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Show II No Scarcity of Volunteers I for Dangerous Airplane Work !k WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE, Thursday, Dec. 20. (By the Associated Press.) Thero is no scar-f scar-f city of volunteers for the dangerous work of airplane observers among the younger officers of tho army. When a ;' call was issued at the heavy artillery training grounds three times tho num-I num-I ber asked for responded. Some of these wero sent to train with Amor-: Amor-: ican pilots and other with French I The latter aro doing the observation I work fo'r'the heavy artillery which the I Americans, who had been working 1 with guns from approximately from j y 150 to 200 millimeters caliber aro now ready to fire. Tho American artillery today watched watch-ed tho French handling the gigantic 100 millimeter gun, which hurls a projectile pro-jectile weighing more than a ton, at such a great range that it was necessary neces-sary to haul tho weapon several miles outside tho training camps, which are probably the largest in the world, so that tho shells would fall on open ground at the targets. Tho firing continued all day, tho terrific 'explosions 'explo-sions shaking the houses in the territory ter-ritory and being hcard at a distance of many miles. After a certain period tho American gunners will begin firing with the 100 millimeter pieces so that by the time they get into action they will be ns familiar with the gun as their comrades com-rades now are with the 75's. During the firing a big shell burst prematurely near an observation post filled with young American officers. Splinters and fragments rained down, but no one was injured. Among tho heavy guns with which tho Americans have been w:orklng are big howitzers of a certain caliber which aro declared to be among tho most powerful weapons the war has produced. |
