Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1918)
o OOXlLMi How Shells Costing Thousands of Dollars Apiece Are Hurled for Many Miles With Terrible Destructiveness BT CLIVE MARSHALL, Ft.'K in space parattv slle particular J lOR th apace of a few second coin lence reigned In that section of tha forest aoma fonr or five mile back of the front-line trenches. Tha great run which stood In the center bf -the littl clearing bad been made ready and tha runocri were, grouped about It alert for the final ordcra from tha com nander. who anxiously waited at the telephone a short distance away the report from tha observer. Finally tha voice of tha commander broke tha silence. Three degrees left." were tha words. Tha chief runner cava a quick, short fcut careful twist to tha wheel In his hands, tha nosa of tha bis; engine of death moved almost imperceptibly to the left, the runners harried to post tions to the hack and each side) of the sun and threw themselves flat upon their faces. Vlre!" came tha sharp eommand- Tha chief runner. In bis place some distance back of tha gun, pressed an electric switch. Ther was a mighty roar from the mortar, tha earth shook until tha bodlra of the runners fairly bounced and another great shell was aent awirllnr and droning across the aky on Its errand of death. Day after day. unceasingly, tha great guns in tha battle sones of Europe are poundlr.r away lika giant blacksmiths soaping peace In the forg of war and tha men that man them often do not sea a human creature but their own group for weeks at a time. At tha very outset of tha war Ger many fairly astounded the world with aer "Fat Berthas." aa tha Bochea called their Krupp "42a." Thea big siege guns were cumbersome affairs and their transportation alwaya remained a matter of great difficulty. It required seven railway wagons to transport a alnrle run. but when It got within ranra It could throw shells that would amaah the moat modern fort Ilka an errahelL And each ahell fired from a '!" coat about SISOO. Together with the dtfflrultlea expe rienced in transporting theaa great guna and the Imposatbllity of with drawing them quickly In caa of a audden and unexpected advance by the enemy, tb "Fat Berthaa" had other drawbacks. They were very coatly. very short-lived IS ahots being all that on of then could be made to fire with eafety and tha ahork of each shot was so great that tha gunner had to lie flat on the ground with their mouths opra. 20 feet away from the gun when it waa fired. Hut deaplta theae drawbacks the suc cess of the gun was colossal. Tha fact la that at the taking of Fort Douanmont. which baa been ascribed by the alllea to th assembling by the Germana of a number of theao heavy guna. only one of these gun. It la claimed, actually took part. Thla givea some Idna of the wonderful destructive power of the "Fat Berthaa." It ia said, however, that the German "4J vera inferior to the Austrian Si 4-centimeter Skoda guns, which were mor easily moved about and which, manned by Austrian gun crews, plated ao pronounced A part ia the Antwerp campaign. Franc really did not plan her heavy artillery until aa late aa August. 114. Iter Ti-mllllmter guns were good, but they could not reach the Germans, who rould drop sheila In the trenchea from a distance of eight miles. So France Lvsri kries of Big Guns got busy and soon succeeded in turning out guna of aa great power and mobil ity aa any 'Germany could boast of. - The first of the new French guns waa the lOS-milliraeter. which could throw a 34-pound shall eight miles. Then earn the ISO-millimeter howitsar, which could safely discharge a 42 pound shot a distance of five miles and from that distance, one the rang waa accurately aecured. It could drop it great bombs in trenches as though they were being let fall from aeroplane. After these two guns cant tha French abort-barreled mortar, which fire at an angle of 70 to SO degrees. and then atlll heavier guns, up to the SSO-milllmeter terrors, filing projec tiles weighing from 440 to Si pounds five and a half miles. These are moved by large tractor or mounted on spe clally designed railway carriages. Tha mortar Is 11 Inches in diameter and French 171.4 millimeter Schneider siege mortar fires a projectile weighing 140 pound at a velocity of S20 meters a second. The famoua "Long Tom" la England most effective and precis weapon. It Is a gun that Is easily moved about. ha a range of about four rallea and can fir S00 shot in succession with great rapidity. In Italian ordnance ther are three principal types of great guna. The long. 14-mllllmter howltser fire at the rat of IS shots a minute and throw a projectll of 1300 shrapnel