Aberdeen Proving Ground - Yearbook (Aberdeen, MD)

Page 60 text:

Qi!l!l!! !!l0 o l? is reporfed ?o have weighed abou? 25 ?ons and fo have fired a proiec?ile abou? 3l inches in diamefer. As la?e as l807 some of ?he ancien? ordnance of ?his era was used as par? of ?he defense of Cons?an?inople agains? an invading Brifish naval squadron. One s?one proiecfile is said ?o have cu? away ?he mainmas? of ?he Brifish flagship, while anofher, landing on deck, killed or wounded abou? 60 men. Anofher ?ypical bombard was ?he famous Mons Meg, now exhibi?ed a? Edinburg Casfle. i?s powder charge of IO5 pounds could hurl a I9 l-2 inch iron ball ?o a maximum range of l,4O0 yards or a s?one ball 2,870 yards. The larges? weapon of ?his era was ?he grea? mor?ar of Moscow, buil? abou? l525, wi?h a caliber of 36 inches. l? fired a s?one sho? weighing 2,000 pounds. There is ?oday in ?he Tower of London a bronze gun of 25-inch caliber, of ?he same period, which weighs abou? I8 ?ons and fired a proiecfile abou? 24 inches in diame?er, weighing roughly 650 pounds. Because of ?he grea? weigh? of ?hese guns, ?hey were valuable only in siege or defense work. Their immobili?y made ?hem im- pracfical for field use. ln some ins?ances ?hese guns were made from cas?ings, while in o?hers ?hey were made of bars or rods of wrough? iron welded ?oge?her and bound wi?h hoops. ln some of ?hese guns one may defec? principles of design ?ha? closely resemble reasonably modern pracfice in ?he rnanufac?ure of wire- wrapped guns. During ?he six?een?h cen?ury ?he developmen? of muskefry forced ?he cons?ruc?ion of ligh?er and more mobile cannon, bringing ?o an end ?he producfion of such unwieldly ar?illery. While ?he early guns were all of ?he muzzle-loading ?ype, wi?h a small aperfure a? ?he breech for igni?ing ?he charge wi?h coals or red-ho? irons, ?he advan?ages fo be gained by breech-loading weapons were early recognized, and many ?ypes cf breech-loaders appeared in ?he smaller weapons. The greafes? difficul?ies de- veloped in ?hese designs were ?he escaping of gases around ?he breech and ?he failure of ?he crude blocks ?o wi?hs?and ?he shock of firing. Some repeafing guns, known as ribaulds, were used. These weapons consisfed of a number of small barrels or gun ?ubes clamped ?oge?her and fired in quick succession. The mobile gun carriage made i?s appearance during ?his era, using wheels for ?ranspor?. Cannon were cas? wi?h ?runnions ?o facili?a?e elevafion and ?ranspor?a?ion. During ?he fif?een?h cen- ?ury, mounfain ar?illery, divided in?o loads for pack ?ranspor?a?ion, was manufac?ured in France. En?husias?ic gunners frequen?ly increased powder charges in an effor? ?o obfain longer ranges and blew up ?heir weapons. A dis?inguished vic?im of one such acciden? was King James Il of Sco?land, who was killed while observing ?he ?es? of a field gun in I460. The Vene?ians are credi?ed wi?h ?he firs? use of explosive shell, in I376. The shell was made of ?wo hollow hemispheres of s?one or bronze. filled wi?h an explosive, ?he ?wo halves ioined wi?h hoops and fi??ed wi?h a fuse. Many years passed, however, before explosives in shells became a general pracfice. During ?his same period ?he Vene?ians are credifed wi?h in?roducing ?he me?hod of ignifing ?he propellen? by priming ?he cannon ven? near ?he breech wi?h loose powder, and ?hey were probably ?he firs? ?o moun? guns on wheeled carriages. While cas? iron sho? was developed for use in cannon abou? I4-00, s?one proiecfiles con?inued in ?heir populari?y for many years, because ?hey were cheaper ?o manufacfure, could be made from ma?erials near a? hand, and, being ligh?er ?han iron, required less powdery as a propellen?. By l450 corned or granular gun- powder has been in?roduced, and caseshof, consisfing