SIEGE TRAIN FOR THE FRONT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5, 6 January 1900, Page 4

SIEGE TRAIN FOR THE FRONT.

THIRTY HOWITZEKB ORDERED OUT. Official orders have been received (says the London Daily Telegraph of Bth November) at Woolwich and Devonport, for the iron ediate mobilisation of a siege train, supposed for the purpose of shelling Pretoria. The armament is to be supplied from the Arsenal, and the troops are to mobilise at Devonport. The garrison artillery will be drawn from Por'tsmbuth, G sport, Devonport, Plymouth, Weymouth, Golden Hill (I W.), Exeter, i^heernesp, Pembroke Dock etc., their places being pobably taken by militia. A nuin,b< r of gunnery instructors have arrived at oolwich Ar enal to go through a course of training with the 6in., sin., and 4in. huwitzerß, which are to form the armament of the train. The siegn train consists of any number of units," according to the requirements of a particular war, each unit consisting of personnel and howitzer guns, with SCO rounds of ammunition per gun, and stores m proportion. The force which it is expected will go out to man the sieg^ train will approximate to eight batferiec, drawn itrin the garrison brigades, number ing altogether 32 ofßceis and 1104 non-o mmissioned officers and men, who will be m command of Lieut.Oolonel T. Perrott and Captain A. 0. Currie, B.G.A. The armament, which is being issued at Woolwich, will probably number 30 howitzers, of w ich 14 will be 6in, eight sin, and eight 4in, with siege travelling carriages, weighing altogether over 3000 toes, and requiring a large steamer to take them out. Tho number of carts and wagons required for transro t Will be 96. Be ides tho 15,000 rounds of shell th« eight batte ies will carry about 25,000 rounds of small a m ammunition. T c 6in. h-.witzer weighs SOcwt, and fires a shell of 118'h, filled with a bursting charge of 191 b of lyddite, with a firing charge of lib 12ozo* cordite. It will be used for throwing shells into Pretoria at a range of 10,000 yards. The 7in gun weighs two tons, is lift 6in ion?, and fires a shell weighing 501 b, with a charge of cordite. Its iange is 9000 yards, and it has a muzzle velocity of 1750 ft per second. The sin and 4in howitzers will be mounted on travelling carriages, and will be user! for direct fire for destroying emplacements, forts, e'c. [This siege train arrived at Gapetown from London last week; and a cable received early this week stated that the last portion of it had left tot the front. ADother cable said that General Buller was waiting tne arrival of the siege train before proceeding against the enemy. A second siege train is on the way from. London.*] ■ lf*\i TATJO/SS- I Injitatioos of tfo<? g<?ouli7« Wolfe's scbO*pp3 are njore or less &<]ulterate<l fiery ccnjpouin<is. Sburj tbenj. I.OOH* for the rjarrje " V/OLPE'S Sc»u>*pps" on ibe Iftbel.