New Britain herald., 1925-06-13
ARMY EXPERTS ID
 REFORM INFANTRY
More Efficient Arm for This
 Branch Wanted

Washington, June 1S (LH) - Army ordnance experts are attempt ing 10 solve the shoulder semi-auto- matic rife problem through devel- opment of a new type Of reduced caliber weapon. This would increase by one-third the amount of ammu- milton that can be provided in front lines for the gun without any in crease in weight.
 J. D. Pederson, inventor and pro- duction engineer, has been employed for some time at Springfield armory to turn out the new gun, known as the seYen-millimeter gun, and war department reports already show important advantages claimed for the weapon as compared to the two types of standard 80 caliber shoul- der automatics with which the eX- perts are also experimenting. The new gun Is .276 caliber as com pared to the 80 service ammuni- 1 ton standard.
 The practical disadvantage of adding new caliber of ammuni- ton to the supply line burdens are fully realized, and may ultimately prevent adoption of the even-mil- 1 limeter gun. As the army is now | equipped, only the regular 80 cali l Der cartridges are needed for all 1 rifles and machine guns, and troops IA |. {. ,z,, | from any depot or dump. This is a | very high power, long range type l of ammunition, and not suited to | the probable short range use fore seen in war for shoulder semi-au- tomatics. Furthermore, it has been found that far better results in the way of sustained fire, economy oi weight, and other particulars can be obtained with the seven-m -milli- meter caliber.
 l One point already established is that the design of the Pederson seyen-millimeter affords the best yet attained by ordnance experts for quick quantity production. There is no reason to doubt" the ! official report states, but that it will be easier and cheaper to put into production than any weapon l hitherto designed"
 The new gun is built for a range of 1000 yards, which is declared to i be the maximum distance at which rapid sustained rife fire would ever be required. Beyond that range heavy machine gun fire with regu- lar 80 ammunition would be re- sorted to. as the shoulder gun is de- signed only for use against visible targets. The gun is the equivalent in weight and size of the present Springfield army rife. It loads with a ten-cartridge clip, eJecting the clip automatically with the las
 shot and the gun and $40 rcundl
 of ammunition have the same weight as the regular Springfield
 rife and 220 rounds Of service am.
 intuition. Because of the reduced
 powder charge and consequent re
 duced heating effect, 1t can be fret
 more rapidly and for a greate
 length of time without heating thai
 either the Thompson or Gerand .3
 caliber guns, and is also said to b
 free Of lubricating and other me
 chanical difficulties which make tn
 bigger guns subject to trouble un der hard service conditions.
 The point still to be worked ou
 by experts is whether the smale bullet has sufficient shock effect { , stop a man not hit in vital spo
 The seyen-millimeter bullet weigh
 l25 grains, as compared to 15 grains for the present 50 calbe . service bullet, and the 172 graf , new model bullett for long rang fire.
 Twenty Thompson shoulder gur , and 21 Gerand weapons have bee s ordered for service test at the ir fantry school Fort Benning. Tn Peterson weapon also will be full ? tested out by the infantry befor .. any decision is reached as 10 tn : semt-automatic type to be adopte { as the service standard.