of balls fired in arconfainer, were employed as ar?illery ammuni?ion. ln view of ?he belief of some hisforians ?ha? real field ar?illery began wi?h John Zizka in ?he l-lussi?e Wars of Bohemia from l4l9 ?o I4-24, i? may be of in?eres? fo give, in somewha? grea?er de?ail, an accoun? of one engagemen? wi?h reference ?o ?he use of ar?illery. Car?s had been in?roduced for ?he rapid maneuvering of bronze guns-a me?hod devised a? an earlier da?e for ?he Roman ballisfas. A? ?he siege of Karlsfein, ?he Hussi?es emplaced 46 cannon, five large cannon and five ca+apuI?s for ?he a??ack. Marble pillars from nearby Prague churches were used fo supply cannon balls. The ra?e of fire for ?he heavy pieces was one or ?wo sho?s per day and for ?he ligh?er pieces six fo ?welve. l? is of in?eres? ?o no?e ?ha? ca?apul?s were s?ill in use a? ?his la?e da?e and were again used ?o hurl ro??ing carcasses and o?her fil?h in?o ?he con- fines of ?he for?, in ?he hope of spreading disease and breaking down ?he morale of ?he enemy. l? is reporfed ?ha? ?he defenders neufralized ?hese missiles wi?h lime and arsenic and defended ?heir posifions wi?h such valor ?ha? ?he l-lussi?es abandoned ?he siege af?er firing l0,930 cannonballs, 932 s?one fragmen?s, I3 fire barrels, and l,822 ?ons of fil?h. During ?he six?een?h cen?ury ?he developmen? of ar?illery reached i?s peak under ?he leadership of Maximilian, Emperor of Germany. His ar?illery developed a range of I,500 yards for solid sho? and 400 yards for case. and his gunners were considered ?he bes? in Europe. By I600, ?he caliber and range of cannon had been developed almos? ?o ?he maximum possibili?ies for a muzzle-loading, smoo?h-bore weapon using black powder as a propellenf. Befween ?his period and abou? l860 ?here was no radical im- provemen? in ?he fire-power of ar?illery. Many innova?ions were ?ried and abandoned, only ?o ?urn up la?er in more perfec? form. Spiral rifling was ?ried unsuccessfully. The use of explosive shell increased, bu? ?he breech-loaders proved unsa?isfac?ory. The gunner's quadran? and angle of si?e were developed. ln l573, Sebasfial l-lallwe sugges?ed ?he idea of ?he modern ?ime and percussion fuze, bu? ?he chemisfry of his day was inadequa?e ?o cope wi?h such advanced ?heories. ln l672, a proiecfile called ?he x Fl T 'W ,Wi B! ri HUKQ1 7' u ',il' IQ BTP ,cl Sli Z: Q Q AN ,L 1 E 173 114 i f f ww- 'Uf -8 l 'C VIS? lex gi,-,I'Ii',.,g'fR-sigglvl. T K ff' T' - - ,116- ' lla ,,-- iv i 1 lfgll '.0-A g E --- - f-1.-W ,C E 'X -LJ e , -'-' S X E A ff - '- i 5- r as sy, .1 ,,,,, . ,, E ,A ' ,ff ,-A N, , - 5 wfb i at 1. gf! - E- .. IL . ... is , T- T Illia, -eg r Ik' ' - ',,. gl- ... 3,3 'M' rL4'.,l 1u TT IA 'O 'T ' i'laf,iif.f' D 'r carcass was inven?ed, comprising a hollow me?al sphere pierced wi?h ven?s and filled wi?h incendiary ma??er. Smoke shell appeared in I68l. ln I74O Swifzerland in?roduced a new mefhod of boring ?ubes from solid mefal ins?ead of hollow casfings. ln l78O ?he Bri?ish Army firs? came in confac? wi?h rocke?s, which had been used by orien?al na?ions for many years. During ?his period ?he mos? impor?an? fac?or in ?he use of ar?illery in warfare was ?he developmenf of i?s ?ac?ical use. When gunpowder was firs? in?roduced as a propellen?, ?here was violen? opposi?ion ?o gunpowder ar?illery. The Pope excommunica?ed all gunners, Capfured ar?illerymen were frequen?ly ?or?ured and mu?ila?ed. Cannon were somefimes privafely owned and ren?ed ou? by ?heir owners. Under ?he pa?ronage of kings, however, special privileges were granfed fo gunners, and medieval ar?illery became a guild wi?h i?s own governmen? and ius?ice. The making of guns and gunpowder, ?he loading of shells, and even ?he service of ?he piece were considered ?rade secre?s, ?o be guarded V!

