Aberdeen Proving Ground - Yearbook (Aberdeen, MD)

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was noT applied To gun manufacTure in This counfry unTil abouT 1885. AfTer ThaT Time our guns were of The sTeel breech-loading Type, and Today many of our seacoasf weapons are Those ThaT were developed during The nexT I0-year period. Smokeless powder and high explosives came inTo our service during This same Time, as well as The disappearing Type oT seacoasT carriage. While small guanTiTies of Three diTTerenT Types of breech- loading rifle were manufacfured during The Civil War, The firsT breech-loading Springfield rifle was The model of 1866. This ea.:-J-iii I f - gr D ffwia ee!!! 6 .I-if -T : l ZQQK iii? ,z T lil TT' l weapon was laTer improved and The caliber reduced from .50 To .4-5. IT was officially adopfed as sTandard Tor The Army in l873. IT is inTeresTing To noTe ThaT black powder remained as The sTandard propellenT for our small-arms bulleTs unTil I892, when The caliber .30 Krag-Jorgesen was adopfed as sfandard. This was a bolT-acTion rifle, using smokeless-powder carTridges Ted from a magazine holding five rounds. The nexT developmenT in our own small-arms weapon was The I903 Springfield, an adapfafion of The German Mauser, which is generally conceded To be The TinesT TargeT rifle ever developed To This day. As laTe as IS96 our sfandard field or mobile arTillery was a 3.2-inch weapon employing separafe-loading arnmunifion and mounTed on a carriage ThaT recoiled some l5 To 20 feef afTer each round was fired. ln l897 The French broughT ouT Their Tamous 75-mm. gun, buT guarded The consTrucTion of iTs recoil mechanism so well ThaT iT remained a secreT unfil The World War. We developed and sTandardized The Three-inch field gun, model of l902, wiTh a spring recoil mechanism, and builT 600 of These prior To The World War. During This period we also developed guns and howiTzers of 3, 3.8, 4.7, and 6-inch caliber, and a series of These weapons was sTandardized. Very few weapons oTher Than The 3 and 4.7-inch were manufacTured, as World War condi- Tions required The procuremenT of weapons in France. Now ThaT we have reviewed The develapmenf of arfillery and small shoulder weapons, we will discuss The developmenT of a more recenT weapon which fiTs in somewhere befween The Two-The machine gun, While many aTTempTs were made To develop a rapid-fire gun, The firsT pracTicable machine gun was broughT ouT by Dr, GaTling of Chicago in l862. This weapon employed a number of barrels, usually Ten, which revolved around a cenfral axis in The form of a cylinder. Various devices were used To feed The carTridges inTo The barrels as They roTaTed inTo posiTion. While The TirsT guns had a raTe oT fire oT from 200 To 300 shoTs per minuTe, laTer models were improved To aTTain a speed of abouT 600 shoTs per minuTe. This gun was used To a limiTed exTenT during The Civil War. ln T884 Sir Hiram Maxim, an American engineer, produced The firsT Truly auTomaTic machine gun. lT employed a single barrel and uTilized The force of recoil To obTain confinuous and auTomaTic funcTioning as long as The Trigger was held down. A fabric belf holding The ammuniTion was Ted Through The breech by an auTomaTic mechanism. The soundness of The principles of operaTion of This weapon sTimulaTed The developmenT of ofhef Types. IT also revoluTionized combaT Tacfics for machine guns. ln i889 Mr. John M. Browning, anoTher American, broughf ouT The Calf machine gun, which uTilized a small porTion of The ex- pending powder gas To acTuaTe The bolT mechanism. This was followed by The l-loTchkiss, employing The same sysTem of gas operaTion, During The firsT World War The mosT successful machine guns were The BriTish and German Maxims, The BriTish Vickers, The French l-lofchkiss, The AusTrian Schwarzlose, The Brifish-American Lewis, and The Browning machine gun. These guns and Those belonging To posfwar developmenT are sufficienfly well known To The reader To make descripTion of Their mefhods of operaTion unnecessary. lT is of inTeresT To noTe ThaT The principle of machine-gun operaTion has, in recenT years been applied To larger-caliber weapons, and Today small cannon employing auTo- maTic loading mechanisms have been developed for defense againsT aircrafT and