Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/1080

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TABLE V. Guns and Gun Ammunition.

New Guns and Howitzers

Filled Ammunition (in thousands)

Light

Medium

Heavy

Very Heavy

Total

Light

Medium

Heavy

Very Heavy

Total

Up to June 30 1915 1915 2nd six months 1916 1st 2nd 1917 1st 2nd 1918 1st 2nd

802

1,895 1,180

1,045 1,547 2,488 3,990 3,056

242 493 969 679 408 603 966 797

6

4 205

495 570 762 1,164

875

31 33 no

258 253 450 264 270

1, 08 1

2,425 2,470

2,477 2,778 2,303 6,384 4,998

1,877-3

4-46I-7 10,287-1 25,204-3 30,004-2 22,556-7 18,474-6 19,067-7

389-0 976-7 2,919-2 8,392-6 9,887-1 9,528-8 8,363-1 6,421-0

26-5 134-4 432-1 2,492-7 4,480-6 6,693-1 6,734-6 7,647-3

14-0

74-5 213-8 1-654-7 2,145-8 2,381-1 1,625-4 1,479-5

2,306-8 1

5,647-3 13,852-2

37,744-3 46,5i7-7 4i,i59-7 35,197-7 34,6J5-5

1 6.0(13

5.157

4,081

1,675

26,916

i3i,933-6

46,877-5

28,641-3

9,588-8

217,041-2 J

The classification is that adopted by the Inter-Allied Munitions Council. In the case of Great Britain it includes under " light " field guns (l3-pdr. and i8-pdr.), mountain guns (2-75-in. guns and 3'7-in. howitzers), anti-aircraft guns (i3-pdr., 3-in. and 4-in.) and tank and other miscellaneous small guns. The medium guns include the 6o-pdr. gun and 4'5-in. howitzer. The heavy include the 6-in. howitzer and gun and the very heavy include 8-in., g-2-in., 12-in. and 15-in. howitzers and guns.

TABLE VI. Production of Rifles, Machine-Guns, Small-Arms Ammunition, Aeroplanes, Aero-Engines, and Tanks.

Rifles

Machine- Guns

Small-Arms Ammunition (Thousands)

Aero- Engines

Aeroplanes

Tanks

Up to June 30 1915 1915 3rd Quarter 4th 1916 1st ........

364,246

173,317 198,641 217,631

1,486 I-7I9 3,133

5,1:82

507,758 395,881 570,029 626,566

1,025 730 1,015

I ^6Q

902 692 948

T T -5 7

2nd

267,759

7.24^

7^8, 155

I 6l5

I 117

3 r || 4th

1917 1st 2nd 3rd

457,732* 4i6,564t 793,3501 7i7,ooo


 * 24.42^

9,572

10,801 16,637 19,836 18 058

811,476 803,607 697,536 250,878 jcc 280

2,054 1,989 2,704 3,567

4-3J.2

1,939 2,020

2,730 3,640

no

40

IOO

324

106 I

4 th. .

T,2T..U2

24 OO7

401 408

6 052

1918 1st 2nd " 3rd 4 th "

294,947 293,039 287,096 186,990

29,124 33-884 31,437 26,419

597,006 954,362 866,262 596,241

8,261

7,873 8,016

7,119

7,154 7,870 8,558 7,200

260

507 369

255

Totals

5,316,277

239,840

9,172,645

57,931

54,789

2,818

Including 186,000 "Acceptances" of U.S.A. rifles, t Including 154,000 "Acceptances" of U.S.A. rifles.

contractors, 35% from national projectile or shell factories or through local munition committees, 12% from the United States and 25% from Canada.

Trench Mortars and Trench Ammunition. When the war broke out, the British army was not furnished with any weapon especially adapted for trench warfare, and in the fourth quarter of 1914 only 12 trench mortars were delivered. The maximum production of trench mortars was attained in the second quarter of 1916 when 2,178 were delivered. The total number of trench mortars delivered during the war period amounted to 19,096 and the output of trench-mortar ammunition to over 17,000,- ooo rounds. The total number of grenades delivered amounted to 100,103,000, and of aerial bombs to 4,738,000.

Table VI. shows, further, the number of rifles, machine-guns, small-arms ammunition, etc., delivered during the war. Of the 5,316,000 rifles manufactured, 3,954,000 were made in Great Britain, and the army was entirely armed with rifles of home manufacture. The maximum home output of rifles was attained in the last quarter of 1917, when 324,000 new rifles were delivered. A total of 240,000 machine-guns were delivered, and output rose from a total of 211 in the fourth quarter of 1914 to 33,484 in the second quarter of 1918. The total number of rounds of small- arms ammunition manufactured amounted to 9,172,645,000, nine-tenths of which was manufactured in Great Britain.

The number of aeroplanes manufactured amounted to 54,789, the maximum output being attained in the third quarter of 1918. The number of aero-engines delivered was 57,931, the maximum output being attained in the first quarter of 1918. The first tanks were delivered in the third quarter of 1916 and numbered no. Owing to changes in design, etc., only 40 were delivered in the following quarter and 100 in the first quarter of 1917. The maximum output was attained in the second quarter of 1918, when 507 were delivered. The total number of tanks manufac- tured amounted to 2,818.

Mechanical Transport, Railway Material, etc. The Ministry became responsible for the supply of motor vehicles on Sept. i

Including 462,000 Including 391,000

Acceptances Acceptances !

of U.S.A. rifles, of U.S.A. rifles.

1916. From this date to the end of 1918 there were delivered 33,000 heavy lorries, 2,500 four-wheel-drive lorries, 4,000 light lorries, 4,700 motor-cars, 1,700 ambulances, 4,100 Ford cars, 1,400 Ford ambulances, 12,000 Ford vans, 2,200 caterpillar tractors, 27,700 motor-cycles, 7,000 motor-cycle combinations and 183 armoured cars.

The Ministry of Munitions became responsible for the supply of railway material in Oct. 1916, and from that date supplied 2,300 m. of 75-lb. rails, 4,200 m. of light rails, 750 standard- gauge locomotives, 800 locomotives for other gauges, 13,000 petrol tractors and 33,000 railway wagons of various types.

Workers on " Munitions." It is impossible to state accurately the numbers engaged on the manufacture of munitions at various dates during the war period, because the term " muni- tions " has never been strictly defined, nor did the Ministry of Munitions undertake any comprehensive inquiry into the num- bers of munition workers. The best approximation to the number of munition workers is found in the reports of the Board of Trade on the state of employment in the various industries, where the number engaged on Government work is also shown. The accompanying Table VII. shows the numbers engaged in Government establishments and on Government work in the metal and chemical trades, which may be taken as broadly covering " munition " work.

It will be seen that between April 1915 and July 1918 the number of males engaged on munitions more than doubled while the number of females had increased tenfold. By mid-summer 1916 more than 80% of the workpeople in the metal and chemical trades were on Government work, and by the summer of 1918 more than 90% were on Government work. No figures are available as to the number engaged on Government work prior to the war, but it is considered unlikely that they could have amounted to more than 50,000.

Allies. During the war, Great Britain kept Italy and France supplied not only with coal, but with substantial supplies of iron and steel, which, until 1918, when the United States