A
stream of missiles, even of rifle calibre, maintained at the rate
of some 400 shots per minute is certain to be more effective,
provided range and aim are correct, than shrapnel. But the
ordinary rifle-bullet, unless the objective is within very close
range, is not likely to cause much harm, at least not to the
mechanism of the aerial vessel.
It is for this reason that greater attention is being devoted,
especially by the French artillerists, to the Chevalier
anti-aircraft gun, a weapon perfected by a Swiss technician
resident in Great Britain. It projects a formidable missile
which in fact is an armour-piercing bullet 1/2- to 3/4-inch in
diameter. It is designed for use with an automatic machinegun,
which the inventor has devised more or less upon the well-known
French system. The bullet has a high velocity--about 2,500 feet
per second--and a maximum range of 6,000 to 8,000 feet at the
maximum elevation. Should such a missile strike the motor or
other mechanism of the vessel it would wreak widespread havoc,
and probably cause the machine to come to earth. This arm has
been designed for the express purpose of disabling the aeroplane,
and not for the subjugation of the airman, which is a minor
consideration, inasmuch as he is condemned to a descent when his
craft receives a mortal wound.
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