FIRING ON PARIS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 219, 5 June 1918, Page 5

FIRING ON PARIS

''THE GERMAN MYSTERY GUN. Tho appearance of a new German or Austrian gun which has been ablo to bombard Paris from a distance of 71 milos (the nearest point in tho German lines where it would bo convenient for, tho enemy to plant a big gun is that distance from Paris) is a remarkable event, in the history of artillery, states a recent article ill the London "Daily Mail." Early in tho war the Germans'took tho field with the gigantic Krupp and Skoda howitzers, which pulverised the defences of Liege, Namur, and Maubcuge". These were weapons of llin.,' 12in M and lGin. calibre. The first two had been described in technical periodicals, and. tho Austrian 12in. had been shown at the Austrian manoeuvres of 1913, so that it ought not to have caused any surprise. The Krupp 16in. howitzer had been built with extreme secrecy, but it is believed that the British War Offico knew of its construction. The 16in. howitzer fired a shell of nearly a ton to a distance of 14 or 15 miles. The llin. and 12in. howitzers fired shells of about 700lb. or 8001b. to a distance of 12 or 13 miles. Tihey were deadly ' against old-type fortifications and proved dangerous to troops in the field. As soon as the Allies realised tho position, they set to work to build howitzers as powerful, or oven mora powerful. Meanwhile the Germans and Austrians constructed a 17in.. howitzer, which was used with terriblo effect, against the Russians in the great attack on the Russian front' in Poland in 1915. At that date the Russians liad no satisfactory heavy artillery and were almost without ammunition.

A howitzer' tosses its shell high in tho air 60 that it, falls almost perpendicularly, which makes it specially deadly in the attack on trenches and dug-outs. Some of the monster German shells and, 6ome of the Allied shells havo penetrated 25ft. or 30ft. into tho earth. 'When the German lGin. howitzer appeared ifc was commonly supposed that its lifo would be very limited inde«l—not more than 20 or SO rounds—after which it would need to havo a ftesh inner tube inserted. This does not seem actually to, havo.beon the case. The well-known German expert, the late Major Moraht, in 1015. asserted that the big Krupps wero lined with a very special steel which of-, fered such a resistance to erosion (or the wear, by explosives) that their lifo would bo a long one. Tho lOin. howitzers were served by special artillerymon from Krupp's, and they appear to havo been fired from concrete, bases. They 'have since been adapted to railway carriages, so that thoy can be moved to and fro. Totally distinct from the long-range ' high-angle howitzer is the long-range high-velocity .gun.' This does not toss its projectile in tho air, but 6ends ifc forth from the boro at such a terrifio speed that it will travel to a-very great distance. Nearly 20 years ago, in this country, a 9.2 in. gun of about 30 tons fired a shell of 3801b. 16 miles. XJp tx> that, data this was the longest range recorded for a British gun. Until thu development of aircraft enabled this firo at enormous ranges to bo controlled shooting at extreme range was a matter of chance, for tho target was completely out of sight. But with aircraft, which enabled the shooting to bo carefully directed, it became of some lmportayco and was more and more utilised by tua Dunkirk was suddenly shelled with giant projectile/;. It was about twonty miles from .tho nearest point of tho German front. -.Presently it was ascertained that a' Gorman naval 15ui, gun was conducting tho bombardment, A number of theso' big weapons had been mounted on tho Bolgian coast. ™ dsffe l lL with their fire the waters oft Ostend. Gorman seaplanes and aeroplanes _ spotted" for them, and controlled their tiro, In the end this particular gun was located by tho British air services, and was knocked out after a violent air bombardraent, but, according to report, other guns of as powerful calibrojmd as long rango were in position to bombard Dunkirk last year., Tho German 15in. gun of tho most powerful pattern is described in Krupps list as a weapon of 01 tons weight, •inng a shell ot IG<5 lb with a speed of y)B4ft, per eccond I when ifc leaves the of tho &un. I T.bo energy the shell possesses when -it leaves tho gun is enough to lift a weight of 11,000 tons ten feet in the air. ino length of tho gun is G3ft. Krupp has 1 always claimed that guns of his manufacture are lined with a special steel which can resist, the destructive! effect of ' the explosives; and a lifo of at least 200 rounds is claimed for tho 15irv. Whether this is attained is another question. Ono of tho best Italian artillorists f thinks_ "''rheib is no insuperablo difficulty in increasing tho rango of a gun almost indefinitely. Jules Verno pictured a weapon which could shoot as far as the moon. Tho usual velocity with wlucli shells left tho most powerful guns before tliD war was a]x>ut 8000 ft., or in gonio cases 3300 ft. per second. With suitablo steel, suitablo explosives, and very thorough and careful experiment, tins could bo raised to 4000, 5000, or even GOOOft. per second. Special steels and special explosives would bo required, and also a gun of enormous length, as tho strain on tho inner tubo of the gun is prodigious, and tho heat of tho gases under tremendous pressure tends to melt a very thin layer of steel off the'interior of tho tuba and off tile edge of tho rifling, thus quickly wearing, tho gun down. Without special • and thorough calculation and knowledge of many factors it is impossible to say at what speed a projectile must leave a 9.1 in. gun to travel 74 miles. Probably GOOOft. per second would give tho required result. Quito recently tho Gormaus havo taken a fancy to dropping Sin. and 9.4iu. shells at points very far behind tho Allied fronts. Hazebroiick was thus suddenly bombarded last year, though it was not used in any way-by our troops, and _is 18 miles distant from tlio nearest point of the German front, and probably at least 20 miles from tho nearest German heavy-gun position (for these big guns are not moved up to tho very front). A"ain, at points 30 miles from the front largo shells havo fallen, recently., Tho Germans presumably, havo been trying their hand.