NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16026, 18 September 1915, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

NEW SUBMARINE GUN. A 3iv. disappearing gun for submarines has been perfected by the Ordnance Bureau of the United States Navy, and in future all American under-water craft will be equipped with such weapons for surface fighting. The carriage of the new gun, it is explained, operates like those of disappearing guns in shore batteries. The weapon is raised through ports in the deck by electric machinery, and after firing is carried quickly back into place by its own recoil, the same force closing the watertight hatch as it disappears. The new gun is made shorter than the regular Sin navy gun to meet space limitations. This reduces its range somewhat. but it has been fitted for very highangle fire, which will give it some chance for use against aeroplanes.

GERMANY'S WAR STRENGTH. During the hearing of the claims by the Crown for the condemnation of four Scandinavian vessels and their cargoes in the British Prize Court on August 2, the Solicitor-General read an affidavit sworn by Major Dillon, of the War Office, which contained German statistics of great interest. Major Dillon gave an estimate of the number of persons who could not be regarded, in the view of the Crown, as civilian population'' because of their dependence on direct support from the German Government. He put forward the following figures ;— tt j Men. Under arms on both fronts 4.000.000 In training ... "50.000 On the railways ... 500.000 Employed in Krupp's and other munition factories 750,000 Engaged in coal mines and in clothing and other factories ... 2.000.000 Total ... 8.000.000 Major Dillon computes the casualties of the German Army, " including constant temporary wastage," at 2,000,000 men. On these figures and on those showing the number of separation allowances, the Solicitor-General came to the conclusion that about 20,000,000 people are, or may become, dependent in the last resort on rations from the State.

ITALY'S AMMUNITION. The present war, says the Italian journal, L'lndustria, besides other revelations, affords proof that abundance of ammunition constitutes one of the fundamental elements of success. The consumption of ammunition is astounding ; it exceeds all figures which the man in the street ever dreamed of, and, what is worse, it exceeds by far also all reasonable provisions made by technical men. The supremo importance of the problem and the insufficiency of the stocks of ammunition were brought home months ago to the minds of the members of the allied Governments. Since then the manufacture of shells has been carried out with renewed activity, and the example of Great Britain, which proclaims with calmness to the world at large its deficiency in shells, and which forms a Ministry of Munitions for meeting this deficiency, is an admirable lesson. Fortunately, Italy is in a better situation than her allies. She has been able to watch events for a period of ten months, during a large part of which her military preparations have been carried out most actively and successfully. The experience gained by the allies has, nevertheless, to be borne in mind by her; she has to remember that all anticipations are inadequate, and all quantities, even though considered boundless at first glance, have still to bo increased. The -ultimate condition of the country may depend upon the abundance or the insufficiency of the provision of war material. Italy, on the other hand, is placed at a disadvantage, having entered late into the war, by the fact that her allies have already hooked the neutral markets, including the United States market. Italy therefore can only with difficulty find. aid among neutral nations. This makes it incumbent upon private industrial firms to contribute to the supplies, and Italian technical institutions are working actively for co-ordinat-ing the productive capacity of all the mechanical establishments throughout the country, with a view to supplying the army with the required means of defence and offence.

DISPERSING ASPHYXIATING GASES.

A suggestion has been made by a writer in the London Morning Post, that asphyxiating gases may be dispersed and rendered innocuous by means of fanblowers. In commenting on this idea Nature says :—"He proposes the use, in the trenches near enough to the enemy to be in danger from such gases, of rotary fanblowers, worked by hand, placed at about every three or four yards. The fanblowers should be connected with pipes going through the base of the earthwork in front of the trench. If the number of blowers were equal to the number of gas cylinders used by the enemy, the blowers when vigorously worked would deliver a far greater volume of air than the volume of the poisonous cas, so that the gps would become much diluted, and, with good respirators. would bo harmless to our men. Wo believe that experiments are being conducted at the front with the object of devising means to render the poisonous gases innocuous by spraying with water and in other ways- The former expedient would require only a supply of water in the trenches and a spraying apparatus and it would seem to afford an effective means of protection."

THE ARM! 4 SERVICE CORPS. A question has lately cropped up in Australia as to whether men who enlisted in Army Medical or Army Service units, ■were not looking for soft, easy jobs, with a minimum of risk attached. "In my opinion," said a staff officer, whose statement has been published in Sydney, "the answer /s decidedly in the negative. First and foremost the work of these two units is not only hard, hut is never-ending. The Army Service man is, in addition, one of the most abused of beings. His difficulties are many, but his master, the combatant, seldom appreciates them. With regard to risks a wounded man is generally first attended to under fire, and unless able to walk is carried back through and out of the fire zone by stretcher-bearers for removal to regimental aid post, or field ambulance. And the present war has, unfortunately, shown that the Red Cross is no longer a safety badge. Both ambulance and Army Service waggons form big targets. and neither can defend it-self. Quite recently in France an Army Service motorlorry was carrying ammunition to the front at night; the roads were soft, and the lorry sank, and had to be dug out. Time was lost, and dawn overtook the lorry on the road. It became a target for ehell fire, and the top was actually shot off without a single man of its complement being hurt. But the danger was there all the same. While the excitement and glory of battle may, perhaps bo absent from the life of the ambulance or transport man, the hard -work, and the risk are certainly there. But they are cheerfully accepted as part of the day's task."