Page 59 text:

llllll Ullll principal Types were The ballisTa and caTapulT. These machines were True arTillery oT Their Time and The Torerunners of modern weapons. BoTh uTilized The elasTiciTy OT TwisTed ropes, hair, hide. and animal sinews Tor The energy of propulsion. The ballisTa was shaped somewhaT in The manner of The crossbow and hurled iTs bolTs, TeaThered iavelins, balls, and sTones wiTh a relaTively TlaT TraiecTory, making iT eTTecTive againsT walls and TorTiTicaTions. IT may be considered as The ancienT equivalenT of our modern Tield gun. IT is repuTed To have hurled sTones weighing more Than 50 pounds a disTance of 400 yards, while The range of TeaThered iavelins someTimes reached 500 yards. The caTapulT, on The oTher hand, was a weapon Tor high-angle Tire and was employed in a manner similar To our modern howiTzers. This weapon employed an arm which, swinging in a verTical plane and suspending a sling Tor iTs proiecTile, hurled The missile high overhead somewhaT in The manner oT The scorpion's sTing, aTTer which iT was someTimes named. This machine proiecTed missiles someTimes weighing more Than 500 pounds, ITs range, varying wiTh The weighT' of iTs proiecTile. is repuTed To have been abouT 400 yards Tor a 58-pound sTone. These proved Their eTTecTiveness in sieges againsT ciTies and TorTresses and were someTimes used To hurl many obnoxious iTems inside The TorT besides proiecTiles inTended To desTroy Their TargeTs. These weapons were heavy and cumbersome and were noT pracTical Tor accompanying TasT-moving Troops. They were some- Times developed by improvisaiion on The baTTleTield or TransporTed by waTer on boaTs, where They were oTTen employed as naval weapons. They were oTTen used in a manner c1uiTe similar To modern combaT pracTice Tor arTillery weapons, even To The exTenT of being employed Tor barrage work in proTecTing advancing lllllll By COLONEL GEORGE W. OUTLAND CommandanT, The Ordnance School, January I, I94I-November I, I942. ThaT increased The range Tor a 58-pound sTone To more Than 800 yards. These developmenTs added immeasurably To The weighT of maTeriel To be TransporTed by an army. IT enabled wealThy ciTies To TorTiTy Themselves sTrongly againsT The invader, who was ham- pered by The immobiliTy of his eTTecTive arTillery. In Alexandria during The Third cenTury B.C. and in Rome during The TirsT cenTury A.D., mechanizaTion was in Tull swing. DeTensive TacTics and social decay appear To be The cause of The decadence in miliTary eTTiciency oT The laTer Roman Empire. While in The EasT The proiecTile-Throwing machines were kepT aT a high qualiTy Tor cenTuries. in The WesT The caTapulT and ballisTa were replaced largely by a new machine known as The TrebucheT. This machine usod The Torce of graviTaTion on a heavy weighT Tor hurling iTs proiecTile insTead oT employing Tension or Torsion members. IT released a proiecTile weighing up To 300 pounds Trom a verTical beam which hurled iT ouT To abouT 300 yards. We Thus Tind ThaT liTTle oT imporTance was added To The design of ordnance equipmenT Tor cenTuries preceding The discovery of gunpowder. The exacT daTe oT iTs TirsT use as a propellenT Tor proic:cTiles in warfare is unknown. Some hisTorians asserT ThaT iT camo ouT oT Asia, oThers ThaT iT was invenTed by a German monk abouT l320. Records, however, indicaTe iTs use in The Moorish Wars in Spain in l247, aT The siege of Seville. The TirsT deTiniTe descripTion oT a gun daTes Trom I3l3, and The earliesT picTure oT one is found in a manuscripT oT