THE POM-POM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 17 April 1901, Page 24

THE POM-POM.

The pom-pom, which the war in Soutli Africa has brought into such prominence, la a one-pounder automatic gun. It uses metallic cartridges similar to those used in small arms, but of a calibre of l^in, throwing a, shell weighing lib. The cartridges are placed in a looped belt, and this is attached to the gun. By a simple operation, one of the cartridges is inserted in the barrel and is fired by pulling the trigger. After this the force of recoil is utilised to continue the firing automatically as iong as belts with cartridges are supplied. The automatic principle has been applied in calibres up to 14pounders. When it was announced in the London Times that an American engineer had invented a firearm with a single barrel which would load and fiie itself by energy derived from the burning powder, and also that, with a single barrel, the rapidity of fire was considerably greater than with the multiple barrels employed in the ordinary hand-worked machine guns, the statement was received with a certain, amount of incredulity. However, it was found that the story was no idle tale, but that a great discovery had been made, marking a distinctly new epoch in firearms. Attempts were made to get this gun into the British service, but it was objected to on the ground that the projectile was unnecessarily large to kill a* man and not large enough to be considered a piece of artillery. It was stated that an entire battery of these guns oould be quickly put out of action by a single piece of field! artillery, and that there was no place for, them in either service. Had it been stated previous to the South African war that a British field battery of artillery could be put out of action by a single one-pounder in the hands of half a dozen fanners^ the statement would have been regarded as ridiculous. There is no question that a single piece of field artillery would stand a very good chance of put-

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ting a one-pounder Maxim automatic gun out of action, on a perfectly level field, with no cover. But the Boer c.id not figUt these guns in that way. It was only after the beginning of the Boer war, when the pom-pom had demonstrated its practical value, that the British Government began to realise how important an element had been introduced into warfare in the field. They at once ordered Messrs Tickers, Sons, and Maxim (Limited), of Sheffield, to turn out as many of these guns as possible, giving them piactically an unlimited order. The wonderful and unexpected fiucccss of these guns in the poutfi African war was due, in a large measure, to the peculiar tactics employed by the Boers, who did not come out iv the open to fight. Wit'i J» piece of ordinary field artillery the charge is such that sufficient rust and gas are blown into the air to make the gun visible eyen when using smokeless powder. It is difficult, also, to conceal a piece of artillery, with its horses and other accessories. Moreover, a piece of artillery recoils and has to be brought back into position and re-sighted for each discharge. Thi3, however, is being somewhat minimised by improved non-recoil carriages, which are now introduced. With a pom-pom the recoil is all taken up inside of a stationary casing, and but little of its force tends to displace the carriage. The gun does, not, therefore, budge when it is firing. The gunner takes deliberate aim, guessing at the raage. He fires about five shots, which can be done byholding the trigger in the " pull ' position for about one second. As soon as the projectiles explode, he is able to observe exactly where he is hitting, and quickly readjusts his sights. After a few trials he is able to explode the projectiles on the exact spot required, and, as the recoil does not disturb the position of the gun, he can go on firing as long as he wishes.