balls and a howitser-mloe loaded with IS pound of trinnitrotololuL The 31-centermetr howitzers have the advantage of firing from wheels and are easily moved. The 210-milllmeter mortars, mounted on platforms were the sensation of the Isonso front and are given credit to a great degree for the Italian success in that difficult field. Greater guns are found In the navy and coast defense than are employed on the Inland battlefields. The British super-dreadnought Queen Elisabeth carries 15-inch guns, which were the largest guns carried by any warship In the world up to the ttme of the building of the new lS-lnch weapon. Some Idea of the awful power of these lt-lnch terrors can be gathered when on realise that the regular 12- inch guna of the British navy are 40 feet long, employ a cordite charge of 20T pounds behind a projectile weigh ing S0 pound. Their mussle velocity I SfOO feet a aecond aad ylelda a atriking energy of SS.S43 foot tone. Each shot from one -of these big British naval guna casta from J7S0 to 120. -and It ia probable that a shot from the new IS-lnch wrecker costs between $10 and S2000. America largest weapon la her new If -Inch coast defense gun. The gun Is to feet In length, weighs 215. S00 pounds, throws a projectile weighing 240 pounds propelled by ti pounds of powder at a enussle velocity of 22S0 feet per aecond. with a mural striking energy of 100.000 foot tons. Th maxi mum rang of thla new gun la about 10 H miles and the cost of firing on shot la close to S10O0. With skepticism and open denial th artillery experts of the allied armies met th first report of th new long range cannon with which th German are bombarding Paris, declaring that It was utterly Impossible to construct a gun that would shoot the estimated distance of 73 miles. Continued bombardment and the In- on the Italian Sea Front, Planted in Defense Against Attack From the Adriatic, TIIE .SUNDAY f--. ' a - , . . I . ; - hi - . I . V . - ' .. . '.:' - - t 0 Remarkable Photograph of a . , . spectlon of shell fragments, with the definite locating ' of the . big ' cannon. forced belicC and admission. It is lo cated In a forest near Laon, and its bombardment of faris Is daily. The gun Is said to be of 42-centi meter caliber, and is the Invention of ' ... . . OREGONIAX, PORTLAXD, : 7 - - ' V . 'I. -4 f it 'jHi " ?. French Mortar of the Heaviest Type Bombarding the German Lines Cranes and Hoist Rope Used in . - .... on the Right of the Gun, Which Has Just Been Discharged. Professor Rauxenberger. an artillerist, manager ot the' Krupp works. In. an interview given in 1910 he predicted the advent of the long-range cannon and declared that It would be possible to construct cannon of such range that England could be bombarded. r APJIIL 21, - 1918. A - -i Va i.. HE first standing army was formed by Saul, 1093 B. C. The catapult was invented by Oionysius. 399 B. C. The sword came from ancient Egypt i and was used throughout Palestine, , Syria and Asia Minor, India and I throughout the western world. It was in Egypt that the three shapes of the I sword blade originated, these being the j straight, the curved and the half curved.- .'As the shape became more settled, treat attention was given to ;the adornment of "the sword, especially I the hilt, which was made of gold. A i sword of the Pharaohs had a pommel ; surmounted by a hawk's head,, sym bolical of the sun, while studs of gold ornamented the handle. The Roman sword was larger than that of the ; Greeks, and in the days of the empire many of the sheaths were so covered with repousse work and incrusted with , precious stones as to be veritable art i treasures. Among the 'Moslems the I highest title given to a warrior of re ' nown is "the sword of Allah." he I Chinese made swords of Iron as early as 1879 B. C. Bullets of stone were used in 1514, while bombs came into general use in ' 1634. Bomb vessels had their origin in : France in 1681. Fireships first ap peared in the early part of the 16th ; century. . ! The use of cannon datea back to the year 1338. Artillery constructed of brass first appeared in 1635. Among the curl osities of artillery odd inventions have a great place. Cannon have been made of the most unlikely materials. Leather was used as early as Henry VIII's day, at the siege of Boulogne. These ar ticles were . stored in London-'towr; Evelyn saw them there inscribed "Non Marti opus est cui non deficit Mer eurlus." The Scotch used leather guns in 1640 to batter Lord Conway's fortifications at Newboume. In a tomb on the Island of Chinal, near Usumacinta, Mexico, was-found a cannon four feet 11 inches long, of terra cotta, with terra cotta bullets. It is suggested that when Cor tex retired after his great fight at Ceuta. Tabasco, the natives copied the Spanish guns in clay, hoping to pro duce the same results. Artillery was first used in war by the Moors at Algeciras, Spain, In 1341. Cannon -were first used by the English, by direction I BEGINNINGS IN ALL WARFARE 'I.