A GREAT ARMAMENT FACTORY

New Zealand Tablet, 13 May 1915, Page 15

A GREAT ARMAMENT FACTORY

THE ROMANCE OF KRUPP'S. In 1808 (says a writer in Collier's) a young blacksmith with a large family, living in the German town of Essen, determined that his income was not sufficient to meet the demands made upon it. After the manner characteristic of the thrifty middle classes of Prussia for centuries, he had saved what he could. But his savings were not of a size to permit him to develop his business as he planned. So he set out to borrow money. He was not very successful. Three years later, however, he had managed to gather together approximately ■£6oo. With that sum he secured a stone dwelling, tore out the interior himself, and, with the permission of the owners, built two stone chimneys at either end of it. When smoke began to issue from those chimneys the new venture of the blacksmith, Frederick Krupp, was launched, and incidentally, the foundation of modern Prussian militarism was laid. The business" did not bring success to Frederick Krupp, however. Hard work completely broke down his health, and at the time of his death his family was in dire circumstances. The iron founder's name and business passed to his 14-year-old son, who had labored in the foundry, and helped to smelt the iron ore. Young Krupp knew the business, and it was his activity, tact, and perseverance which ultimately made the name of Krupp known throughout the world. The Irresistible Weapon. When he died in 1877, the business passed to his son, Frederick Alfred Krupp, who died in 1902, leaving his daughter, Bertha Krupp, the chief shareholder in a; stock company which had been formed. Bertha Krupp still holds those shares, and nominally she is, therefore, in control of the company. But the Prussian black, white, and red flag that floats over practically every building at the plant, while reminding nearby 100,000 workers of their national trust and task, at the same time reveals the underlying power that actually directs : the works. -To the trust the Empire has

placed in the horde of workers at Krupp's which has been faithfully kept by them, many of the successes of the German army are undoubtedly due. Consider the new siege gun. This ponderous weapon has been the one big surprise of the war in Europe. Its action and effect have startled every ordnance expert on the face of the earth. It has completely revolutionised the science of making war. Nations have expended millions of pounds in construction of fortifications. The most expensive materials have been used. Cost was not considered. Men have made it their life's work to construct fortresses that were in their time considered impregnable. And as long ago as 1885, when the majority of the so-called modern fortifications before such cities as Liege and Namur were completed, they believed that that end had -been attained. It is safe to assume that until these guns were used to batter down the fortifications at Liege, not a war office in the world, with the exception of Germany's, even knew that such engines of war existed. If any other Government did have an inkling of their existence, that is all it was—an inkling. It has been repeatedly asserted that no nation has any military secrets that are not in the possession of other important nations, but events have proved that this terrible weapon was most certainly an exception. Only a few high German army officials had heard of it. There arc members of the Reichstag who voted the money to construct the first gun who until this day are ignorant of its nature. The first one'was built fiveyears ago at Krupp's. It was tested on the proving ground attached to the plant. Making the Destroyer. These grounds cover an area of four kilometres in length and two kilometres in width. They are used for testing and experimental firing of all kinds of guns built at the Krupp plant, for tests on armor plates, deck plates, steel plates for the shields on the carriages of field guns, powder, and various varieties of highpowered explosives, and for bursting trials of gun barrels and projectiles. When after a period of experimentation it was determined that the gun was a success, other similar weapons were made and brought out for their tests. On some days as many as three of these gigantic weapons were being fired. Every employee of the plant knew something about the guns, and 50,000 men at least have seen one or more of them in operation during the last five years. Each man, apparently, has held the secret in his breast as though it were his own. A member of the > Reichstag, in a Berlin newspaper of recent date, discussed the secrecy that surrounded the making of the siege gun as follows : The fact that the German army possessed such a gun was as much of a surprise to the Germans as to foreigners, for its construction and nature were kept secret, as the situation demanded, so that even in the Empire only a limited number knew about it. When the trials were finished and all was ready to begin the construction of the new gun, the problem presented itself of making this wonderful work of war without attracting attention. More than 40 officers participated in the preliminary discussion over the preparation of the military budget for the consideration of the Budget Committee of the Reichstag. When the subject of arms was reached, the head of that department requested that this part of the budget be not debated at that time. At the close of the session he told me confidentially that a new siege gun was in consideration. The General Staff, he said, had urgently requested that not a word be said about the matter in the Budget Commission. Not even the officers, they declared, knew what was being done. The request of the General -Staff was observed. Yet the General Staff trusted its secret with the army of workers at Krupp's. Events havo shown that this trust was not misplaced.' How the Gun was Perfected. In view of the important part this siege gun has been and is playing in this war and will play in all wars in, the future, a description of it and its evolution