abouT I327, by which Time iT appears ThaT The weapon was well esTablished for combaT use. In exTerior appearance The weapon resembled a vase. Iron darTs, wrapped in leaTher To prevenT leakage of powder gases, were used as proiecTiles. In some insTances sTones were used, while in y Troops and Tor hurling incendiary missiles wiThin walled TorTresses. l IT is inTeresTing To noTe ThaT companies of craTTsmen and T arTisans, similar To modern ordnance Troops, accompenied The 1 armed Torces Tor The purpose oT repairing and mainTai..ing ord- l nance equipmenT in The hands oT combaT uniTs. Tley even supplied crude insTrumenTs Tor laying The weapons in elev. lion and direcTion, Thus giving birTh To modern Tire-conTrol equipment T GvreaT sTrides were made in The developmenT oT war machines in The hundred years following The deaTh oT Alexander. STimulaTed ' by The success of such men as DemeTrius PoliorceTes, son of oThers sacks or cans of scrap iron, called langridge, The Tore- runner oT grapeshoT and caseshoT were Tired, The maximum range of These weapons could noT have been more Than 700 or 800 yards. The size and power of guns rapidly increased, buT iT was cen- Turies beTore a serviceable hand gun was developed. They were TirsT used primarily Tor siege work. Following I339, cannon came inTo general use by all armies in Europe. AT The baTTle of Crecy in T346 The English used cannon Tor The TirsT Time in an open Tield. SomeTimes These guns were laid on The ground and wedged l Alexander's eneral AnTigonus, engineers insTead oi soldiers Took u To ive The proper elevaTion. In oTher insTances a crude car- Q P 9 up The sTudy of war machines. One Alexandrian named Dionysius riage was provided by aTTaching The gun To wooden Timbers. Some invenTed a polybolos, which mighT be considered as The TirsT of The cannon developed were enormous in size. GuglielmoTTi machine gun, as iT enabled a succession oT arrows To be Tired quoTes Bishop Leonardo 6iusTiniani in his HisTory of The Papal Trom a magazine. AnoTher engineer Trom The same ciTy, named Navy as having seen a huge gun, repuTedly used by The Turks CTesibius, uTilized compressed air in careTully wroughT cylinders aT The siege oT ConsTanTinople in I453, which needed sevenTy To o eraTe The bow arms ol: caTa ulTs. Wea ons were conTrived s an of oxen To draw iT and whose sTone shoT weighed I350 ounds. P P P P P fl-TR Zigi K X. i . Qi ,ga i gg- V , , .ilifh-.. I? J ,4,,,A,, J J, I . j , M, R., ' T A Im, 'Ilan 'P 10000 Il 000 Z1 000 23.000 551.000 15 000 26 000 27 OOO 25 009 29 000 30 000 JI OOO 31 U30 JJ 000 JI 000 JS 000 O O O 4 IIMTLIS .4 12 Mirgg ...T 13MiLg5 .4 lAM1LE5 ...T 15.MiLES . I6'M1z.ES ' -I I7gMlLES -T I8 MILES --I I9 Mx1.ES -T 20 MILES O TECES OF ORDNANCE USED IN WORLD WAR I

Page 61 text:

iealously. Gunners were civilian arTisans raTher Than soldiers. ArTilIery was considered by The general public as a mysTerious science, and The gunner was ThoughT of as a sorcerer in league wiTh The devil. WiTh iTs uITimaTe accepTance as a parT oT The miIiTary, arTiIIery became more closely allied To The oTher arms oT The service, and TacTics were developed To a high degree. Nofable conTribuTors To This developmenT were such leaders as GusTavaus Adolphus oT Sweden: Louis XIV oT France, who developed The use oT morTars and Tounded arfillery schools: Frederick The GreaT oT Prussia, who inTroduced horse arTiIIery: lnspecTor Gen- eral Gribeauval oT France, who developed The science oT ballisfics To such a high degree ThaT iT aTTecTed The