--,-.--' J t ' s - 4 !V of the Governor of Calais, In 1383. Iron bullets were first mentioned in the Foedera in 15S0. Letters of marque and reprisal were first granted in' 1295. Muskets were first used in 1414, during the siege of Arras, while chain shot was a device of a Dutch admiral, De Witt, in 1666. The bayonet was Invented In Bay onne, France, about 1670. Pistols were first employed by the British cavalry in 1544. The revolving chambered breech of the pistol was patented by Colt in 1835. Muskets supplanted the bow and ar row among the British soldiery in 1521. Spain was the first nation to equip foot soldiers with muskets'. Leaden bullets came into use shortly before the end of. the 16th century. The Minie rifle was invented about 1833 by M. Minie, of Vincennes. The battering ram had Its beginning with Arteraones, 441 B. C, while the first army arranged In a regular line of battle was that of Palamedes of Argas. Palamedes is credited with devising the idea of placing sentinels and pick ets around a camp. The watchword as used by sentinels is supposed to have been his conception, also. The most famous cavalrymen of an tlquity were the Parthians. Their In vasion of Judea, 40 B. C, resulted in such terrible devastation of the coun try that 100 years later the terrors of the Parthian invasion gave the Apos tie John the idea for one of his most vivid pictures. The earliest sea fight took" place be tween the Corinthrians and the Cor- cyreans. In whifh the former con xne Venetians maae xne earnest use of artillery .in sea fighting against the Genoese in 1377. The first use made of fireships by the English was during the engagement with the Spanish Armada, in July, 1588. Wildfire, sometimes called Greek fire. was an invention asdribed to Callinicus of Heliopolis. Gunpowder was known in China at a very early period. This mixture of saltpeter, charcoal and sul phur is well known all over the world. It was used in the 12th century both by Christians and Moors In Spain. Roger Bacon first introduced It into England early.. in the 13ta century, but. ft J H if. r. 4 0 1 Jv 3 it) u- la it- Lifting Great Shells Are Seen f its preparation was so imperfect that it was of very little use until a Ger man monk. Berthold Schwartz, intro duced a new method of manufacture in 1320. With the progress of science de mands for new varieties In gunpowder have resulted In smokeless powder. It is a compound. of guncotton and cellu lose nitrate, the latter' consisting of sawdust which has been soaked in sul phuric and nitric acids. Guncotton is attributed to the devisement of Pro fessor Schoenheln, of Basil, who made it known in 1816. Dynamite, which takes its name from a Greek word meaning Btrength, Is pro duced by mixing nitroglycerin with a kind of earth known under its foreign name of keiselguhr. It was first dis covered by Ascagne Sobrero, in 1846.' Twenty-one years later it was patented by Alfred NobeL The French navy, consisting of gal leys. Is first mentioned In history, 728 A. D. 1 The United States Navy virtually had its beginning March 30, 1794; the first United States war vessel was built at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1781. The man-of-war of the ancient Romans had a crew of 225 men ot which 174 were oarsmen, working on three decks. The speed of this vessel was about six knots an hour in fair weather. The original regiment of dragoons was organized in England in 1681. British historians assert that guns were used by their soldiers at Cressy in 1346. Military uniforms were originally worn in France by order of Louis XIV, 1668. The French claimed that scarlet color was best fitted for uniforms, in that it is the most difficult color to hit. Explosive bullets were first used in India for hunting tigers and lions. They were brought into Russia in 1863. In 1868 an international convention de clared their employment in war to be inhuman and unnecessary. The first breechloadmg firearm used in this country was the Sharpe rifle. The study of submarine boats, which has been carried on with great secrecy bv the different nations, at present is attracting the attention of the world. The first war, according to scriptural authority, was begun by a son of Cain, 3563 B. C. Roumania was formed in 1859 by the union oi .Moldavia ana waiiacnin, iwu principalities tributary to the Sultan of Turkey.