Popular Science Monthly 



visable to discontinue the manufacture 

 of the ser\ace model of machine-gun and 

 has adopted the gun made by the 

 Vickers Company of London as the 

 better weapon. Of the old model — 

 Gatling and Colt automatic guns — there 

 were 1,380 in December, 1914, but 

 many were obsolete and only i ,000 could 

 be counted upon as serviceable. The 

 former estimate of 1,801 machine-guns 

 required by the Army has within the 

 past year been cut down to 1,361, on the 

 basis of four per regiment. This is mani- 

 festly far too low, as the French among 

 others have increased the number of 

 machine-guns per regiment to more than 

 forty during the present war, owing to 

 their great power of destruction. Only 

 125 machine-guns were manufactured 



691 



the old Krag-Jorgensen rifles. During 

 the preceding year, 25,545 Cnited States 

 rifles, caliber .30, model of 1903 (or 

 Springfield) were manufactured, which 

 is at the rate of about 82 per working 

 day, whereas that one small-arms fac- 

 tory has a capacity of 500 rifles per diem. 

 The Chief of Ordnance declared that a 

 reserve of 800,000 small-arms was de- 

 sired, which would be sufficient to arm 

 any force such as the country would be 

 likely to need for the first months of war. 

 It will, however, be necessary to increase 

 the last appropriation — which was only 

 $250,000 — if the remaining 100,000 rifles 

 are to be secured within several years. 



Only Four Days' Supply of Ammunition 

 For the Infantry 



The reserve supply of small-arms am- 

 munition in December, 1914, was only 

 195,000,000 rounds. Our Field Service 

 Regulations prescribe 1,360 rounds for 

 each infantryman — that is, 100 in his 



The heaviest United States field piece is 



a pop-gun as compared with the German 



42 -centimeter, the largest mobile piece of 



artillery yet constructed 



THE. UNITED STATES HAS NOTHING LARGER 

 IN CALIBER. THAN THE 6-INCH HOWITZER 



for the American Army during the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1914, and the sup- 

 ply of ammunition for them is fixed at 

 21,400 rounds per gun. 



A more satisfactory condition is found 

 in respect to infantry rifles, of which the 

 United States possessed on June 30, 

 1914, slightly less than 700,000 of the 

 most modern Springfield pattern, as 

 well as between 300,000 and 400,000 of 



belt, 120 in the combat train which goes 

 with the troops, 120 in the ammunition 

 train which follows behind the supply 

 trains, 340 rounds in the advance depot 

 from which it can be sent forward to the 

 troops, and 680 in the depot at the base 

 of supplies. In other words, 195,000,000 

 would not be sufiicicnt to supply an 

 army of 145,522 infantrymen with 

 1,360 rounds each. The 1,360 rounds 



