chalked In conspicuous
place on the housing: 'Winstons Pet.
To Beat the Huns"
Standing beside this toy of a gun
one felt a mere pygmy or like a mi
crobe in a world of matter. The width
across the breech end was almost as
great as a moderate sized man Is tall.
and the length of the barrel was eighty
three feet or more. She was said au-
thorttatively TO be capable of-flring a
shell eighty miles. Others presumed to
be we'll informed said that she would be
destructive beyond that distance.
Monster Remained voiceless.
She was. as far as an interested lay
man could judge. made on almost identi-
cal lines with the mammoth naval super
guns of which Sheffield has produced
many, but with the vital difference that
double strength had been put into the
barrel by the addition of another inner
tube 80 that she would fire an eight inch
shell instead OF a fifteen inch shell. The
breech charge apparently remained the
same, SO that the same explosive force
used to propel a fifteen inch shell was
behind the lesser and much lighter pro-
jectile. These conditions. therefore, ap-
parently gave the gun its wonderful
range.
'winston's" eye beamed with delight
az he walked up and down and round
the gun and viewed it's splendid points
and marvelled at the engineering skill
that, could fashion such monster from
masses OF rough steel
II was not difficult to imagine with
what delight the gunners would watch II
bark shells on the Rhine town--Cologne
for preference-for that was what every
body, and men VINO were likely to know,
said 1t was to do. Alas, for all the en-
thusiasm and skill and hope Sheffield
workers and Sheffield captains of in
dustry had put into the new creation.
"Winston's Pet" never had the chance to
speak to the Germans She had not been
gone long for her trials when the ar
mistice was declared. The making of
the gun was a marvel of Trotanllke ac-
tivities. and undoubtedly when the full
story Is told 1t will in this respect alone
prove a roma nee OF the great war.
England. largely through Sheffield,
has been always miles in advance of
Germany with the power, range and
quality Of naval guns.
zeppelins Found the Range.
Talking of Sheffield guns and war, 1t
is permissible now to state that n Yep
among the Yorkshire hills and bonn
barded 1t. On the night of the raid,
September 25 and 26, 1916, the Zeppe-
lin missed the city, but found It's bear
ings by naked light left faring all the
time on railway siding in the bonn
barded area. 1t returned over the city,
passing harmlessly from northwest to
east. over or near the barracks. the large
gas works and the great electric power
station to the east end, and then crossed
right through the heart OF the armament
works.
Despite wild rumors that were afioat
In the country at the time not a penny
worth of military damage was done.
Two bombs dropped harniessy In the
open yard of the worli famed arma-
rlr5 10 IDk,