Artillery Against Air-Craft
In “Harper’s Weekly” for June 12 is an article on Artillery Against Air-craft, by Newton Forest. A few extracts from this article provoke thought. He says: “During all ages nations have vied with one another in the inventions of weapons of offense and defense in order that peace may be had between them. But in modern times this test of ingenuity has been more pronounced. First it would be the armor that would resist the ton of projectile hurled against it; then it would be the shell that conquered the armor-plate, and so the fight goes on. We have great battle-ships, but we have smaller and swifter vessels to keep an eye on them, and we have torpedo-boats to destroy them. But no sooner were the torpedo-boats launched than the building of a craft—the torpedo-boat destroyer—was begun to take care of them. And so it comes on down the line, until we reach the very latest weapon of defense—the air-ship gun. “Like every other weapon of offense, the air-ship—and hardly before it has settled in our midst—has been followed by a weapon of defense against its attacks. This modern dog of war was designed and manufactured by the Krupp works at Essen, and has been placed at the disposal of the German War Office, by which its adoption is most certain. The new invention is made from the Krupp crucible nickel steel, which accounts in a large measure for the high reputation of the Krupp ordnance. For a given caliber Krupp can be expected to produce a lighter gun and one capable of withstanding greater pressure, which means a greater muzzle velocity and striking energy. This fact was demonstrated some few years ago when these works produced a field-gun after American specifications which afforded a greater effective shrapnel range of less weight than the type of American gun. Therefore, this new air-ship destroyer has a maximum shrapnel range with a minimum weight, both of which are considered most essential in reckoning with a fast-flying aeroplane. Of course in the defense against aerial attack, the firing of the gun must necessarily be of the high-angle kind; and the weapon must be capable of rapid training of a wide arc. All of these conditions are met by the new invention, one of which is mobile for operation in the field, and the other designed for a fixed position either on fortifications or on board ship, or, as the inventor says, it might also be used on a heavy auto truck. The field-piece is of two-and-one-half-inch caliber and fires a nine-pound shell with a velocity of 2,000 feet per second. The gun is mounted to slide on a chassis, in which is contained the spring-recoil mechanism. The chassis is pivoted near the breech of the gun, and elevation is secured by means of a large, vertical hand-operated screw. The methods adopted for traversing the gun, which can be moved through a radius of three hundred and sixty degrees, are most ingenious. A large pin passes through the trail of the gun-carriage into a fixed shoe which is11driven into the ground. The two wheels of the carriage are attached in a pivotal way near the front of the carriage, and by means of a hand-wheel and suitable gear they may be swung around in front of the gun until their axles are radial to the fixed trailpin mentioned above. By this ingenious arrangement the entire gun-carriage can be easily and quickly traversed through a complete circle. But this is not all; the gun itself, by means of a system of swivel bearings which permit of a rapid change independent of the carriage, may be traversed so as to be aimed at any point within a circle. “A novel feature of this new gun is the means adopted which enables the gunner to follow the course of the fired projectile. The shells used are so designed that they are ignited at the moment the gun is discharged, and the slow-combustion material with which they are filled burns slowly and emits much smoke. This smoke leaves a trail through the air similar to that of a sky-rocket, which marks the exact line of flight of the projectile. This enables the gun-pointer to see at a glance whether he has overshot or undershot his target, and to adjust his gun accordingly. This type of shell is designed particularly for use against balloons or dirigible air-craft. Such a shell passing through the gas-bag of a dirigible would ignite the gas, and consequent disastrous explosion would follow.” A number of governments are seriously considering the adoption of this new gun, or one adapted to the same purpose. One of the difficulties in an invention of this kind is to obtain a gun that can shoot at an aerial craft without having the recoil drive the gun into the ground. Of course there are many other difficulties as well to overcome, but recoil is the first and most important. This peculiar sort of artillery work makes necessary a new set of mathematical tables for firing. Thus we have Germany, England, and the United States actively engaged in experiments with this sort of gunnery. The nations are intensely active and do not wish to be caught unprepared for any emergency in the matter of warfare.