Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-05-19
SMALL ARMS BY
MILLIONS MADE
BY j. s. IN WAR
Ammunition Turned Out ByI
Billion Rounds and Tanks
By the Thousands to Equip
Great American Army,


lev MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LFIsEp wiREl
Washington. May lS.-Machine
guns and small arms produced by the
millions, ammunition turned out by
billions of rounds and tanks built by
thousands when the armistic ended
hostilitles, furnish the subject of
chapters made public today of the
war departments history Of the ma
terial' side of the winning of the
war.
The story of machine gun produc-
ton, about which such hot contro-
versy waged in congress as result
of the failure of the American army
TO adopt for standard general use the
Lewis weapon used successfully
abroad, is told as follows:
The manufacturing facilities for
machine guns in this country were
much more limited in extent than the
public had any notion of them (when
the United States entered the war; or
today. 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 a completely
new capacity for production Never
theless, we took advantage of what
facilities We're at hand; and at once
in fact within week after the decla-
ration of war, were placing orders for
machine guns. In this connection the
reader should bear continually in
mind that throughout the develop
ment of machine gun manufacture we
utilized all existing facilities to the
limit in addition to building up new
sources of supply.
In other words, whenever con-
Germs were engaged in the manufac-
ture of machine 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 weap-
ons; but we had them continue the
manufacture in which they were en-
gagged, giving them orders which
would enable them to expand their
facilities in their particular lines of
production"
The statement shows that the two
Browning guns. the heavy and the
light automatic rifle (of the type now
in use by the troops in Franco were
pronounced by the specia! test board
which held a conference IN May,
1918, the, most effective guns Of their
dition to being designed for the pur-
pose of quality production. At the
same test improved Lewis guns also
proved highly efficient and were rec
commended by the board. Subsequent
ly the Lewis guns were shifted to air
craft work because of special adapt
ability and on recommendation of
General Persh;ng'S staff
Few Machine Guns
The report says there was great
dearth of heavy machine guns for air.
craft work, to be syncronized with
propellers. This shortage existed in
the French and British services as
well as in the American. The Brown
ing aircraft gun would have met the
requirements, but it would be a long
time before it could be produced in
quantity. In seeking ston gap
weapon until the Browning could be
ready, the ordnance department by
'one of those surprising and almost
accidental SsucCesses" sometimes en-
countered found that a modified Mar
lin gun which could be quickly pro-
duced met all requirements. General
Pershng cabled in November, 1918:
Marlin guns now rank as high as any
with pilots, and are entirely satsfac-
tori"
1.-THE first twelve American divi-
sions to reach France" the report
continues, were armed with Hotch-
kiss heavy machine guns and Chau-
chat automatic rifles by the French
government. More than 900 VickerI
heavy guns produced in the United
States were traded to the French as
they were needed in French aircraft
During NAY and June, 1918. eleven
American divisions sailed, all equipped
with Vickers heavy guns built in the
United States, and received Chauchat
rifles in France. After June all divi-
sions 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 weap-
ons of this character that when they
were demonstrated in France the Of
ficers of the American expeditionary
force promptly decided to increase the
equipment of infantry troops by so
per cent, adding enormously to the
production burden at home. ThS
heavy BroWnngs functioned so well
that an official report is quoted tell
ing of the work of seventeen guns
which were tested Immediately after
they had been engaged with the
enemy in severe action and while they
still were encrusted with rust and
mud and bearing shrapnel scaN.
Without being cleaned in any way
each gun fired a belt of $50 cartridges
without a malfunction.
Brownings i'm Demand.
The demand for light Brownings
was so heavy that when the armistice
was STONED tho deDa rtmenf waS driy
ing forward 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 addi-
ton to the fighting equipment.
Up to November / the production
of Browning rifles was 52,238, a ma
jority of which were in France. In
addition $4,000 Chauchat guns had
been purchased, so that enough light
automatic rifles were on hand to sup
ply 100 divisions or an army of $780,
600. In the same time 4t,S04 heavy
Brownngs and enough Nickers guns
had been produced TO make the
Hotchkiss weapons purchased from
the French. total of 50 ,621 of this
type, or enough to equip 200Aivisions
or any army of 100000.
AT the peak of our production
the report says, "a total of 1874 ma
chine guns and automatic rifles of all
types were produced within period
of twenty four hours and the total
production of machine guns in the
United States between April 6, 1917,
and November II, 1918, was 1876, 1888
French ana 1S1, 4O4 by the British in
~ I'D