PRECIS 
9 
AND 
TRANSLATIONS. 
“ REVUE D’ARTILLERIE. 5 ’ 
THE FIELD GUN OF THE FUTURE. 
A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF GENERAL WILLE’S 
RECENT WORK. 
BY 
GASTON 1 MOCH, Capitaine d’artillerie. 
PB.ECI8 BY 
Lieut.-Colonel E. E. B. Loraine, late R.A. 
{Continued from No. 7, Vol. XIX.) 
Captain Moch continues liis criticism in succeeding numbers of the Revue 
d’Artillerie in considerable detail and fullness, with complete knowledge of all 
the conditions of the problem. I regret that your space only admits of an out¬ 
line of his case, but I will endeavour not to allow any important point to escape 
me. 
He begins by pointing out that ballistic science, in its present stage, is 
incapable of realising the initial velocity demanded by General Wille from so 
light a gun. Here are the figures : a projectile weighing 14 T 5 g- lbs., muzzle 
velocity 2625 f.s.—resulting muzzle energy 683‘66 foot tons. Again, weight of 
gun being only 7f- cwt. we have the astounding figure of 88 foot tons of energy 
per cwt. of gun. It is to be noted that a great stride was made in this direction 
by the introduction of large grain powder, so much so that between the years 
1873 and 1878 the relative energy of German field guns advanced from 13 to 25 
foot tons per cwt. of gun. Recently muzzle velocity has been still further 
increased by the introduction of nitrogenous powders without unduly augmenting 
1 This officer was erroneously designated “ Gustave Moch ” in the previous portion of this precis. 
9. VOL. XIX. 64a 