is valuable, y,The first of these weapons turned out by the Krupp shops was of 11-inch bore, and it was known as the 11-inch howitzer. When it was fired the recoil was so great that the gun was torn from its position and hurled 100 feet away, where it buried half of itself in the earth. Ordnance experts of the German army, constantly oh duty at the Krupp plant, accordingly set themselves to work to find an effective method of reducing the recoil. Their efforts finally produced a pair of hydraulic tubes, which were placed along the barrel of the gun. A mixture of glycerine and water was prepared for the tubes, and the barrel of the gun was fitted to them in such a manner that the recoil was taken up by the glycerine and water as it was forced through a series of vents inside the tube the instant the gun was fired. Gravity forced the mixture to flow back to its first position after the recoil had been entirely taken up, where it was ready to absorb the shock of the next shot. The recoil eliminated, vast possibilities were opened. The calibre of the gun was increased by three inches. With a 14-inch bore the gun was also a success. So the bore was increased again. It then measured 16 inches—that is to say, the diameter of the inside of the barrel was 16 inches. But the rifle and its attachments were so heavy (they weigh forty tons) that every time it was moved on its carriage, when the ground was damp, the wheels sank in several inches. Prior to that time an officer in the Italian army had invented what the world now knows as caterpillar wheels. These were placed on the heavier pieces of field artillery belonging to the Italian army in order that the gun might be moved over swampy land. The Germans accordingly adopted the Italian plan, and made caterpillar feet that could be attached to the wheels of carriages made to transport the big siege guns. The 16-inch gun, as it is now employed by the Germans is usually fired at an elevation of from 15 to 65 degrees, the projectile shaping a curved course through the air to its target. Projectiles fired from these guns are of two different weights. One variety, the most highly explosive, weighs 2000 pounds, while the other, which contains more steel and less explosive, weighs 2600 pounds. These projectiles, too, are made at Krupp's. The Government pays .£194 for each one delivered. Elaborately equipped with range-finders, pointers, sights, and a number of other devices to aid the gunners, the siege gun can hurl a projectile accurately at a target twelve miles away. The Science of Aiming. Quite a large part of the Krupp plant is devoted to the manufacture of projectiles. They are made of crucible steel, and are for guns and rifles of various calibres. They are cast and polished, and by the time they leave the plant they are complete in every detail. It but remains to place the explosive in the nose of the shells before they are ready to be fired from the guns, not only of the army, but on the ships of the navy. In action these shells manufactured by the Krupp's are effective in different ways. As an example, the shells from small-calibre guns are of practically no value against fortifications. When they strike they will either bounce off the sloping sides or dash themselves to pieces. The effect of shells from the siege guns differs, according to the angle at which they are fired. The idea in elevating the guns to an angle before firing them is to have the shell come down on top of the fortification at which it is aimed. When this is done the ton of steel will drop through the armor and explode. Dependable Workers. The workers at Krupp's are without doubt the most contented in the world. Strikes have been unknown. A strike of any duration there prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Europe would have meant to Prussian militarism a disaster that could not be equalled. Hence the wage and pension systems are exemplary. A strike there now is practically an impossibility, so 'elaborate are the precautions that have been taken to keep all departments of the plant in full operation twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week.

' , The House of Militarism. Regulations governing the Krupp plant and its workers are as strict even in times of peace as those of a military encampment during war Visitors are allowed in parts of the shops only if they are known. To some parts of the plant visitors are never admitted. Army officers are assigned to the plant as they would be assigned to the army post. The agents of the concern scattered throughout the world are generally officers in the German army. Militarism and the name Krupp are nearly synonymous. In 1910 there were just 66,000 men working at Krupp's. A year ago these figures had been increased by nearly 7000. A week before Germany's first declaration of war the number of men in many of the shops was practically doubled. Prior to the war the greatest increase in the number of employees was in the five years from 1905 to 1910, when the figures jumped more than 20,000. From 1893 to 1910 the force was increased by more than 40,000 men. From 1900 to 1903, when there was absolutely no possibility of Germany going to war, the force was decreased by approximately 9000. The gathering of a tiny war cloud over south-eastern Europe caused the re-employment of the men who had been laid off. Resources. Krupp's own three coal mines near Rochum. Last year 3,000,000 tons of coal were consumed at the works at Essen. A controlling interest in ore is also owned by the company. Krupp's make other things besides armor, guns, and projectiles. A gigantic shipbuilding yard at Gaarden, near Kiel, is theirs. In addition, 'there are the engineering works, formerly at Tegel, near Berlin, but now moved to Kiel. Although the Krupp concern makes articles of all descriptions, its success depends primarily upon orders for armaments Disarmament of Germany undoubtedly would be a deathblow to Krupp's. Incidentally, it would take employment from 100,000 men, and food from another 100,000 women and children. There are no friends of disarmament in Essen, Germany.