...Railway artillery - Personal Page of GENE SLOVER

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it must be operated on a curved track. The mount is drawn back
to its firing position by means of a winch mounted on the front truck.
This winch is connected with the track some distance ahead by
means of a cable.
299. TRucKs.-The trucks, two in number, are five axle (model
1918) and six axle (model 1918, Mark 1), locomotive type with inside
journals. The body and bolster are made up entirely of structural
steel. Tlie journals are 6.5 inches by 12 inches and the wheels 28
inches in diameter. The axles are equalized throughout, thereby
distributing the load evenly over the entire truck. Each truck is
equipped with both hand and air brakes. French type couplers
and buffers were provided during tlie active period of the war, but
have since been replaced by the standard M. C. B. type. .
300. AMMUNITION SUPPLY SYSTEM.-The ammunition car used
with this mount is identical in design with that employed with the
8-inch railway mounts, plate 106, with special racks of course, to
hold the 16-inch projectiles and powder cans. No special provision
has yet been worked out for transferring the ammunition from the
ammunition car to the mount. A crane is provided on the rear of the
mount by means of which the ammunition may be lifted from the
ground on either side of the mount, or from a flat car or from the
track at the rear of the mount. After being lifted by means of the
crane the ammunition is placed on a tipping tray on the top of the
loading stand located on the working platform. When the rear of
this tray is tipped up, the projectile slides forward with slight assistance
along the removable tray into the breech of the gun and seats
itself. The loading angle is minus 8 degrees. This loading apparatus
is shown on plate 53.
301. MAINTENANcE.-Every mechanism of this mount has functioned
very well on proof tests and no serious difficulty in the nature
of maintenance is anticipated. There is one possibility of trouble
which may be mentioned under this head. When firing with full
charges and at 45 degrees elevation from the emplacement a slight
lifting of the mount from the bed at the forward end, and a bending
of the struts under the vertical braces at the rear, was noted on two
occasions. This bending was due to crushing of the wood under
the bearing of the strut and to the fact that the strut had a reduced
section near the vertical brace. It is probable that the substitution
of another strut with large section and strengthening of the wood
beam along the top of the triangular braces will eliminate any future
trouble of this character .
. 302. DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED IN THE SERVIcE.-The only difficulty
involved in the service with a piece of this type that need receive consideration
is the time and care required in the preparation of the
emplacement. This has already been discussed at some length under
Digitized by Coogle