EQUIPMENT OF ARTILLERY.

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SECTION IV.

ABSTRACT OF A REPORT OF A COMMITTEE OF ARTILLERY OFFICERS ON FIELDARTILLERY EftLIPMENTS, WITH REMARKS THEREON.

1. These remarks may be deemed an act of supererogation upon the opinionsof distinguished persons whose experience embraced a period of fifty years, in thelatter half of which, field artillery may be said to have been created and perfected.The substance of the Report (which is printed in italics) is limited to such matter asmay be considered instructive and useful to the Service generally.

2. Composition of Field Batteries.—The equipment to be 5 guns and 1 howitzerfor brass ordnance, and 3 guns and 1 howitzer for iron.

3. As no explanation is given why this arrangement has been adopted as aprinciple, it may be remarked that it can be deviated from when circumstancesrecommend the change to 8 or 9 pieces for field foot artillery by augmenting thecompanies from 90 to 120 men, which the permanent complement of 5 Officersseems calculated to command. The horse artillery batteries may be limited to6 pieces; but when the divisions of infantry are larger, and the country favoursa larger proportion of artillery, the question may be whether the field foot batteriesshould not be in preference 8 pieces, comprising six 9-pounder guns and two24-pounder howitzers, rather than give to each division two batteries of 6 each,and provide for the difference in batteries of reserve, as adverted to in Section IX.,paragraph 7.

The supposition of having howitzer batteries of reserve presents this difficulty, orrather objection, that they do not carry any round shot, and are therefore unequalto fulfil all the duties of reserve batteries or batteries of position.

4. Number of Carriages and Rounds per Gun for Field Batteries.—The latterregulates the former, and the whole composed as follows :

Bounds

each*

No. ofCarriages.

Batteries

of 1 S-pr. guns and 8-m. howitzers . .

*G 1801H 112 J

... 23

09

o

ft

ofYl-pr. guns and 5 \-in. howitzers . .

G 1841' H 144

... 23

■ ft

of 9-pr. guns and 5£-m. howitzers . .

G 1661' H 144 ;

... 19

W ^2

tt

of 6-pr. heavy guns and b^-in. howitzers

G 2301' H 144 J

... 19

E

tt

of 6 -pr. light guns and 4|-m. howitzers

G 2231’ H 236 J

... 18

- tt

of 3 -pr, heavy guns and 4 \-in. howitzers

G 3161' H 236 J

... 17

Colonial „

of S-pr. light guns and 4 %-in. howitzers

G 154)' H 80 J

... 12

Mountain 1t

of S-pr. light guns and 4 §-in. howitzers

G 1161' H 72 J

... 4

In addition to the above, it was proposed that a supply for a six months' consumptionshould be at least four times the above.

5. The arrangement and distribution of ammunition is principally departmental,and exceeds the purposes of this work.

* G, Gun ; H, Howitfer.