Evening star., 1939-12-07
Finnish Formula
For Artillery Fire
Takes. Toll Of Reds
Lohti Machine. Gun and
Utter Aerial Bomb Are
Other Potent Weapons
By LELAND STOWE.

Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
HELSINKI, Dec. 7-Finnish ar
tillery craftsmanship, which is rec
ognized as among the finest in the
world, promises to take devastat-
ing toll of Russian land and sea
forces. Actually, it is not merely a
craftsmanship but the famous NO
nonen formula" which already Is
proving one of the most effective
weapons in the defense of Finland's S
freedom.
This formula, whose secret has
been jealousy guarded by the Firms
for more than 10 years, completely
disabled the Soviets' proud, new
d, ,0OO-ton battleship Kirov when she
ventured rashly within range of the
shore batteries of Hango last week.
For two days the Red fleet tried
to capture the strategic fortress of
Hango because it commands the
Gulf of Finland from the northern
end and the vital Aaland Islands to
the west. But the moment the
Kirov approached to unleash her
big guns against the fortress Fin
nish artillery scored direct hit
with its third shot. and the Kirov
was towed into Tallinn Natvia) and
is now laid up for months of re-
pairs.
The man who really knocked out
the Kirov was 1t. Gen. V. P. Memo
men, commander in chief of the Fin
nish artillery and one of the most
expert living artillery authorities.
After the Finnish war for inde-
pendence Gen. Nenonen, whom
many regard as mathematical ge-
Mus, set to work to invent a fool
proof system for accuracy in artillery
fire. In the late 1920s foreign spe-
cialists were invited here to see the
results of his efforts. Informed of
claims made for the Nenonen for
mula of artillery fire. they were
frankly incredulous and then aston
ished by the startling percentage of
hits, entirely unprecedented.
Since the Nenonen systems value
was established the British vainly
have tried to purchase rights to it,
while the Soviets repeatedly have
attempted to steal the formula-for-
tunately for the Firms, without sue
cess.
Finnish army and naval officers
insist that Gen. Nenonen's inven-
tlon makes it virtually certain that
a sea or land target, once its loca-
ton is verified will be struck by one
out of three shots fired. This, they
say, is what happened to the Kirov
and to the Russian destroyer which
was sunk at the same time, and ex-
plains the Soviet fleets cessation OF
further bombardment of Hango, de-
spite the fact that it is one of the
chief strategical prizes for which
Dictator Josef v. Stalin's mouth is
watering. It also explains the fall
ure, thus far, of Moscow's naval
units to attack Helsinki, Viipuri and
other important Finnish ports, from
the sea. Eventually, they will prob
ably. attack these ports. but the
Nenonen formula assures very heavy
losses to the Russians and may be
the determinant factor in the wars
outcome.
Coastal Waters Charted.
All Finnish coastal waters were
charted and divided in numeraled
squares years ago. When an enemy
ship enters any one of these squares
and its position is reported, Memo
mems great artillery-f1re discovery
comes into play The Finnish artil-
lery officer merely consults Gen.
Nenonen's mathematical tabulation,
dictates the precise answer to the
gun crew-something which can be
done, it is insisted here, by an
officer, over the telephone, for sew
(See HET SINKI. Page A.4)