armored vehicles. Since The readers of This book should be familiar wiTh The posT- war developmenT of small arms, machine guns, and arTillery weapons, we shall now Turn To a discussion of The mechanizaTion which has Taken place as a resulT of The developmenT of The in- Ternal combusTion engine and iTs adapTaTion To implemenTs of war. When we speak of mechanizaTion Today, The average person, Thinking only of The modern Tank, presumes This To be a recenTIy developed feafure of warfare. As a maTTer of facT, The idea of having a vehicle from which one may sTrike in combaT and yeT be proTecTed from The blows of The enemy daTes back many cenTuries. Minus, King of Assyria in 2059 B.C., is crediTed by some au- ThoriTies wiTh The invenfion of The charioT. Many Types were developed by The ancienfs. The crew was someTimes comprised of Three men who wore helmefs and body armor. One was a driver, one a bowman or spearman, and The Third a shield-bearer. The hulls were usually proTecTed by several layers of rawhide or bronze plaTes and someTimes equipped wiTh scyThe-like blades. These led To a developmenT of war cars which furnished proTecTion Tor The horses. IT is recorded ThaT The Chinese emperor Sun-Tse in The TwelfTh cenfury B.C. used four-wheeled carTs armored wiTh Ieafher. ln Europe The baffle cars were developed and improved To The exTenT ThaT in i472 an aTTempT was made To use wind-wheels as mofive power. Armed sailing vessels on wheels were builT for The Prince of Orange. In i482 Leonardo da Vinci, ThaT greaT masTer of all Trades, builT armored vehicles abouT which he wrofe, I am building secure and covered charioTs which are invulnerable, and when They advance wiTh Their guns inTo The midsT of The Toe, even The largesT enemy masses musT reTreaT, and behind These charioTs The inTanTry can follow in safeTy and wiThouT opposiTion. Many differenT Types were experimenTed wiTh, and, abouT The Time WaTT produced a sTeam engine in I769, a Frenchman named CugnoT produced an arTillery TracTor ufilizing The sTeam engine for iTs moTive power. Volfaire Tried for more Than a decade To inTeresT The French or Russians in an armored war carT powered by horses. The Boydle sTeam engine used in The Crimean War ll854-l856l employed The firsT TooTed wheel, which had been invenTed in England in I770. The caTerpillar Track was invenTed in l8Ol by iiE?EQ f , - '. , 1 - 1 -' '- iixkzifi - 1' tie! K T - K fora- S--is VL xl- gfgiz- ,I . f I ' g':T7h ' ' 1' TL Thomas German. Since ThaT Time, a wide varieTy of designs have been experimenTed wiTh, and many diTferenT Types of maTerial have been used. During The Civil War a sTeam-driven gun car- riage was builT in Balfimore for The ConfederaTe Army by Ross Winans. lT was TesTed by The Federal Army aTTer iTs capfure and pronounced impracTical.

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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

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BeTween The American Civil War and The firsT World War many naTions experimenfed wiTh Tracfion engines for miliTary use, buT largely in The field oT TransporT. While The caTerpilIar Tracks were used for farm and indusfrial work in boTh England and The UniTed STaTes, no serious Thoughf appears To have been given To iTs pracfical appIicaTion in warfare. Several aTTempTs were made by German, French, Russian, and American engineers To adapT The sfeam engine for use in a combaT vehicle and IaTer, afTer The developmenT of The gasoline engine, To uTilize iTs passibilifies in armored vehicle design. IT appears, however. ThaT The inerTia of conservaTism wifhin The armed forces plus The opposiTion of public opinion To innovaTions refarded The inTelIigenT developmenf of many new ideas which held forTh possibilities of success. The mosT inTeresTing developmenfs in This counTry were due To The aggressive- ness and foresighf of Colonel R, P. Davidson. Beginning in I898, he designed and experimenTed wiTh many Types of moTor-driven mounTs for machine guns, buT IiTTle supporT was provided for his efforTs. The same was True in oTher naTions, such as Germany, France and England, where many invenfors were meT wiTh cold rebuffs and, in some insTances. ridicule. When Trench warfare became stabilized on The WesTern FronT