developmenf oT arTiI- Iery in many oTher counTriesg and Napoleon BonaparTe, who gained his repuTaTion as The greaTesT miliTary leader oT modern Times largely Through his use oT Tield arTiIIery. During This Tive hundred years oT arfillery developmenT Tollowing The discovery oT gunpowder, comparable sTrides were made in The improvemenT oT hand weapons. While, as sTaTed previously. The bow persisTed as a baTTle weapon inTo The nineTeenTh cenTury. The hand gun wiTh a sTock TirsT came inTo exisTence someTime beTween I35O and I400. IT was a crude aTTair, called a harquebus. The bore was smooTh, and iT used as a propellant a poor grade oT black powder, which was igniTed by a hand Tuze applied To a Touch-hole. ATTer abouT IOO years This weapon had developed inTo The mafchlack, which employed a mechanical device To apply The Tuze To The Touch-hole. In abouT I6O0 The TlinTlock was de- veloped. This Tirearm provided igniTion To The powder by means oT a revolving meral wheel which sTruck a piece oT TlinT aT The momenT The piece was desired To Tire. This was a marked improve- menT over previous arms, which required The soldier To carry a lighTed Tuze when Tiring was imminenT. The TIinTlock Type oT muskeT was universally used un+il I835. ,I fn- s S g 4? l -1.- Q2. fi? o, -ejife . ,Z Q.. gr ,M TX ffwm. 'vs-.. Mmy MF van, V -,', .wg I' f , T ' .Q I ff a I gl , . F, 7 f . Q ii i, .3 -ii 1 5 Q:ef V . . as 2 if- he-Y -Q Ill : v , ci , i T 122, il -R -f f I Ani i fi .. ' aa TTT' Y 5' F I ll ,Me g i V i ' b U Li www ,Sk , 2. Ill i ' si Ei' ilzgfe: r 724' ll pail. IIQJTFI -g -M, T' 'TTC' ips' if Q . ,,Xx,'f 'Nix' 5 Q U V -K gig xxx. . lg - -... . . f, -my, ww- 1 ., pl ,uw an :c? ,:.w hw, ,K Q . M - -as . F Mc W' T f 1' h 1' ' . - Irv Jil . :eco li There- were many reasons why The developmenT oT small arms was slow. In The TirsT place, The raTe oT Tire was slow, much below ThaT oT The crossbow. In The second place, iTs Tire was inaccuraTe. NoT only did The grade of powder inTroduce variables, buT also The Touling caused by The propellenf necessiTaTed barrel clearance, leading To The escape of much gas around The spherical buIIeT. The escaping gas on one side oT a loose ball inTroduced inaccuracies ThaT could noT be predeTermined. Early Tirearms were so inaccuraTe ThaT an experT Iongbowman could ouTshooT The muskeT boTh in disTance and in accuracy. Many TacTicians considered iTs greaTesT value in baTTle To lie in iTs noise-making qualiTies, which creaTed confusion and disorder wiThin The ranks of The enemy. The value oT spin applied To cerTain proiecTiles as a sTabilizer was recognized very early. Many devices were used To imparT spin To arrows, iavelins, and spears. IT is diTTiculT To undersTand why proiecTiles were hurled Trom guns Tor hundreds oT years before The idea oT spinning These proiecTiles was evolved. The daTe oT The invenTion oT riTling is unknown. IT has been asserTed ThaT iT occurred someTime beTween I470 and I500. IT is apparenT ThaT riTling had been developed eTTecTiveIy by IS63, as The Swiss governmenT in ThaT year legislaTed againsT riTled arms in com- peTiTion wiTh unriTled arms Tor TargeT-shooTing purposes, This is diTTiculT To undersTand wiThouT a clearer knowledge oT The disadvanfages inTroduced by riTling. ThaT These disadvanTages were imporTanT is obvious Trom The TacT ThaT smooTh-bore muskeTs were considered superior To The riTled hand weapon Tor miIiTary purposes in England as IaTe as l800. The cause lay in The propel- lenT, black powder. The qualiTy oT This