Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-09-29

misunderstanding rollers to lessen
the effectiveness of minefields?
but none as yet has furnished the
complete solution.
When the soldiers and marines
first began landing on Pacific
beaches in the face of heavy enemy
fire there were scores of suggestions
that infantrymen be equipped with
shields. This idea had to be dis
carded, the council says, because
the weight of such a shield, if it
were to prove capable of stopping
military projectile, would be too
great for fully-equipped infantry
man to handle
Ideas from Soldiers.
Some of the suggestions, too,
come from men at the fighting
fronts and in army camps, A
Northumberland on duty in Italy
wrote in with an idea for equipping
tanks to blow up enemy mines with
out danger to the tank-crew. His
suggestion was equipping a heavy
tank with gigantic explosive abb
sorbing roller, to be pushed ahead
of the vehicle as it waded through
the mine field
An army sergeant, Lauren N. FL
kins Jr., figured out an improved
design for a field kitchen, tested it
himself on maneuvers, found out
it worked and submitted his idea
to the council. Within "a hours it had
won acceptance of the army
quartermaster corps and test mod
els were constructed. Along with
the new type field kitchen, Sergeant
Elkins submitted an idea for ship
ping case for the kitchen, which
broke down into two benches and
table,
Another invention which has
saved scores of lives is simple
signaling mirror which can be di-
rected straight into the eyes of pilots
searching for crews of sunken ships
or airmen down at sea. This mirror,
cheap, light and easy to construct
has been known to send shaft of
sunlight into the eyes Of pilot up
to 10 miles away SO times in single
minute. And there is no trick to
focusing it.
Value of Milkweed Floss.
From the floss of the common
milkweed, the researches of
civilian scientist filled one of the
most pressing of military needs at
the outset of the war. Supplies of
kapok, used in the heavy jackets of
high altitude fliers and in life belts,
had been shut off by the advancing
Japanese. This scientist showed that
milkweed floss could do the job bet
ter and that it could be used, too.
for insulating and soundproofng.
Many of the ideas adopted, the
councils records show, have served
to speed up quick repairs in the
field, to get planes and guns back
into the battlelines faster than they
could have been readied previously.
But not all of the inventive and
mechanical problems of the armed
forces have been solved. Many new
ideas still are urgently needed, even
in fields where considerable inn
provements have been made since
the start of the war.
For example, there is a crying
need for some means of controlling
fires in tanks until the personnel
have had time to evacuate. At pres
ent, the councils records show that
carbon dioxide under pressure in
small metal container is being used
with some success. But the carbon
dioxide treatment doesn't serve to
prevent the live oxygen-carrying
ammunition from exploding within
the tank as the fire scars past the
burning point of TINT. An improve
ment over this method would be
widely welcomed if adapted to the
peculiar needs of the tank, where
interior space is so limited.
Tanks Need Improvements.
The cramped quarters of the pres
ent-day tank make it a fertile field
for improvements. The operators
vision is extremely limited when
the tank is "buttoned-up" for battle.
He can see only ahead. Performance
of gyroscopic compasses and other
instruments on the control panel
could be stepped up. Improvements
already have been made, through