150 
Q.F. FIELD EQUIPMENTS ON THE CONTINENT. 
(1) Krupp's (2) Maxim-Nordenfelt (3) St. diamond.* Of these, the 
Krupp gun had. the simplest carriage, but it was the least powerful 
gun of the three. The St. Chamond gun was the most powerful but 
the mechanism was the most complicated. The Maxim-Nordenfelt 
gun was intermediate, as regards power, between the other two and 
it had a good breech mechanism. 
The Experimental Committee practically adopted the report of 
these two officers, except that they said some mountain guns (Krupp) 
of 2*95 inches calibre had recently been purchased for use in Cuba 
and for the sake of uniformity they considered the new field gun 
should have the same calibre. The shell should weigh 14‘3 lbs. 
They considered absolute suppression of recoil was hopeless though it 
was the most essential point in rapid fire. It should, however, be 
reduced to a minimum so that the amount of re-laying necessary 
should be small. It was not useful to exaggerate rapidity of fire; 
five to six rounds a minute would be sufficient, and that, they under¬ 
stood, was Krupp's opinion also. The simplest method, before the 
Committee, of checking recoil was Krupp’s; it consisted of a trail 
spade connected to the trail by a hinge and spring. Other methods 
consisted of the use of buffers which were adapted either to the 
entire carriage or to the gun alone. They recommended the adoption 
of fixed ammunition, though they recognized that the metal case was 
one-tenth the weight of the projectile. They considered the Maxim- 
Nordenfelt breech mechanismt a very good one and likely to answer 
their purposes. They recommended that, in addition to the equipments 
already referred to, a new field equipment designed by Colonel 
Sotomayor should be tried. 
This stage seems to have been reached in October, 1896. 
By August, 1897, trials had been carried out at the Carabanchel 
ranges of four guns in comparison with a 3*09 inch Sotomayor gun of 
model 1891. { 
These four guns were two from Krupp (light and heavy), one from St. 
Chamond (heavy), one Maxim-Nordenfelt. They were all of 2*95 
inches calibre. The Sotomayor carriage had no spade or brake; 
these other four carriages had trail spades ; the Krupp carriages had 
Bellville springs, the other two firms supplied carriages with hydraulic 
buffers. All the guns used metallic cartridges and smokeless powder; 
loading and laying could go on simultaneously ; the ammunition was 
brought up in boxes ; the guns could be traversed through 8° altogether 
on the carriage. After a preliminary firing trial these four experi¬ 
mental equipments and the Sotomayor gun were put through a three 
months travelling and manoeuvring trial over different sorts of ground. 
Further firing trials were then gone through. 
* From drawings and pictures of the St. Chamond and Vickers equipments which have 
appeared in the Engineer, Journal R.U.S.I., Revue d’Artillerie, Journal of the United States 
Artillery, it is evident that this St. Chamond carriage (Darmancier patent) is very similar to 
that of Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim. 
f This mechanism would probably he the same as that of the Maxim-Nordenfelt guns 
recently used in the Soudan, at the Atbara and at Omdurman. 
J This gun though made and tried some years ago never seems to have been adopted into the 
Spanish service. 