explosive was so poor ThaT aTTer a Tew shoTs The bore became so fouled ThaT ramming was diTTiculT. In The smooTh-bore weapon The Tolerance beTween The ball and The bore was suTTicienT To admiT The ball easily even aTTer Touling became considerable. WiTh The riTled barrel, how- ever, iT required some Torce To ram The ball down The barrel againsT The TricTion oT The riTling even wiTh a clean bore, since The riTling had To be TighT enough To imparT a TwisT To The bulIeT. STarTing wiTh much less Tolerance, The accumulaTion oT Touling wiThin The riTled barrel soon made iT mosT diTTiculT To load. IT has been recorded ThaT one shoT every Two and one-halT minuTes was considered a Tair raTe oT Tire Tor The riTled barrel, while a raTe oT Tive shoTs per minuTe was noT unusual Tor The smooTh-bore muskeT. Thus iT is easy To undersTand why The smooTh bore re- mained a TavoriTe miIiTary weapon even Though many Tine muzzle- loading riTles were made during The sevenTeenTh and eighTeenTh cenTuries Tor hunTing purposes, where speed in loading was noT oT paramounT imporTance. The invenTion oT The percussion primer early in The nineTeenTh cenTury, The evoluTion oT The cylinder-shaped buIleT, and The developmenT oT The meTaI carT- ridge case, which provided eTTecTive obTuraTion, resuITed in The breech-loading weapon. The use oT riTling in all weapons Then became pracficable. One early deficiency, resulTing Trom The slow reloading process required by a muskeT, was The TacT ThaT The gunner was IeTT vul- nerable To aTTack wiThouT means oT deTense. This led To The addiTion of The bayoneT To The weapon, so ThaT iT mighT be used as a pike in emergencies. ln order To speed up The reloading process, many Types oT rapid-Tire weapons were Tried. The provision oT several barrels was one oT The TirsT eTTorTs in This direcTion. In some collecTions oT old arms one can Tind Today mulTibarreled hand guns wiTh The mosT primiTive maTch igniTion sysTems. The repeaTing sysTem mosT successfully developed beTore breech-loading made iTs appearance is Tound in The old hand revolver wiTh eiTher a revolving chamber or revolving barrels. ATTer The developmenT oT breech-loading weapons and Tixed ammuniTion, The magazine riTle became a pracTical weapon and provided a rapid-Tire hand weapon Tor combaT use. AlThough maTeriaIs and workmanship have been improved, inTerchangeabiliTy oT parTs has become a universal pracTice, auTornaTic loading TeaTures have been added and The propellenf and The ballisfics oT The buIIeT have been maTeriaIly improved, The basic design principles involved in The riTIe have noT changed radically since The end oT The nineTeenTh cenTury. In reTurning To a discussion oT arfillery, iT appears prudenT To begin wiTh The Civil War period oT our own hisTory and cover The development oT all ordnance Trom ThaT period To The presenT. Regardless oT The TacT ThaT riTled cannon had been developed and were on The verge oT superseding The smooTh bore, The laTTer Type were used almosT exclusively on boTh sides during The Civil War. Likewise, although saTisTacTory breech-loading small arms had been developed, noT only abroad buT in This counTry, where The Hall riTIe had been manuTacTured in large numbers, The war was ToughT largely wiTh muzzle-loading guns. IT has been sTaTed ThaT The arTilIery used aT GeTTysburg diTTered IiTTle Trom ThaT used by Napoleon more Than half a cenTury beTore, and, allhough General Rodman had developed a Tougher gun meTal in I855 by infernal cooling in a casT iron gun, The principle