ous to the field artillery,
which may be wheeled from position to position.

In this phase of artillery the Germans led the way, for the simple
reason that they recognised the military value of aerial navigation
years in advance of their contemporaries. Again, in this field the
Krupp Organisation has played a prominent part. It embarked upon actual
construction of weapons while its rivals in other countries were content
to prepare their drawings, which were filed against "The Day." But it
must not be thought that because the German manufacturers of armaments
were ahead of their contemporaries they dominated the situation. Far
from it. Their competitors in the market of destruction were every whit
as keen, as ingenious, and as enterprising. Kruppism saw a commercial
opportunity to profit from advertisement and seized it: its rivals were
content to work in secret upon paper, to keep pace with the trend of
thought, and to perfect their organisations so as to be ready for the
crisis when it developed.

The first Krupp anti-aircraft field-piece was a 6.5 centimetre (2 9/16
inch) arm. It possessed many interesting features, the most salient of
which was the design of the axle of the carriage. The rigid axle for
the two wheels was replaced by an axle made in two sections, and
joined together in the form of a universal coupling, so that each
wheel virtually possessed its own axle, or rather half-axle. This was
connected with the cradle of the gun in such a manner that the wheels
were laterally pivoted thereon.

The result is that each axle can be turned forward together with its
wheel, and thus the wheels have their rims brought into line to form an
arc of a circle, of which the rear end of the spade of the gun carriage
constitutes the centre. This acts as a pivot, about which the gun can
be turned, the pair of wheels forming the runners for the achievement of
this movement. The setting of the weapon in the firing position or its
reversion to the travelling position can be easily and speedily effected
merely by the rotation of a handwheel and gearing.

With this gun a maximum elevation of 60 degrees is possible, owing to
the trunnions being carried well behind the breech in combination with
the system of long steady recoil. The balancing spring which encloses
the elevating screw is contained in a protected box. The recoil brake,
together with the spring recuperator, follows the usual Krupp practice
in connection with ordina