Evening star., 1943-07-08
Ordnance Observers
Report Enemy Has No
Superior Weapons.
BY WALTER McCALLUM

revealing That special ordnance
observers have been assigned to all
active theaters Of operation to spot
captured enemy ordnance and re-
port to the War Department in ad-
vance OF actual shipment Of the
captured material to this country,
Col. Scott B. Richie, an American
Army ordnance officer, says our
enemies have no mystery" weapon
or any weapon Of firepower superior
to standard American ordnance.
Many specimens of captured
enemy ordnance have been received
at Aberdeen, Md, one of the major
United States Army ordnance test
ing and proving grounds. Col.
Ritchie makes these statements in
Army Ordnance" published by the
Army Ordnance Association.
Officers and enlisted men assigned
to spOtting enemy war materiel are
equipped to be the eyes and ears of
the ordnance department. They are
attached to Ga in the Army table
of organization, but their technical
mission Is performed under the d.
rection Of the chief of ordnance.
Good Points Lifted"
At the same time Maj. Gen. Levin
H. Campbell, jr.; chief of ordnance,
revealed that ordnance engineers
and scientists at the Aberdeen
Proving Ground make use of any
good" enemy ideas, adding that
the enemy infrequently has q good
ordnance idea.
This study of captured enemy
equipment Is just another instance
of the way the enemy can be de-
feated-with the good features of
his own weapons, II need be-" said
Gen. Campbell.
Another phase OF the study OF
captured enemy weapons is their
use by American troops against the
enemy. Many thousands OF pieces
of enemy ordnance were captured
in North Africa, and now are ready
to be turned against their former
users.
American ordnance experts study
captured foreign weapons, and pre-
pare operating and training manuals
to be issued to American troops.
Considerable enemy equipment has
already been furnished to troop units
and schools for training purposes, &"
says Col. Richie.
Some Kept Secret.
Some items Of captured Axis
equipment still remain secret. De-
tails of others can be revealed,
among them the German 8S-milli-
meter gun. The NaZi armies have
employed several different sizes Of
guns using the tapered bore prin-
ciple, which squeezes the bullet and
gives 1t high initial velocity. But
the proSectile loses It's higher veloc-
ity early In flight and the gun is not
more effective than the standard
type at ranges greater than a few
hundred yards.
The japanese have made copies of
many weapons used by other armies,
but japanese ordnance tends to be
lighter and of inferior flrepower,
probably designed to give the
smaller Jap soldier less weight to
carry. 'It is obvious that Japanese
industry cannot mass produce high
quality weapons over long period
of time to compete successfully with
American weapons"
The Germans" says Col. Rtchie,
"are using much ersatz materials as
plastics for gunstocks. and steel for
cartridge cases. 1t is quite evident
that they have thorough conser-
vation program and are being in
creasingly forced to save on those
materials which are critical in their
economy.
Neither Germany, italy nor ia
pan has demonstrated any weapon
superior in military effectiveness to
the best American standard. 1t
seems entirely logical that. as the
war progresses, the superiority of
American ordnance will become
more pronounced as the impact OF
American design and productive
ability is brought to bear in greater
measure on the enemy. This fact.
coupled with the courage and ability
of our fighting forces and those Of
our allies, is the surest guarantee
OF ultimate victory