Hamilton High School - Hamiltonian Yearbook (South Hamilton, MA)

Page 28 text:

The anti-aircraft gunc £H‘‘e tlirei -inch guns and have a range cf.. between thirty thousand and forty thousand feet. They fire ashrap- nel or high explosive shell which is timed to burst at or near the airplane. The burst of one cf these shells will wreck a bomber within a radius of one hundrec). and fifty feet. These guns are armed automatically by the Mechanical Range Finder and Computer; and they are capable of firing about twenty-five shells per minute as the breech blocks close automatically when the shells are inserted; and open automatically when the empty shells are ejected. The anti-air- craft gun can be transported from place to place very rapidly on their own mobile trailers and are set up on folding steel platforms in a few seconds .all ready to fire. The brains of the Coast Defense guns aere the Anti-AircraJ’t Range Finder and the Mechanical Range Computer called the Jui.e Box The Range Finder enables the spotters to determine the horizontal and vertical position of enemy airplane bombing formations. The telescope sights are focussed on the attncking planes; and by a sy- stem of triangula.tion, the height and horizontal positions rre de- termined, The results obtained on the Range Finder -are transferred to the Mechanica], Computer which •• ' .bsorbs all nhe information gathered from the range finders, the sound detectors, and; at night, the searchlights. In the irt ' sterhous parts os! its interior the computer works a problem of rapid calculation that is like na.giq and the result is the exact range, a-ltitude, speed, and dimensional position of on- coming planes. This is Cone In a few sooondEJ, and then 1he calcula- tions are electrically transmitted to the Automatic Fuse Timer and aiming dials on the anti-aircraft guns. The new Gai’ar.d ,50 caliber rifle l ill eventually replace the Springfield rifle ir our armed forces. It is semi-automatic which means that the soldier only has to oull the trigger for each shot and the gases from the burnt po ' -rdcr operate the mechanism. This mechanism ejects zhe empty shell, replaces a new cartridge in the barrel, and closes the breech ready for the next shot. This rifle weighs nine and one-half pounds The clip holds eight cartridges; this is three more than the Springfield rifle holds, VThen al l the cartridges are fired, the empty clip is autom.atically ejected and the soldier replaces it with a full one. In this way, an almost continuous fire can bo kept uo with from twenty to one hundred armed shots a minute. Also, the kick is less and many shots can be fired because the shoulder does not get sore or lame. The hand grenade or plneapr: lo is still very ■ effective be- cause it throws shrapnel with a terrific force when it explodes, A small trigger is held back by a pin; when the pin is removed, the trigger ignites a slow-burning fuse which sets off the high ex- plosive. The new method cf throwing the grenade is similar to the way a football is thrown. The sixty millimeter mortar is used for blasting enemy trenches and machine gun nests. It throws a three and a half pound shell loaded with high explosives a distance of nineteen hundred yards.

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OUR The order of the day now is: Prepai ' e for Defense!” The total- itarian nations have sent their challenge for world domination to the democ- racies, and the United States must rise up and answer them. In order to do this we have had to pause in our plans for the future to see how our future can be preserved and made safe. Billions of our dollars have been appropriated to build ef- ficient weapons and mod- ern equipment for our armed forces. We realize that to win this struggle we must have the greatest Only by the most modern and efficient weapons can this be accomplish- ed, Modern xvarfare is a struggle between the productive powers of enemy nations and the complete mechanization of their armed forces. Perhaps the closest-to-hom e branch of the army to us is the Coast Artillery Corps. From Maine to Texas and from v a.shington to California, our nation ' s boundary is the ocean. It is the job of the Coast Artillery corps to see that this boundary is held firm a- gainst any possible attack. Tlie men in this division of the army are trained to prevent the l mding of enemy forces on our shores and to protect our coastal cities from bombardment. In case of air attacks, the Coast Artillery mans anti-aircraft guns to defend cit- ies and bridges and military establislinents . The 14-inch Coast Defense G-uns are the defenders of ourharbors. Because of their enormous size and weig ' ht, they are fixed in very solid emplacements, A lai-ge crew? of officers and men man these guns which are operated by elcctricjty. The shells are so hea.vy that e- lectric cranes are necessary to hoist tiiem into position. The shell is rammed into the barrel of the gun, and the propelling charge of powder is put behind it. This powder is in silk bags; the number of bags used depends upon the distance of the target. The shell is pointed and has an armor piercing cap of solid steel behind the point . Whan the shell strikes a battlehip, the point crumbles, the ajr mor piercing cao completely penetrates tie armor plates of the bat- tleship, and the shell explodes. As a rule, a shell from this foui» teen inch gun will penetrate fourteen inches of battleship a?mor plate in a direct hit at a range of twenty-four miles. The aiming of these guns is a very complex mathematical problem and is directed by trained experts with long experience.

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The big bombers arc designed to eai ' ry distance into enemy territo ' y in order to borSi railroads, and other objects oi - ' a type we have two of which Lieoh is hca??d, world ' s biggest, although it is not now in r ly the length of a city bJ.ocir, v’ iohs P-3 tons of bombs. Its four 200C hrOe motor? 11,000 gals, of gas carry it 7,000 miles heavy load greatly rclaoos this figure. hu g e ’Lord? i a [■; i ■ e ‘i - orstroy f aoti.)ries , ha’’’- ' j ::; impii’tanoe,. Of tnis ' ■. ' lie Douglas B--I9 :’-.s the ■r-oductior.. It is near- tons, and can carry ±8 carry it at POO ir.op»h without landing, but a ,} 1 The Booing B-17 ' title of Flying Fortre piil rtlt, two way radi well armored, and ver can carry several to return without landing, oquipfiicnt;, they ?Kr. f cannot score hits from altitude. s ere already famous in this war under the ssc This type is equipped with an automatic otclophonc, and other advancements. They arc y well fortified with heavy gun pov cr. They ns of bombs to a target 1500 miles away, and Because of supercharged motors and oxygon ].y high out of anti-aircraft range, but they •such an Medium bombers are sndLi. - cr, but faster, me cing oPem. deadly in quick raids on bridges, towns, tioops. .cd isupplics. The Martin J3-26 is probably the best rnown of ' . nid type. It has two 1339 h-p, Tratt Whitney motors which carry it faster thf.r most pur- suit ships. BcC ' iuso of ibs speed, its high altitude fly- ing, its armor a.nd firing pow- er, it is the finest of its type in the vrorld. The divebombers have been made famous by Grcrma.ny in the present war. They arc light, and carry fev; bombs, but their aim is deadly, Qur Navy he.s a typo v.m.th twice the load and range cf any similar pln.no. They arc operated fro i nircraffc carrion ' s, and th?y cicout enemy forces before ' ' rmblng. They are also very effective in offensive coastal patrol operations against subs because they can stay aloft for a long time without refuel. ing. It The Feeling off of this type of ship is very interesting, j They dive, one a.ftcr the other, at full speed towards their target, [This speed is to avoid anti-aircraft fire, but it must be reduced Iso that the planes will not be falling faster than the bombs to be released. Largo wing flaps, ond pulling slightly out of the divc 0 this. Since the plane is only a few hundred feet from the tar- et« I tL.