The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-01-16
FRENCH PEOPLE
WANT GERMAN
big BERTHA
Would Have It Stand i'm the
Famous "Place de la
COncOrde"
AVIATORS SOON
LOCATED BIG GUNS
Secret of the Gun Lay in the
Invention of Special

= Paris, Dec. 15-(Correspondence
of The Associated Press).-The
French people want one of the Ger
man "Big- Berthas" or supercannon
which bombarded Paris to display IN
the Place de la Concorde as a souve-
mir of German frightfulness that fail
ed of it's purpose to destroy French
morale.
The armistice does not stipulate
that one of these instruments shall be
surrendered but there is movement
to urge the government to demand
it. There is no expectation that the
Germans will include one of these
weapons among the $500 guns they
are required to give up under the
armistice.
Facts obtained by military experts
show that the first guns that fired
upon Paris on March %, last, num-
bered three. They were installed near
MONTH ole, in the forest of Saint Co
balm. Two were on the same railroad
spur leading out of Laon while the
third was little further east in the
vicinity of Creepy.
According to the latest information
the guns were pointed at an angle of
more than 65 degrees, a charge Of
three hundred pounds Of powder pro-
pelling the projectile to a height of
one hundred thousand feet (nearly
10 miles) on its murderous mission to
Paris. With every shot ten or twelve
marine guns of sixteen or seventeen
inch calibre fired simultaneously up
on targets unknown in order to con-
ceal the location of supercannon. the
shell was of 210 millinetre calibre
(about eight. inches). 1t weighed
three hundred pounds but the charge
of explosive contained therein varied
between thirty and forty pounds.
In the manufacture of the shell
resided an innovation of the Germans.
It is said to have been made of spec
ial steel treated with tungsten so as
to offer the maximum of resistance
for minimum of weight. The guns
only protection was in camouhage
and it proved to be no protection at
all as allied aviators soon located
them. There is a report that several
aviators, Americans, French, British,
lost their lives in locating the first
three Berthas in the forest of st. Co
balm but upon that point officials are
silent.
However on March 27 one of the
Berthas was blown up by an aerial
torpedo which tore hole in the
ground more than so feet in diane
ter, photograph of which has been
taken. The second was put out of
business in the last days of April,
while the third of the original three
was silent in May
1t is now asserted that two of these
guns were remodeled into a larger
callbre, nine-inch, and that these re-
modelled guns were the ones which
resumed the shelling of Paris late in
May last.
Subsequently the Germans succeed
ed in utilizing larger calibred guns
for long distance firing for, in Aug
ust, they used a marine gun from
near scissors, firing twelve and a
half inch she'll. They were prepar-
ing to subject Paris to an intensive
bombardment, such as Dunkirk had
to suffer when they were driven out
of their Scissors Chateau Thierry
line by the ter-offensive of the
Allies.
Commandant Mirbel, the military
expert, who organized the Turkish
artillery before the Germans assum-
ed charge of the military affairs OF
that country. told The Associated
Press that the whole secret of the
German Ions: distance gun lay in the
invention of special high explosive
powder which could only be used ir
guns constructed with a special steel
OF extraordinary resisting power. The
Germans had commenced the general.
ization of the process and they were
manufacturing several Guns similar
to their scissors one but Marsha,
Foch's offensive deranged their plans