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Show DEMES ARMOR IS DEFECT! Tanks Easily Pierced by Rifle Bullets, Witness Tells Committee. (Chicago Tribune Special Service.) "WASHINGTON, Dec. 10. Tanks of American manufacture, with steel armor plate of such a character that rifle bullets bul-lets easily pierced it, were described before be-fore the house war Investigating subcommittee sub-committee on foreign affairs today by Karl Trombley of Detroit. Mr. Trombley, who is a Detroit real estate man above the draft age, who en-. en-. listed in the tank corps and became a sergeant, was asked how many tanks his unit had at their camp at Bourge, France. "I was in the 30 2nd battalion, a heavy tank outfit," said Mr. Trombley. "But we never received a heavy tank for training train-ing until twenty minutes after It o'clock on" 'November 11, WIS, when a trainload of them pulled in. 'We had two light tanks, which were said to be the only American tanks which readied France. These were shot full of holes with Springfield rifles just to try them out. The steel plates were made" of such soft material that I think , they wouM have, been pierced with a re- 1 volver bullet. Some of tiie rifle bullets bul-lets not oTdy went through one side, but made a dent in the opposite side." "What did they do with t hese tanks' then?" asked T. Ansell, counsel for the ' committee. " "They plugged up the holes and told the people who came along that these were the wonderful American tanks," replied re-plied Mr. Trombley. |