It is absolutely necessary for the successful tactical employment of machine guns that they should be as inconspicuous as possible when in action; the gun itself is a very small object when close to the ground, and its visibility will depend almost entirely on the nature of mounting and its adaptability for use behind cover of varying heights. All our infantry carriages are so conspicuous as to be quite unconcealable except in defence, the wheels being 4 ft. 8 in. in diameter and the gun axis 3 ft. 6 in. above the ground. The Mark IV. tripod is the handiest and least conspicuous of the mountings at present in use in our service, and although it weighs 48 lb. it can be carried into almost any position and easily concealed. It can be adjusted to fire at any desired height between 14-1/2 and 30 in. above the ground level, and consequently can be used from behind any suitable cover.
Vulnerability.—The question of vulnerability would appear at first to depend entirely on visibility; or, in other words, on the target presented to the enemy's fire, but this is only true to a certain extent. To obtain the minimum vulnerability it is of course necessary to have the gun as low and inconspicuous as possible, because the less it can be seen and the better cover it can obtain, the more difficult it will be to locate and hit. But the true vulnerability of the gun in comparison with infantry lies in the amount of front they occupy respectively; or in other
