I CAN BETTER THAT GUN," SAID INVENTOR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 245, 16 October 1944, Page 4

I CAN BETTER THAT GUN ," SAID INVENTOR

(By E. K. GREEN)

THE scene was a testing range for * machine-guns. Gathered about a new machine-gun were a group of service experts, members of the New Zealand War " Inventions Board, Lieutenant-Colonel G. H.. O'Leary, A.Q.M.G. (small arms section), and the inventor, a young man from one of the smaller North Island centres. The gun, notable for its lightness and rapid rate of fire, had just been tested; commented on favourably, even enthusiastically. Then Lieutenant-Colonel O'Leary spoke to one of the ordnance men. He went away and came back with the latest model sub-machine carbine. It was set up at the end of the range, and a few rounds fired at the target. The young inventor strolled up, interested. Could he have a look at it? Fire a few rounds? A stutter of fire for a moment. A pause, and another look at the mechanism. "I can better that," said the inventor. Just like that. For Paratrooper Use The inventor returned to his home town; to his backyard workshop. Later he returned to the testing ground, with a similar group of experts. He had produced a new, lighter and faster firing sub-machine-gun! That gun, the details of which were immediately forwarded to London, has influenced the latest type of sub-machine-gun for paratroopers. Since the War Inventions Board was set up in this country there have been quite a number of such dramatic scenes, though not all have produced such favourable results. That young inventor, who is not even a trained mechanic —just a young chap with a mechanical bent and an instinct for guns—has already produced two machine-guns.and the sub-machine-gun just mentioned. If you want to know what Allied war effort means you don't have to go past the files of the War Inventions Board. There is nothing which is entirely new—few ideas or models that are acceptable in their entirety. All ideas go into the common Allied pool, where they are sorted and sifted. The new weapon that emerges is a combination of all the best ideas. Guarding Patent Rights The question of how much was contributed by any one inventor or scientist to the composite production will not be settled until after the war. Then a Royal Commission will sit in judgment, and there will be other Allied assessment commissions after that to sort out patent and royalty questions. In the meantime, in New Zealand, a sum of up to £20 is paid to an inventor who produces something new and useful —something that is accepted. And the greatest care is taken of files dealing with all suggestion and their development to protect later individual interests. Several good suggestions regarding guns have originated in this country. One inventor, for instance, produced a modification of a rifle to turn it into an automatic, self-loading weapon. The same man developed a power drive, increasing the rate of fire for certain types of guns. From a small North Island centre a farmer with an engineering bent made a special trip to Wellington to interview the board about a new sub-machine-gun he had designed. He was given the opportunity of discussing it with ordnance experts, and went away armed with literature and advice. His gun as a whole was nof acceptable, but there was a locking device in the bolt that had possibilities. He's working on that : at present." • At still another North Island ■ centre an inventor is working hard on the development of a remote control idea. It is anticipated that he ; will have some contribution to make to the pool of suggestions and developments in that particular field of research. ; In the sphere cf training weapons and apparatus there have been a ! number of useful suggestions. There is a sub-gun target practice carti ridge, for instance, which has been ; developed here for use by school cadets, learning to shoot. It saves ; ammunition. A needle-point punches ■ a target to show where the bullet ■ would have-hit had one been fired. As another example, a flying-officer ! cf the R.N.Z.A.F. submitted a navi- ■ gational instructional apparatus " which has been made at Hutt, and . is in use in New Zealand, though it was not accented in Canada. Air Force members, specialists in • one branch or other of engineering i and technical skill, have been a ! fruitful source of ideas for improve- > ments. In many cases these have • been improvisations developed to , meet needs in cases, where, possibly, ; the correct equipment for a particu- , lar job had not yet arrived from > overseas. A suggestion from Hamil- ! ton R.N.Z.A.F. workshops for an ! apparatus to correct the pitch angle ■ of propeller blades was regarded as I particularly promising—simple and ingenious.

The method of selection, testing and assessment of value used by the War Inventions Board is interesting. After examining it I was impressed with its systematic method of consideration, and its determination to act fairly by all who submit their ideas. Mistakes may have been made, but they have not been made from lack of care. Originally the idea of the board came from the Naval Secretary, who was being inundated with suggestions from the outbreak of war. It was set up under war regulations, with a secretai-y and a board consisting of representatives of each of the three Services, of the patent office, and of the munitions controller's office, with Dr. E. Marsden, secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Director of Scientific Development to the defence services, as chairman. Five Chances of Acceptance Ideas sent in by members of the general public, or Service personnel, are passed through the hands of the secretary who, after recording all details for permanent record, refers them to the Service representative within whose scope they come. In turn he considers the value of the suggestion, In conjunction with his experts, and reports back to the board.

Each suggestion is read out at the next meeting of the board, and reported on. There is an opportunity then for one of the other members to say, "I'm interested in that." By this systeni each idea has five chances of consideration, and in a number of cases it has been found that where the idea has not found favour with the Service for which it was originally intended, it has been accepted in whole or part by one of the other Services as meeting a particular problem of the moment.

Where an idea is taken up a grant may be made for development and testing, the inventor either working on his own or being co-opted for work with specialists. Where it is considered that urgent development is necessary the suggestion is sent off to Britain without delay. The reason for this lies not only in getting vital equipment into production as soon as possible, but also as a protection for the inventor. War's needs change so from day to day that an idea of the greatest immediate importance may have little value in a few months' time. Progress, too, is so rapid, and there are so many inventors contributing to the common pool that any wasted time may mean that a similar or alternative suggestion has already been accepted overseas. Teanfwork Necessary "In this war," Dr. Marsdcn told me, "the greater proportion of developments come from the research laboratories, where teams of specialists are available for consultation, and where machines and testing instruments are readily available. The lonely inventor has less chance than in former days." He pointed out, however, that— as has been illustrated in New Zealand —the individual inventor who was willing to co-operate in the larger sphere of development could contribute valuably. In several cases inventors had suggested ideas which, although not practical in their entirety when used according to the method suggested by the originator, drew attention to novel methods of accomplishing desirable objectives. It had been possible, thereby, for the experts in the services and laboratories to supply information which, added to that of the inventor, made the suggestion more practicable. Then Dr. Marsden added this warning: "Except in most exceptional circumstances, because of the necessary lag in development, production and training of personnel in the use of the new weapon, there is, at this late stage of the war, much less likelihood of new weapons being adopted. Most of the new weapons and war instruments going into use at present have been under development and manufacture for fully two years. This may not apply so much to modifications called for by recent experience in France and Italy, in regard to which 'crash' programmes may be called for. "The chief lesson of the war is that we need a closer marriage of industries scientific developments and service requirements to avoid in future the long delay in application of new ideas from industrial developments to war purposes."—Copyright.