New-York tribune., 1919-05-14
In Latter Stage of War
American Output Was As
slming Formidable Pro-
portions in Quick Time
Intricate Problems Met
Although French Led in
Artillery, Railway Va
riety Originated Here

WASHINGTON, May 13.-The part
the United States played in the Allied
production of railway artillery and
mobile artillery for use in the war
zone, and particularly the work done
by the Ordnance Department of the
army toward this tedious end, is de-
scribed in a report compiled at the di-
rection Of the Assistant Secretary Of
War, Benedict Crowell, and given out
to-day in Washington.
The report says:
"As soon as war was declared against
Germany the Ordnance Department, in
it's search for an immediate equip
ment Of strong artillery, surveyed the
ordnance supplies of the country and
discovered 464 heavy guns which might
be spared from the seacoast dcfnces,
obtained from the navy or comman.
deered at private ordnance plants
where they we're being manufactured
for foreign goveruments. There were
six guns of this last-named class
powerful twelve-inch weapons which
had been produced for the Chilean
government. 1t was seen that if all, or
If large part, Of these guns could be
made available for service in France,
America would quickly provide for
herself a heavy artillery equipment of
formidable proportions.
Idea Original With United States
"The guns thus available for mount
ing on railway cars ranged in size from
the seven-inch guns of the navy to the
single enormous sixteen-inch howitycr
which had been built experimentally by
the American Ordnance Department
prior to 1917. The Ordnance Depart
ment conceived that the only way to
make these guns available for use
aoroad would be to mount them on rail
way cars.
MOUNTING heavy artillery on railway
cars, however, was not an idea born
OF the recent war. The idea was prob
ably originally American. The Union
forces at the siege of Richmond in 1863
mounted thirteen-inch cast-iron NOR
tar on reinforced fiat car, this being
the hrst authenticated record of the
use OF heavy railway artillery.
I'm 1913 the commanding officer of
the defences of the Potomac, which
comprise Forts Washington and Hunt.
was wa called upon to report on, the con-
altlon OF these dcfences. He advised
that no further expenditure be made
on any one of the fixed defences. but
recommended that strategic rail
road be built along the backbone of
tne 5!1 peninsula from Point Lookout to
Washington, with spurs leading to pre-
determined positions both on Chesa-
peake Bay and the Potomac River. so
piaced as to command approaches to
washington and Baltimore.
Three General Types
The three general types Of railway
mounts adopted were those which gave
the gun all-around fire (36O-degree
ttrayerse), those which provided linn
lted traverse for the gun, and those
winch allowed no lateral movement for
the gun on the carriage, but were used
on curved track, or epis, to give the
weapons traverse aim.
The work of providing railway ar
ullefy grew into such an important
undertaking that it enlisted the exclu-
slVe s attentlon Of large section within
the Ordnance Department This Or
ganlzation eventually found itself en-
saged IN ten major construction prof.
ects, winch, in time, had the war con-
tlnued, would have delivered more than
guy OF these monster weapons to the
ne'd IN france, and, to a lesser extent,
70 the railway coast defences of the
United States. ~
The Mobile Field Guns
Each mobile field gun or nrosrec-
tive one had to be rendered mobile in
the field and it had to be equipped
WITH ~rtda M mechanism to take up the retro
grace snock Of firing (the 'kick) and
TO prevent the weapon from leaping
out of aim at discharge. Carriage and
Secuperator, or recoil mechanism, to-
getner are known as the mount. -
y, In the war period-Aprl s, 1911, to
November II, l91S-the United States IS
produced zoos complete artillery units,
as against 1885 turned out by France
and S'o65 completed by Great Britain
IN the same period In those nineteen
months were turned out 4,275 gun
bodies, while in. the same months
Britain 1852"