Show militarists expect war to kill itself if new weapons are turned loose by GREGORY ADAMS Tte released leased by western newspaper union py ASHINGTON from the intense warfare expected to envelope europe this year american military and naval experts 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 beco 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 arales armies met face to ci nas n as they do today ough all types of armament have been improved since 1918 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 power thus on frances western front neither army is able to gain a decided advantage knowing this they stay safely behind well guard 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 11 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 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 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 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 dischar discharge ge an eight shot cartrie cartridge ge 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 off offered ered 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 the field artill erys grandfather was a muzzle loading napoleon gun u used sed in the civil war it fired only twice a minute compared with 25 shots expelled by the present piece special artillery pieces have been developed to combat new offensive weapons antiaircraft anti aircraft guns properly manned can raise havoc with bombing bombin g planes coast artillery whose range and accuracy is in creasing each year can successfully ward off oe attacks from warships antitank anti tank guns as demonstrated in finland can destroy these lumbering giants with one well placed hit a at t short range war on the sea air and sea weapons have increased apace in 1865 the average fighting ship displaced no more than tons the super battleship of that day being britaina Brit ains 11 S warrior that boat displaced tons and carried four dozen sixty eight smooth bore guns by 1918 the giant was britaina Brit ains queen elizabeth displacing tons and mounting eight guns of the 15 inch size she had 13 inch armor sides today the british nelson displaces tons and has 16 inch guns nine of them she has 14 inch armor and travels at a speed of SO 30 knots compared with the elizabeths 25 knots war at sea Is different 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 some dreamers expect ton battle wagons eventually destroyers torpedo boats mine layers and the deadly submarine are other weapons of sea warfare unknown in civil war days each does its part counteracting the power of mighty battleships but sea battles are seldom the stalemates stale mates which emy powers encounter in land war fare unable to depend on natura defenses or previously constructed barricades the boats must fight it out on even terms until superior tactical work turns the tide of battle but while it is held in leash the threat of naval power can effectively discourage aggression the airplane an infant in the world war has become a formidable weapon today in 1918 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 pursuit ships and reconnaissance planes have made comparable com e strides As with the battleship and its auxiliary naval equipment the airplane is a potent threat to wave before the covetous eyes of a would be aggressor might does not make right as the world once believed but it does in make ake a war hungry nation think twice before walking into the jaws of self destruction it if 1940 brings a tumultuous and desperate war on the western front the nations concerned will probably prove what they already fear that it des desat nt pay |