Norwich bulletin., 1919-06-07

OldleS Was 1oFSIHS, DeIOre the arn1S- tice was signed, weapons gigantic and powerful, counted upon to make ulti- mate victory certain. In the American artillery program alone, the full frui- tion of which could not have been reached before 1920, there was in ere ation an agency believed by army men here to be of itself able to bring the Victory.
 An official detailed account of that program is contained in report prepar- ed under the direction of Assistant ecretGry Crowell, who was director of munitions during the war.
 The whole story of guns from the S7 nm infantry cannon with its inch and one half bore, designed for use in the front lines of combat to the 16 inch mortar on a railway mount, the story of the extraordinary efforts of Amberican industry to equip an army with artillery on, a >scale never before attempted is graphically pictured. Through it all runs the same spirit of partnership in the war enterprise be- tween industry and the government that made possible such an undertak- ing.
 Among the many interesting things in the report is the account now ef-
 
 pelled the War Department to cast aside except for training purposes all of the 3-inch field artillery with which the American army was equip ped when the United States entered the war, and to substitute for these weapons three types of guns fitted to take ammunition of the 75 nm type employed by the French light pieces There has been much controversy because of the alleged failure to adopt at the outset of the war the French 75, famous for it's performances in the war as the standard Amercan pieces of this type. The report shows that the gun was adopted for combat purposes but that is production in quantity in | the United States proved to be eyeu more of a problem than the govern melt experts had anticipated. For redesigned for 75 ammunition, and the that reason the American 3-inch gun, l the British 3.S-inch field gun similarly rechambered, were boh put into pro duction in order to make use of every l facility for manufacture. The Ameri- primarily for training work and were can and British types were intended so employed. But the wisdom of put ting these guns into production on a quantity scale is emphasized in the fol- 1 lowing para agra ph;
 Tn the wear and one-half of our war experience the manufacturing produc- | tien problems were all practically and completely solved with one exception that of building French hydropneu-
 matic recuperators for the 15mm guns This, perhaps the hardest manufactur- | ing jjob in the whole range of war in- dustrial enterprises. and naturally the last one to come through, had not been solved when the armistice was signed l However, it is only far to state that the solution of this recuperator prob lem was imminent on November IL 1 191S"
 The recuperator is the recoil device
 which makes these French guns what l they are. Their construction was a French secret and to build them there | is required degree Of precision com
 parable only, the report states to that
 necessary in building as delicate ar i instrument as a seXtant. It was with difficulty that any American manu- facturer was persuaded to undertake 1 it, yet on April p, 1919, 67 of these 1 recuperators had been completed and 5 Of these passed by French experts l and. accepted by the government. Thew
 wer tn first of these devices built out of France or by other than the skilled French worlHmen.
 Construction of the guns themselves
 and their carriages went forward i swiftly. Under the agreements the French and British were. to supply the first American armies with all o1 their field artillery and intermediate batteries with the exception of the
 powerful American AT rifle ant howitzer which was taken over b3 the troops and which proved highly effective against German field guns The American expeditionary force received from the French before tht armistice was signed 1882 75n1n guns and 7727 155mm howitzers They had also received from the French 216 155mm rifles and from the British 123 S-inch howitZers witt 10 9.2 inch howitzers completed anC tready for delivery. Additional con tracts were made with the Britisf l for 3Q2 howitzers of 6-inch calibrt for delivery by April 1919.
 To fill their own factories witt forgings for guns, both French ant
 British were drawing heavily oi American industry when the United
 States entered the war. These ord
 CTS were not interfered with, but or
 the contrary were stimulated anf
 expanded in order, that the United
 States might furnish forgings il
 trade for completed guns and at thu i same time create a wholly new
 source of supply for the bulk of it
 own artillery program. The rePor
 srows that between April, 1917, an'
 the conclusi-n of hostilities thN'
 were supplied to the Allies forging for 1102 guns of calibres rangin!
 from 3-inch to 9.5-inch; additiona
 gun tuge forgings to the extent o
 14,623 and shell forgings totallini 5,018.451.
 There were only four gun maker
 in the United States when the coun
 try entered the contest but by Dc
 tober, 1918, there were 19 factorie
 engaged on this work. During tha month, with three of the 19 factorie still lacking their complete equip ment, there were produced 2,031 gu, forgings of calibres up to 9.5-inc or at a rate of 24000 guns a yea as compared to the capacity for ,
 finished weapons a year in tht ,, Spring of 1917.
 The actual production of complet , ed guns up to December, 1919, wa :, 4,039, including 1913 of 75mm cali bre; 230 of the 3-inch anti-aircraf 5 type; 21S of the 4.7inch type; 1,45 : of the 155mm. howitzers; 129 of tn and 2 of the monhter French 240mr , nm howitzers which would have sup :, planted the smaller British guns 0