in I9I4, Mr. WinsTon Churchill, Then FirsT Lord of The AdmiraITy, auThorized The procuremenT of a hundred armored aufomobiles mounTing machine guns for use in proTecTing English air bases in France. The mild-sTeeI plafes firsT used as armor were easily peneTraTed by German bulleTs and armor plafe was Then used. Even aT This IaTe daTe The English War Office again Turned down The suggesfion of a ca+erpiIIar forT of a design previously submiTTed by Mr. L. A. de Mole, of AusTraIia, in I9I2. In The fall of I9I4 boTh CapTain T. J. Tulloch, manager of The Chilworfh Powder Company, and Colonel E. O. SwinTon of The BriTish Army became inTeresTed in The idea of a land cruiser capable of peneTraTing The enemy lines Through barbed wire and over Trenches. Their ideas were submiTTed and Turned down repeafedly unTiI The middle of The nexT year. when a ioinT com- miTTee. represenTing The War Office and The AdmiralTy was formed To sTudy The proiecT, IT was noT unTiI January I2. I9I6, ThaT The Tank, laTer known as Big Willie, MoTher, and H. M. L. S. CenTipede, moved under iTs own power. The name Tank, sTiIl used To describe This Type of combaT vehicle. is repuTed To have sprung from The name WaTer Carrier for Me-sopoTamia which was applied To The hull during manufacTure. The firsT appearance of Tanks in combaT occurred on The Somme on SepTember I5, I9I6. This acTion was premaTure, and, because of The Terrain, The success was nominal. No imporTanT TacTicaI lessons were learned, and The acTion seT back and delayed Tank if deveIopmenT and producfion. During I9I7 Tank acTion in combaT was disappoinTing. The Troops had been led To expecT so much from Them, and The leaders were so unfamiliar wiTh Their proper TacTical employmenf, ThaT Their success in baTTle can only be Termed IimiTed. AT The baTTle of Cambrai on November 20 The usual arTilIery bombardmenT was dispensed wiTh before opening The baTTle, and The Tanks for The firsT Time had an opporTuniTy To operaTe overland noT cuT To pieces by artillery fire. Many models were developed boTh in England and France and a IimiTed number in Germany. AfTer The enfrance of The UniTed STaTes inTo The war, The Mark VIII, 37-Ton Tank was sTandardized for producfiong parTs were To come from England and The UniTed STaTes for assembly in France. The Renaulf seven- Ton Tank was The besT of The IighT Tanks developed during This period, The war ended before The Mark VIII Tanks were available for use, and one hundred of These, finished afTer The war aT Rock Island Arsenal, TogeTher wiTh abouT I,O00 RenaulT IighT Tanks, represenTed The ToTal Tank resources of our army up unTiI a very few years ago. Following The armisfice, There remained Iitfle inTeresT in The conTinued developmenT of armored combaf vehicles. The Ordnance DeparTmenT, resTricTed by very small yearly appropriafions, con- Tinued iTs research and developmenT wiTh a small group of en- gineers. They improved Their models from year To year as limited funds permiTTed. The Tanks used in Training personnel aT The Ordnance School Today are The producT of Their efforfs. In This brief hisToricaI resume of The deveIopmenT of ordnance we have aTTempTed To cover only The imporTanT changes which have come abouT in pasT cenfuries wiThouT much emphasis on modern developmenfs. IT is expecTed ThaT The reader is familiar wiTh These and has a full appreciaTion of The changes in TacTics developed by The inTroducTion of aircrafT and moTor vehicles inTo warfare. Ammunifion, including bombs and Torpedoes, has kepT pace wiTh The developmenf of The weapons. Ordnance maferiel Today covers a Tremendous field. When one considers The wide varieTy of iTems ThaT are issued, The sTores of spare parTs ThaT musT be provided and The Tools required in Their mainfenance iT is undersTandable why our supply problems cover hundreds of Thousands of differenT iTems. If one were asked To seIecT The mosT imporTanT lessons To be learned from a sTudy of The evoluTion of weapons of warfare, one mighT sTaTe ThaT The search for perfecTion is Too ofTen The enemy of The good and ThaT The sTaTus quo aTTains such inerTia among The miliTary and civilians alike Thai They sTrongIy resisT innovaTions leading Toward change. if X fllgkfe Avi-4.2 -1-f 'A,,,, 4 , ' ll 'T'. 'Cal R' ', fh ,r T 'j: qT