Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-02-19
One of the greatest aids in infantry
attack was the Browning light machine
gun, weight IS pounds, fred thus.

vcntions that grew out of the war The
Allies, confronted with the problem of re-
sisting gas attacks, developed the masks so
that they would protect the soldiers from
death in agony when they came into con-
tact with the poisons.
The tank also was a war invention. 1t
was the work of the British, who developed
it from an idea obtained from a common
farm tractor built in Peoria, ILL., One of the
English officers saw the tractor in opera
ton on farm near London, and he applied
the principle to the tank.
The caterpillar tractor similarly was a war
development. 1t is, in sense, a second
cousin to the tank, with similar motive
power and wheels capable of negotiating all
kinds of terrain.
Caterpillar tractors, with their funny
beted wheels. now are used for hauling
heavy guns, mounted on carriages, the
wheels of which are constructed in the
same fashion They haul powerful search
lights used at night to find the enemy; they
pull the ammunition wagons over the hills
and through the streams they bring up the
baggage from the rear. Some of them.
built to seat score of soldiers make fast
speed across country in advances against a
rctreating foe.
These tractors have taken the place Of
the old time army mule. They are pieces Of
mechanism that never balk-power driven
pieces of machinery that form integral parts
of the great army which is little more than
a machine itself.
Tracer ammunition is a development Of
the world war. In the main this is intended
to assist in aerial combat but it also has
been applied to machine guns and other
guns fired from the ground This new type
of ammunition enables those engaged In
firing to follow the course of the shots. so
that aim may be corrected when it is out
of line.
In the ordinary machine gun, for example,
one out Of every five bullets-the percentage
varies-is Of the tracer type, constructed so
as to send off a fine smoke which is visible
to the naked eye and permitting, thereby,
an accurate following of the bullet. If the
aim Is inaccurate it may be corrected.
This development came about when ma
chine guns operating from airplanes were
rendered useless, almost, by the inability
Of the operator to trace the FIRE. 1t was a
need the army saw and many army en-
gneers took a hand in the work of finding
something to overcome the difficulty.
Similarly a development, direct result of
the war, was the aircraft machine gun itself.
The perfection of this weapon is especially
interesting since one of the problems en-
countered was TO prevent a jarring of the
airplane, due to the recoil of the gun This
was overcome by firing a powder charge
from the rear of the gun, to neutralize the
recoil.
In addition to this gun was devised so
that it might be fired through the swiftly
moving propeller blades, without hitting
them. The airplane of course offers a re-
stricted firing base. Due to the tail and to
the wings the most advantageous place for
firing is from the forward part through the
propellers.
The war also brought about the develop
mont OF the Browning machine gun and
tho perfection of the Lewis machine gun,
which modern weapons hold an important
place in the list of armament on the west
ern front.
Ordnance officers for many years have
been and still are, in fact, experimenting
with fuse attachments for shells. They
doubt IL they ever will be able to find a per-
feet fuse, for, as they put it, such thing
would be mind reader fuse" The result
IS that different fuses are required for
different work.
OF all the fuses the army had when the
war came on none OF them was found TO be
suitable for anti-aircraft fire. The ordinary
fuses would not do because they were