126 MILITARY SCIENCES. 



and behind, running downwards, two studs, to which the chains, DD, are 

 made fast, which, by turning the winch, E, are wound upon the roller, C, 

 just in front of the middle transom, F, and thus the stool bed with the 

 breech of the piece resting upon it, is either raised or lowered. Instead of 

 the studs, curved racks have been used, and pinions placed on the axle, C, 

 thus avoiding the use of the chains. On the windlass there is always a 

 racket wheel and parol to hold the direction. 



The best and simplest elevating apparatus is the elevating screw (pZ. 37, 

 jig. 23). The stool bed revolves upon bolts in the carriage at g, and has 

 beneath an iron groove plate, e, under which the screw head, d, catches. 

 This screw is turned by the wrench, hb, and works in the female screw, a, 

 which is placed in an iron transom for that purpose, revolving on sockets in 

 the carriage cheeks {fig. 24). Fig. 6 shows clearly the whole arrange- 

 ment. A variety of this apparatus is where the female screw has arms 

 and lies loose upon the pierced transom ; in this case the nut is turned, 

 while in the other it is the screw. The elevating screw of the Bavarian 

 3-pounder {figs. 1 and 5) is similarly constructed, but has no stool bed (as 

 indeed is the case at present with the French artillery) ; the head of the 

 screw passes through the knob of the cascable, and is turned by the 

 winch, a; the female screw is at h, and movable upon the carriage cheeks. 



g. The Limber. To move a piece of artillery from one place to another, 

 two more wheels must be added to the two upon which it stands. This is 

 done by means of the limber or front carriage. There are limbers without, 

 and limbers with boxes. The first consists only of an axle, upon which 

 lies a bolster, bearing a pintle bolt {fig. 13 mno), over which the trail of 

 the piece is hung. In front is the pole with its parts. Limbers with boxes 

 serve for the transportation at the same time of the most necessary muni- 

 tions and of some of the gunners. In general, the limber forms a common 

 fore carriage, with all its p^rts, on which stands in rear a bolster with the 

 pintle bolt, and in front, upon the axle, the limber box. In the position of 

 the pintle bolt there are some variations. In the Prussian artillery and 

 several others, the pintle is a straight conical bolt, and the pintle hole larger 

 above than below. In pieces on the plan of the Bavarian Col Zoller 

 {pi. 38, centre figure), the pintle is the same, but the sweep bar of the 

 limber falls away, and the pintle hole is peculiarly constructed, so as to give 

 the greatest freedom of motion in the junction of the limber and carriage 

 for overcoming difficulties of ground. For pieces with the block carriage, 

 instead of the pintle hole a hook is requisite {pL 37, fig. 19 a), in which 

 the ring of the trail is hung. With respect to the limber box, there are 

 also great differences, as we shall see in the descriptions of single limbers. 

 Fig. 2 shows the limber of a Bavarian 3-pounder from the side, and fig. 3, 

 from the rear : E, is the perch with the sweep bar, hh, and the shaft, 

 between the arms of which lies the pole ; A is the axle-tree body, with the 

 two wooden arms, BB, which at aa are cased with iron, and on which run 

 the wheels, G ; e is the pintle, over which the ring, B, of the carriage is 

 hung {fig. 1). Upon the axle and the shaft stands the limber box, F, which 

 at D is cushioned, and forms a seat for two artillerists, for whom a back 

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