THE NEW AUSTRIAN FIELD GUNS, 
25 
REMARKS ON FOREGOING. 
Taken altogether, it is evident that the present Austrian armament is an immense 
advance upon that which she has up to this time possessed, and that for the present 
the power of her field guns is quite equal, if not superior, to that of the German 
Krupp guns of latest pattern, while their cost is about two-thirds of the Krupp 
steel field pieces.* 
(1) The heavy piece, of about the same calibre as the German, but half a cwt. 
heavier, throws a common shell of 16*1 lbs. against 15 ‘4 lbs., and with a higher 
velocity; so that at 2000yds. it has 40f.s. more velocity than the German shell. 
(2) The light piece, on the other hand, with a calibre 0‘14in. smaller than the 
German light gun, is 1^ cwt. lighter, and throws a common shell of 9’5 lbs. against 
11'2 lbs. The muzzle velocity, also, is much lower than that given by the German 
piece. 
Whether the metal used will not deteriorate under firing, is, however, according 
to our ideas, still a question. I find the following statement in the foreign corres¬ 
pondence of an English daily paper :—“ The Emperor, Francis. Joseph, in a new 
year’s letter (1877) to the General Inspector of Artillery, has expressed his satis¬ 
faction at the surprisingly rapid production of the 1100 Uchatius guns; but now 
it appears (16. 1. 1877) that the projectiles!—to which the guns owe their chief 
excellence (?)—can only be prevented by great caution from bursting in the gun. 
The double iron casing is too thin, the indentations which cause the bursting of 
the case (?) into a number of small pieces too deep, and on the battlefield the 
same precautions are not possible as on the practising ground.” 
* Taking into consideration the fact that Government possessed a large stock of old bronze guns, 
the metal of which could be utilised. 
f The double shell described at p. 10 of this paper, 
4 
