Ka Hoku o Hawaii, Volume XXXVI, Number 28, 5 November 1941 — Big Army Guns Steadily Echo On Lake Erie [ARTICLE]

Big Army Guns Steadily Echo On Lake Erie

PORT CLINTON, Ohio — The crash of artillery, firing out into Lake Erie, is a familiar sound to people living around historic Sandusky Bay. For here, at the Erie Proving Ground, is the army's No. 1 artillery testing station. A federal reservation, the 1,158-acre tract is a field station of the army's ordinance department. As long back freighters plod along the lake, carrying iron ore to steel mills of the Great Lake area, completed artillery finds its way back to the ground at the little village of La Carne for final tests before release to the army. The big guns come from their factories packed in rust-resisting cosmoline. Parts are cleaned with gasoline and steam spray, then the guns are assembled and checked for proper gage and defects. After passing these tests, a giant crane lifts them onto mounts for performance tests. Two-Mile Firing Range With elevation at "zero" the range is about two miles out into the lake. Solid steel slugs are used in place of regulation shells. Sand replaces powder in the high-explo-sive types of projectiles. A sign on the ground says "Don't make mistakes. To do so may cost a brave soldier's life." Patrol ships with two-way radio apparatus clear all boats from the lake range and the men at the guns plug their ears, open their mouths and stand on tiptoe. A whistle is blown. Flames shoot from the gun and observers are buffeted by blasts of air as a projectile hurtles into the lake, plowing up clouds of spray and, because it is spinning, veers off to the left. Ducks—thousands of them native to the surrounding marshes—pay no attention to this daily routine. Only after every piece of artillery has passed this test of fire will it be released to the army. Not merely the gun, but its recoil mechanism and carriage must pass rigorous examination. Station Used Since 1918 The ground has been in continuous operation since it was opened in May, 1918. There are 37 officers, 200 soldiers and 800 civilians em- : ployed on the grounds—compared with three officers and about 40 men a year ago. A civilian mechanical engineer, Lee W. Perry, is in charge of proof firing. Col. T. K. Vincent is commanding officer and Major Bernard Whittaker heads the Proof Divi- sion. The proving ground is considered the principal storage location for medium types of artillery. 155-mm and 240 mm guns are among those commonly tested. The grounds recently approved the mounted guns of the new 28-ton Chrysler tanks. World War 155-mm guns also are being re-mounted at the grounds. Weighing between eight and nine

tons, the big fellows are being placed on new streamlined carriages with pneumatic tires and wheel brakes, ready to be moved by fast tractors.