The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-05-13
'MATERIAL" SIDE
OF WINNING VAR
Story of Machine Gun Production By
u. S. Government Is Told in War
Departments Report Just
Submitted.

l ltleS, FURNISH the SuDlfcL VI ShcPVol .
made public to-day Of the war depart.
ments history of the material" side of
winning the war
The story of machine gun production,
about which such hot controversy
waged in Congress as a result OF the
| failure of the American army to adopt
for standard general use the Lewis weap-
on used successfully abroad, is told as
| follows:
"The manufacturing facilities for ma
chine guns in this country were much
more limited in extent than the public
, had any notion of then when the United
| States entered the war; or to-day. We
had at the outbreak Of the war only two
! factories which were actually producing
machine guns in any quantity at all.
1T was therefore evident that we had
TO build up almost completely new
| capacity for productions Nevertheless,
/ we took advantage of what facilities
were at hand and at once, in fact, with
| in a week after the declaration of war,
were placing orders for machine guns.
| In this connection the reader should bear
continually in mind that throughout the
development of machine gun manufac-
/ lure we ublllLeu dil GAicIlHE "
| the limit in addition TO building up new
sources of supply.
| I'm other words, whenever concerns
were engaged in the manufacture of ma
chine guns, whatever their make or type,
we did not stop the production of these
types in these plants and convert the
establishments into factories for making
other weapons; but we had them con-
| tinue the manufacture in which they
were engaged, giving them orders which
would enable them to expand their ia.
cilities in their particular lines of produc-
| tion.n
| The statement shows that the two
Browning guns, the heavy and the light
automatic rife (of the type now in use
! by the troops in France) were pro-
nouneed by the special test board which
held conference in May, 1917, "the most
effective guns of their types known TO
| the members" in addition to being de-
signed for the purpose of quantity pro.
duction At the same test improved
Lewis guns also proved highly efficient
\ and were recommended by the board.
! Subsequently the Lewis guns were shift
ed to aircraft work because of special
1 dHu On VI
General Pershing's staff.
| The report says there was great dearth
OF heavy machine guns for aircraft work
to be syncronized with propellers. This
shortage existed in the French and Brit.
ish services as well as in the American
The Browning aircraft gun would have
met the requirements, but it would be
a long time before it could be produced
1 in quantity. In seeking a stop gap weap.
on until the Browning could be ready,
the ordnance department, by zone of
those surprising and almost accidental
| successes" sometimes encountered, found
that modified Marlin gun which could
be quickly produced met all require
ments. General Pershing cabled in No.
vember, 1918, Marlin guns now rank as
high as any with pilots, and are entirely
satisfactory"
1.-THE first IL American divisions to
| reach France" the report continues,
were armed with Hotchkiss heavy ma
chine guns and Chauchat automatic rifles
| by the French government. More than
| 900 Vickers heavy guns produced in
the United States were traded to the
| French, as they were needed in French
ditNldlb. DufinR Ahhg hlW 0ulits lNloy
III American divisions sailed, all equipped
with Vickers heavy guns built in the
United States, and received Chauchat
rifles in France. After June all divisions
to sail were equipped with the standard
American weapons, the light and heavy
Brownings."
The work of the light Brownings is
declared to have been so spectacular as
compared with any existing weapons of
this character that when they were dem
onstrated in France the officers Of the
American expeditionary force promptly
decided to increase the equipment Of in
fantry troops by so per cent, adding
enormously TO the production burden at
home. The heavy Brownings functioned
SO well that an official report is quoted
telling Of the work of II guns which
were tested Immediately after they had
been engaged with the enemy in severe
action and while they still were encrust.
ed with rust and mud and bearing shrap.
mel sears. Without being cleaned in any
way each gun fired a belt of $50 car.
tridges without malfupction
The demand for light Brownings was
so heavy that when the armistice was
signed the department was driving for
ward production to the end that British,
Belgian and French troops might be
equipped with this weapon, these three
nations having asked for supplies of this
latest American addition TO the fighting
equipment.
Up to Nov. II the production of
Browning rifles was 52,23s, majority
of which were in France. In addition
10000 Chauchat guns had been pur-
chased, so that enough light automatic
rifles were on hand to supply 100 di.
visions or an army of 100000 men. In
the same time al ,s04 heavy Brownings
and enough Vickers guns had been pro.
duced to make with the Hotchkiss weap-
ons purchased from the French total
of 54,627 of this type, or enough to equip
200 divisions or an army of 100000.
AT the peak of our production" the
report says, "a total Of l,T94 machine
guns and automatic rifles of all types
were produced within period of "a
hours and the total production of ma.
chine guns in the United States between
/ April q, 1917, and Nov. IL, 1918, was
l85,039 as against 22q,235 produced by
the French and lSl,4O4 by the British in
the same period.
Only the loyal cooperation of the
manufacturers with whom competitive
commercial advantages weighed not at
all against the national need" made
possible this achievement, the report
states.
Other production struggles described in