Show militarists expect war to kill itself if new weapons axe are turned loose by GREGORY ADAMS released by western newspaper Ux union ilon ASHINGTON F from rom the Win washington intense tense warfare expected to envelope europe this year american military and naval e experts x hope to tabulate their first authentic information regarding improved efficiency of modern fighting weapons in the 70 years that have elapsed since the civil war first modern conflict the munitions of army and navy have assumed new sizes and shapes becoming more deadly with each succeeding decade but not since 1918 when it was prematurely decreed that men should cease making death dealing weapons have well equipped armies met face to face as they do today though all types of armament have been improved since 1918 9 it does not follow that any given nation has equipment so superior as to facilitate lightning war in which the enemy will be vanquished overnight you cant win to the contrary the military inventions vent ions of one power have been so equally matched by neighboring states that the stalemate is increased in modern warfare sheer power runs against sheer po power thus on frances western front neither army is able to gain a decided advantage knowing this they stay safely behind well guard 1 ed front lines if this frightful power were unleashed there would be only chaotic destruction of life to show in the end advances would be negligible such an ultimate clash of strength would provide the experts with their first clue to the potentialities of modern weapons italis invasion of ethiopia was no test for il II duces army was pitted against an inferior foe so were hillers Hit lers legions in poland the spanish war found each side ill equipped and resorting to old style guerilla tactics as have the combatants in the chinese jap anese war finland has demonstrated that shrewd maneuvering coupled with aid from mother nature can stop the russian juggernaut but what will happen next summer when the mechanized red army operates under normal conditions i bombers shun the civilians military experts believe the end of war may come when nations realize how an attack may backfire an indication that the powers appreciate this danger is demonstrated in in the fact that not a single civilian objective was bombed in the first five months of the allied german war to bomb london the nazis know would be to invite retaliatory bombing of munich berlin and other cities thus the vast improvement in death dealing weapons may be a blessing in disguise take the ordinary rifle traditionally the backbone of armed strength in 1865 an american infantry soldier carried a long single shot muzzle loading musket that delivered an average of one cartridge a minute its maximum efficiency was yards by world war days the army was using a springfield breech loading bolt action repeating rifle which the th e average soldier could discharge at a rate of 13 shots a minute its efficiency range was yards its faster in 1940 garand rifle requires but a pull of the trigger to discharge an eight shot cartridge case eject it and place a new load in the chamber though it can be fired up to times per minute its average efficiency is about 35 maximum distance has been increased but for battle purposes the range remains about yards the first machine gun in 1865 was the gatling a military wonder which fired about bullets of musket calibre a minute thanks to its stable mounting the gatling was efficient at 1100 yards by 1918 american troops had the browning machine gun water cooled and gas op aerated which fired rounds a minute at an effective range of yards by last year browning ammunition had been so improved that the same gun could reach or yards artillery on wheels As with the machine gun the united states army still depends on the old french seventy five field artillery piece originally this gun had a standard base was hard to move and offered a low maximum range it fired only yards today it is mounted on a pneumatic tired carriage has been given greater elevation to permit a yard range and is easily moved from one sector to another warships are getting bigger every year thirty five thousand ton boats will soon be ready and the united states government is already talking about bonners ton ners the airplane an infant in the world war has become a f formidable weapon today in 1918 8 the martin bomber cruised miles at an average speed of miles per hour today a bomber like the boeing can go miles at miles per hour it carries pounds of bombs and ammunition compared with 1500 pounds for the old martin might does not make right as the world once believed but it does make a war hungry nation think twice before walking into the jaws of self destruction |