Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-02-03
"HOW BIG BERTHAS
B0MBARDED PARIS"
Two of the Guns Destroyed by
French Aviators. Capital Wants
Supcrcannon to Exhibit.

Paris, Dec Is I5-~Correspondence Of
the Associated Pres. The French peo-
pie want one Of the German "Big
Berthas' or supercannon which bonn
bardcd Paris to display in the Place dc
la Concorde as souvenir of German
frightfulness that faled--its purpose TO
destroy French morale.
The armlstice does not stIpulate that
one of these Instruments shall be sur
rendered, but there is n 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 armistico.
Facts obtained by military experts
show that the first guns that fred upon
Paris on March ~ last. numbered three.
They were installed near Mont-Joie. in
the forest Of Saint Gobain. Two were
on the same railroad spur leading out OF
Laon while the third was a little further
cast in the vicinity of Cregy.
According To the latest information,
the guns were pointed at an angle of
more than &c degrees, charge of 300
pounds of powder propeling the projec-
tile TO height of ,0n feet (nenrIy
nineteen miles, on its murderous mis-
sum III I VI - WIN fftfN rtiiA ittl w
twelve marine guns of sixteen or seven
tsen-inch calihrc fred simultaneously
upon targets unknown in order 10 con-
zeal the location Of supercannon. The
shell was n 2l0-mlllmeter calibre fabout
eight inchcs(. II weighted 300 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 II is sald
10 have been made ot special steel
treated with tungsten, So as IN offer
the maximum Of resistance for mint
mum of weight The guns only pretec
tion was in camoufape and IL proved ta
be no protection at al as allied avlators
soon located them. There Is report
that several aviators, Americans. French,
British. lost their lives in locating the
rst three Bcrthas in the forest of Vt
Gnbaln. but upon that point officials are
silent.
However, on March - one Of the
Bcrthas was blown NJ by an aerial tor
pedo which tore hole III thc ground
more than fifty feet III diameter, photo
graph Of which has been taken. The
second vas put ont of business IN the
last days of April, while the third of the
original three was silenced IN May,
II is now asserted that two Of these
guns werc rcmodcled into larger
calihrc, nine-inch and that these rernod-
cled guns were the ones which resumed
the shelling of Paris late IN Nav last.
subsequently the Germans succeeded
in utilizing larger calihred guns for long
distance ifing for IN August they used
a marine gun from near Solssons, ring
a twelve and half-lnch she'll. They
were preparing 10 subject Paris to an
intensive bombardmcnt such rs Dunklrh
had to suffer when they we're driven out
Of thclr ~onsons-C ChateAu- hlcrry line by
the countrr-oilcnsivc Of the Allies
Commandant Mirbei, the military ex-
pert who organized the Turkish artIl-
lery before the Germans assumed charge
Ct the military affairs of that country,
told the Associated Press that the whole
secret OF the German long-elistance gun
lay IN the invention Of 4 special hlgn
explosive powder which could only be
used in guns constructed with a special
steel Of extraordinary resisting power.
The Germans had commenced the gen
cralization Of the process and they Were
manufacturing several guns similar TO
their Soissons one. but Marshal Foch
offensive deranged their plans.