550 ‘ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF ARTILLERY IN CUBA. 
firing it, into which description we need not enter—and more par- 
ticularly he describes our Hale war rocket. He afterwards studies 
briefly what type of war rocket would be most suitable to employ 
against the Cuban insurgents. Direct fire would not be of much use 
in a country such as that in which the enemy have taken refuge, hence 
indirect fire is necessary. He does not think a shrapnel would be of 
any use, and recommends an explosive shell loaded with granular gun- 
cotton which would ensure the shell bursting into a large number of 
fragments. Time fuzes should be used to guard against premature 
explosions owing to unforeseen shocks which would be liable to take 
place with the percussion fuze. If it were found difficult to invent a 
time fuze which would ignite the gun-cotton powder then it might 
be necessary to substitute ordinary gunpowder for the latter. The 
incendiary rocket would not appear to be of much use for Cuba, 
because it is impossible to destroy by means of it the virgin forest and 
exuberant vegetation, though rockets might come in usefully on certain 
occasions. 
As regards the construction of the rocket, Colonel Vidal recom- 
mends the Hale system of rotation, or the French pattern with central 
tail-piece. It should be fired by a percussion tube. The tripod should 
be of the English pattern. The calibre of the rocket should be 7™ 
(2°75") and the shell of 8™ (3°15") which would give a total weight of 
some 8°8lbs. asa maximum. The length would be about 19” without 
the tail-piece, and with it about 39", and it is calculated that one mule 
could carry two boxes of 12 rockets each. ‘The boxes should be 
adapted for mule or hand transport. 
The author then proposes the following establishment for a rocket 
battery, viz. :— 
Captain. 
Lieutenants. 
Sergeants in charge of two tripods each. 
Corporals, layers, one per tripod. 
Gunners as assistants to above. 
Gunners to supply the rockets. 
Mule drivers. 
Master Artificer. 
Assistant to ditto. 
Shoeing-Smith. 
Assistant ditto. 
Collar-Maker. 
Assistant ditto. 
Artificers (a carpenter and a blacksmith). 
20 Gunners in reserve (with shovels and picks). 
The men to be armed with carbine and sword-bayonet (machete). 
po ee 
De KHRE Ree PONADaCcNre 
To each tripod there would be one layer, one assistant, and two men 
to supply ammunition (proveedores). 
On the tripods being placed in position each assistant layer would 
equip himself with a pocket containing a lanyard, a pouch with friction 
tubes, a knife and a level. A weather-cock on a pole should be placed 
