The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-06-07
BIGGER, DEADLY
GUNS FOR THE
AMERICAN ARMY
Build the Movement
Against Imperialist
War Preparations

War Preparations
The intensive Improvement OF the
United States Army as a killing ma
chine is recorded in the Quarter
master Generals report for the year
1882, An improved .30-csliber rifle
for the infantry has been perfected
in the Springfield Arsenal and the
Ordnance Department has ordered
30 guns of this type for extensive
tests with view to its general in
PRODUCTION as standard equipment for
the entire army.
The 75-miliimeter field gun of the
artillery has been improved consider
ably giving it a lateral range of rs
degrees, while the old wooden artil-
lery wheels have been replaced b,F
pneumatic truck tires, This gives the
field artillery high speed in trans
porting the gun batteries
The carriage of the M-191a six
incNN field gun has been improved to
allow Of high speed traction. The
same is being done for the 9l7 inch
howit7ers.
New High Explosive Shell.
Tests of new 15-lb high-ex-
plosive shell for the rs millimeter
MI gun show that the guns maxi
mum range with the new projectile
has been increased to ~ miles All
the active artillery batteries have
been equipped with the new rs MILL
meter MI howitzer The anti-air
craft 3-inch M-lsl7 gun has been
uoderniged by the improvement Of
automatic fuse-setting equipment.
Mechanical Cavalry.
The mechanization Of the cavalry
forces is going ahead with giant
strides. There are three mai or types
Of equipment now in use; the basic
type being the light cavalry tanks
of the Christie type. These light
tanks-wheel and caterpillar traction
can average 30 to 40 miles an hour
on good roads, while the change from
wheels to caterpillar traction can be
effected in IS minutes. Even on
caterpillar tread these tanks can
travel 20 to Is miles an hour cross
country, without any roads, travers-
ing swamps. stes1 slopes, narrow riv-
ers, cross trenches and speedily cross
underbruSh country.
The second group includes the ar
mored cars equipped with machine
guns, naine-throwers or light field
guns. They are as fast as the first
group on roads, but cannot cross
fields. as they are wheel-equipped
The third group includes armored
cars, somewhat like group 2.
All armored cars and tanks of the
mechanical artillery are armored
against .30-caliber rifle fire and af-
ford protection even against occa-
sional hits from a half-inch anti
tank machine gun or one-inch
cannon. Not all of them have roof
armor, however, to protect the crew
against shell splinters or hand gre
nades.
Smoke Screens for Tanks.
A recent proposal provides for
euuipping the mechanical cavalry
with a battery of 43 inch smoke
screen throwers, consisting Of at least
8 units.
These gas-throwers FIRE smoke
shells to make possible sudden sur
prise attacks under cover of a smoke
screen.
This official data indicates how in
tensively the militarists of the United
states are working for bigger and
better methods of killing men. The
so-called Recovery Bill of President
Roosevelt's, ostensibly drafted to pro-
vide work for the unemployed, ex-
pressly provides that hundreds OF
millions of dollars may be used, at
the discretion of the proper authori-
ties, for further mechanization OF
the army.
The Fight Against War.
1t is the solemn duty of the Amer
lean working class to fight all these
war preparations with all its might.
All worker correspondents OF the
Daily Worker are again requested to
send in any information they may be
able TO get on the manufacture OF
munitions, army or navy orders, the
shipment OF war supplies, and all
other news of preparations for the
coming world slaughter. The work
ers must build the national anti-war
campaign into a powerful instrument
against imperialist war and the war
Vaccinations of the American ruling
class
They must make the National Anti
War Congress in the coming Fall an
impressive mobilization of all forces
really opposed to imperiahst war