The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

XLV. SCHNEIDER-GANET SYSTEM OF MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY. MOUNTAIN artillery, wlncli has a more limited range of usefulness than that for field service, has been designed and experimented upon by Messrs. Schneider and Co., coneurrently with tlie latter dass of ordnance. The special conditions to be fulfilled as regards weight and transport have limited the programme of mountain artillery construction. Moreover, the experiments carried out with field artillery have frequently resulted in tlie setting aside, as unfit for mountain service, certain patterns that had been designeel for this special service. The following descriptions are, therefore, limited to a comparatively small number of types, cornprising the ordinary ones, with free iccoil, and also quick-firing, in each case, specimens of medium, and of high power, having been chosen, the free recoil being taken first. Free Recoil Mountain Artillery: 75 - Millimétré (2.952-In.) Gun of Medium Power (Fig. 959, and Figs. 960 to 965, Plates CLIX. and CLX.). reccssed sockets, which Lear direct against the wheel naves. In tiglitening the sockets, by ineans of levers which fit in the recesses, an energetic friction is obtained when recoil takes place. A hook is provided at the end of the trail, for hooking-on the shaft. For transport on mules, tlie gun is taken off the carriage ; the wheels are renioved from the axle, and all the varions parts of the material are placée! on pack-saddles, suitably arrangée! in the following manner : One mule cairies the gun and its fittings; a second one, the carriage ; a third one, the wheels and shaft; ;i fourth, tvvo cases fillecl with ammunition; a fifth, two cases filled with implements and tools ; a sixth, a portable forge. Specimens of this type bave been suppliée! to Morocco ; they are of most simple construction. 75 - Millimétré (2.952-In.) Gun of High Power (Fig. 966). Weight of gun... ,, carriage „ projectile .. Muzzle velocity Vis rim of projectile.. ... i 100 kg. ... I 154kg. ... ! 4.6 kg. ... 1 260 in. 15.7 t.-m 220 1b. 339 1b. 10.14 1b. 853 ft. 52.28 foot-tons. Weight of gun... ,, carriage projectile .. Muzzle velocity Vis rira of projectile .. 220 1b. 324 Ib. 10.14 1b. 1033 ft. 76.59 foot-tons. Besicles these types, another is manufactured of higher capacity ; the weights are, of course, greater in con- The nun is of steel, and is fitted with a screw breech- block with a plastic obturator ; firing is effected by friction, a safety device being provided. The gun is 16 calibres in total length. The sight and scale are on the right-hand side. The carriage consists of two brackets, joined togetlier at the trail and strengthened by stays, the last one forming the head-plate. It is fitted with a lever for training the gun, and with a sponge and rammer shaft. The carriage rests in front on the axle ; the wheels are of wood, with metallic nave. For elevating the gun, a screw is provided, that Works in a fixée! nut, and on the top end of which the gun rests, on account of the prépondérance of the breech. The screw is worked by a handwheel. The brake for reducing recoil acts 011 the naves of the wheels, and prevents them from turning freely. The ends of the axle journals are threaded, and are fitted with séquence. The general construction, however, is the saine for botli types, except the elevating niechanism, which in the latter consists of a vertical rack, which ends at its top part in a lug, to which is jointed the breech-end of the gun. The rack is made with a scale in front, and is worked by a handwheel held by the gunner. A set of Belleville springs is provided in the gearing to deaden the shoeks on the niechanism. The mule saddling is arrangée! in the saine way as for the lighter gun. Both types are designed for firing with black powder and friction fuse, but they can be fired with but slight alterations, with smokeless powder, cartridge cases, and percussion fuse. Mountain Guns with Checked Recoil : 65-Milli- metre (2.559-In.) Gun on Carriage with Spring Brake (Figs. 967 to 969).—The following description is that