Newspapers / The Johnstonian-Sun (Selma, N.C.) / Sept. 19, 1940, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of The Johnstonian-Sun (Selma, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
r \, \. Big Guns In battle the Field Artillery fires its accurate and powerful weapons in support of the main fighting arms, the Infantry and Cavalry. The standbys of the new artillery regi ments will be thirty-six new 75 mm. guns and sixteen 155 mm. guns. ThS 75 hurls 166 three-inch shells an hour, each weighing about 15 pounds. And the artilleryman, when he has his mind on his business, can nestle one of those shells right into the enemy’s lap at a distance of seven miles. If that doesn’t seem to do the job, the artilleryman unlimbers the 155 mm. howitzer gun, just twice as big. Then he is prepared to land a 100- pound shell in the enemies’ bread basket 10. miles away. An artillery regiment is also supplied with collection of in-between-size guns for special jobs. All these gTins cap use shells that whistle, sing, buzz, or whisper on their way to deliver various loads of high explosive, of shrapnel, smoke, gas, or whatever the enemy would lea.st like to have at the moment. Problems In Gun Production. Production of these guns is simple task. In order to stand under the terrific pounding of rapid fire they must be made of the finest steels available. To be accurate the gun barrels must be shaved down on lathes to within fractions of a thou sandth of an inch. The recoil ■ mechanisms must be built like a watch, but rugged as a battleship, for they must Catch the bump de livered by several hundred thousand foot-pouds of exploding charge, yet return the gun to position in a frac tion of a minute. In the main, these guns, their re coil mechanisims, and their car riages are built in Government arsenals scattered around the coun try. These plants are equipped with the necessary special tools, and have the men experienced in manufacture. The job of the National Defense Ad visory Commission in this phase of the work is to see that the arsenals get the metals they need when they need them, and to see that properly trained personnel is available for ex panding the working force. Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., in charge of raw materials from the source to the factory, has already determined that there are adequate supplies of all necessary steel ready for use when needed as the program prog resses. To insure an expanded supply of manpower the Commission has co operated on setting up a youth-train ing program. Under this program, thousands of young men and women throughout the country are attending trade schools this summer, learning the techniques of operating modern machine tools so that they will be ready to step into place on the pro duction lines set up throughout the nation. Productive Coiordination Necessary Although the Government has arsenals that turn out shells for the artillery, the vastly expanded army will use far more than they can supply. To take care of expansion, the Army has long had a policy of giving “educational orders.” Under these orders, a manufacturing plant usually devoted, let us say to sewing machines, tools up a production line for making 75mm high-explosive shell cases. A few hundred shells are produced in a few days. The pro duction line is shut down, but the tools all remain in the factory ready to go to work. These have now been called into action, but that is not enough. New plants are to go into operation west of the .411eghenys, handy to supplies of raw materials, along the lines of transportation, and “t^ere there is already a supply of surplus labor available. As these plants expand their activities a steady supply of materials must reach them, be processed, and flow smoothly along to the shell-loading plants, out the other end, and on to the man who feeds them into the gun. This calls for tight coordination all along the line, not for today or tomorrow, but looking ahead into next year, so that every time that Joe Smith of Battery X, Field Ar tillery, reaches for a shell he w’ll find one of the right kind, ready to be stuffed into his gun. That means an unbroken, unclogged smooth flowing production line running from the gun back through the plants to the iron and coal mines. And that is the job of the Defense Advisory Commission. Feeding the Artillery. Since the men at the guns almost never see their targets, the control of field artillery is conducted from observmtiop posts connected with the batteries by radio or telephone. At the posts, rapid computations are •made for aiming the gun, and fire is adjusted to hit enemy targets. InJ order to see that the shells have the proper name and address of the enemy requires uncannily accurafe fire-control instruments. This was a troublesome product in the last war. We just didn’t have the supplies of optical glass for range finders and similar instruments. The Defense Ad visory Commission has already found that new sources in the United States, with increased plant capacity already under way, will give an ade quate supply. Joe Smith, Artilleryman, unlike his brother John in* the Infantry, ordinarily does not fight as an in dividual, nor is his gun fired as a single units.' To make fire effective against moving men or columns, the guns are employed in groups. Over 100 men serve a battery of four guns, firing as a unit and covering a considerable area with a single burst of shells. If the observation post or the battalion fire direction center has done its job of locating the enemy, the burst does the rest. Three batteries of light artillery make up a battalion with almost 500 men, battalions of heavy guns being made up of two batteries. And a regiment with upwards of 1,000 men consists of two or three battalions depending again on the size of the guns. The new Infantry divisions will have two artillery regiments, one light and one heavy, 60-odd guns in all. And on top of the heap over the artillery general, we find the division commander who runs the whole show, artillery and infantry. Now, in order to keep up with the infantry who are going places in trucks and tanks, the artillery has •to be mobile also. It keeps uj5 with horses, trucks, crawlers, and creep ers. But that’s only the beginning of the problem. For a 75 mm. gun firing at a noriffal rate during a three-hour battle slaps out some 500 shells, weighing over five tons. So to keep the wherewithal handy requires a large truck train. That’s easy Trucks are an item this nation really knows how to produce. Ain^t Gonna Pick Cotton or do you Found: the man who wants nothing but the gravy, and makes no bones | about his wants. J'he subject walked into the Wayne I welfare office recently, marched up to the desk of Supt. J. A. Best and | said: “I want to get on WPA.’ Knowing the subject both personal ly and by reputation, the superinten dent asked: “Do you want WPA want a private job?” “I want WPA,” was the reply. “Well, WP.4’s full,” the welfare I head sa;d. But I’ll write you a letter to UCC folks who will assign you to | cotton picking job.” Initialing the finished letter, Su-1 perintendent Best presented it to his caller who calmly and promptly tore it to shreds, right under the super-1 intendent’s nose. Turning his back the subject mumbled as he walked I out: “Denied if I’m gonna pick any cotton.” Teacher: “What does it mean when the paper says a man went to the | convention as a delegate-at-large?’ Bright Boy: “It means that his | wife didn’t go with him.” ★ FASHION PREVIEW ^ Ideal for the college girl is this paddock-plaid ticeed coat, as shown III the September Good Housekeep ing. l\ote the sitnplicity of the cu‘ The colors are a mixture of tomato red, sage green, and beige. N. C. State Fair Will Show Burning of City RALEIGH, Sept. 18.—A sweeping river of larva flowing from a giant volcano erupting to destroy a huge city will be depicted in the fire works display, entitle “The Earth quake”. to be presented nightly at the State Fair at Raleigh, October 8 through 12, manager J. S. Dorton, announced today. The fireworks display will be seen following the grandstand perform ances, which include nine thrilling acts and a colorful re'vue presented under the direction of George Hamid of New York City. “The Earthquake” setting wull be 200 feet long and 30 feet high, and in addition special set-prices from three sections of the field will be seen in three-ring circus fashion with hundreds of bombshells being fired continuously from the start of the display to the grand finale. One of the most spectacular scenes of the display will be the destruction of a city, sound effects and the rumbl ing of the larva stream being fur nished with the firing of huge bombs from the field. tion will be presented by Tony Vitale of New Castle, Pa., who last year offered “The Men From Mars”. “Based on the compliments we have had in connection with the ‘Men From Mars’ presentation last year, we are again offering a pro duction on Tony Vitale for we be lieve his displays will be in keeping with the usual entertainment pro gram this year,” Dr. Dorton said. LITTLE THINGS THE FIRST RAILROAD TUNNEL IN THE UNITED STATES WAS CONSTRUQED NEAR. JOHNSTOWN, PA. IN 1833. The fireworks for the 1940 exposi- It takes so little to make us glad, to cheer us up, to make us happy; it takes and costs so little to be kind, to be thoughtful, to be considerate; it takes so little to cheer others up who are discouraged, so little to lend a helping hand, yet it means so much to others as well as ourselves. We think too much about doing things that look big in our lives and we think too little of the everyday small acts of thoughtfulness, of kindness, the little helpfulness to those who are disheartened and do'wn and out. After all, is it not the little things that make up life? THE AVERAGE SPEED OFAMERICAM RAILROAD FREIGHT TRAINS IS 64 PERCENT FASTER TODAY THAN IT WAS IN 1920. RAILROAD TRACKS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE LAID ON MORE THAN ONE BILLION CROSSTIES- N EARLY 2,994 CROSS TIES BEING REQUIRED FOR EACH MILE OF TRACK. An Amazing Offer! Now at last We can give YOU a genuine MORRISON Guaranteed Lifetime Service Fountain Pen ABSOLUTELY FREE THIS OFFER IS OPEN TO EVERYONE — +1'’ ^ what we mean! We have been fortunate in making a cooperative advertisinv aoree FOE A LIMj'TErnME Service Pels . snbsS'Xnrjg^ouS ‘"eir'' ™ ~ ™ no ALL YOU NEED TO DO to obtain one of these beautiful and useful ojfts is to ootup into nm* pfUcr, ^ oS'compliments”' Johnstonian-Sun and your MORPJSON PEN will be handed to you Jith 1145 Rik The Morrison Is One of Americans Finer Pens The Morrison is a Pen of Beauty and Dis tinction ...... ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ It is elegant in appearance, yet conservative in style It is hand-turned and huffed to a lustroic; finish that never fades ...... It has Micromatic Balance .... A Smooth-gliding, especially point To suit your oivn individual ivriting PATENTED FEATURES that no other pen can offer :) If And it comes to you with an unqualified guarantee of Lifetime Service iiiiii j|i IS The Morison is sold in the exclusive gift shops in New York City, where it manufactured and in countless other stores in the large metropolitan centers It comes in botli men’s and women’s styles in your choice of points. YOU SHOULD ACT FOR YOURSELF FRIEND! NOW! GET THIS PEN OR GET IT FOR A - GET IT NOW! MAIL THIS COUPON IF YOU CANNOT COME TO THE OFFICE The Johnstonian-Sun, Selma, N. C.: Enclosed find $1.00 for which kindly pay my subscription for one year to the Johnstonian-Sun. Please send my Morrjson pen in (Men’s) or (Women’s) style, to me to: Name Street .... RED. City and State GOME IN AND SEE IT ! We cannot too strongly urge you to come in and see this fine gift. Every man, woman and child who can read and write has need for a fountain pen and who does not like to own the best? You will need it every time you write your name; you will be proud of it every time you show it to a friend ! THE JOHNSTONIAN-SUN ri-., - J si
The Johnstonian-Sun (Selma, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 19, 1940, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75