a cranked axletree. The gun has not the independent line of sight,
but has a panorama sight. It traverses on the axletree.
The Danish Q.F. Field Gun (fig. 64, Plate IV.) is a good example of the heavier or more powerful type of Krupp field gun. The gun may be seen supported on the cradle, which contains the hydraulic buffer and running-up springs. The wedge breech block is open.
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- Redrawn from Bethell’s Modern Guns and Gunnery.
- Fig. 63.—The German Q.F. Gun. C. 96. n./A. (1906).
The arc sight with panorama telescope is seen behind the shield, which is curved backwards for better protection. The seats for the gunners who lay and attend to the breech are on either side of the trail. At the point of the trail are the spade, the traversing lever and the trail eye by which the gun is limbered up.
The American Q.F. Field Gun.—This is an example of the Ehrhardt type of gun. It is considerably more powerful than the field guns adopted by most European powers. Steadiness is ensured by making the trail 1012 ft. long, or 134 ft. longer than the Krupp trail. The construction is otherwise very similar to that of the Krupp gun shown in fig. 64, Plate IV. Four rounds are carried in tubes on the carriage.
Other Q.F. Equipments.—These closely resemble the standard types of their makers, as given in the above table of field guns. The Swiss and Dutch guns are light Krupps; the Spanish and Portuguese guns, by Schneider of Creusot, are improved and lighter models of the French gun.
The new Italian gun is a medium Krupp. The Austrian gun is similar to the American (Ehrhardt) but the gun itself is of bronze.
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- Fig. 65.—Rumanian (Krupp) Quick-Firing Field Gun.
The Rumanian Q.F. field gun (fig. 65) is a recent type of medium Krupp gun. The shield is set well back, and has a hood projecting forwards and fitting close to the gun. The brake is used for travelling only; the brake-wheel is seen in front of the shield. The panorama telescope is mounted on top of the arc sight; no foresight is used. There are no axletree seats, the gunners being carried on the gun limber and wagon limber. The wagon body (fig. 66) is tipped beside the gun in action.
Horse Artillery Guns.—A horse artillery gun must be mobile enough to accompany cavalry. This is secured partly by the adoption of a light type of gun, partly by carrying the gunners on horseback instead of on the carriage. It is considered that the weight behind the team should not exceed 30 cwt. The Germans have declined to introduce a special type of light gun, as they object to the complication entailed by the supply of two natures of ammunition on the battlefield. The H.A. guns of other nations are merely lighter and less powerful editions of their field guns.
The Q.F. Field Howitzer.—A field howitzer is a gun capable of throwing a shell weighing 35 to 45 ℔ at high angles of elevation, and light enough to manoeuvre at a trot across open country. The permissible weight of the equipment is but slightly greater than that of a field gun. The object of the howitzer is to throw a heavy, shell with an angle of descent of not less than 25°, so as to destroy| overhead cover with high-explosive shell, and to search entrenchments and reach gunners behind their gun-shields with shrapnel. Effect is obtained, not by the striking velocity of the shell, but by, the amount of its high-explosive burster, or, in the case of shrapnel fire, by the use of a large driving charge in the base of the shell which gives the necessary forward and downward velocity to the bullets.
Since the muzzle energy of a howitzer is limited by the weight of the equipment, the heavy shell can only be fired with a low velocity, usually not exceeding 1000 ft. per second. And in order to secure a steep angle of descent at short ranges this velocity is still further reduced by using half and quarter charges.
The construction of the howitzer is much the same as that of a gun. The calibre is usually between 4·3 and 4·7 in., and the length does not much exceed 12 calibres. Case ammunition is used, and the breech action is similar to that of a Q.F. gun. Howitzers are usually provided with shields in order to enable them to come into
