And The Cats "Took

IT"!

Story of U.S. Big Guns at Honolulu

From Our Own Correspondent.

Honolulu, Sept. 10.

SIXTEEN inch guns, the mightiest pos sessed by the U.S. army, defend the approaches to the great Pearl Har bour navy base near Honolulu. But be cause it costs exactly 719 dollars to fire one shell, rarely are the great guns used.

On August 16 the army decided to have a blow-out with their prize pets.

They set aside 10,000 dollars and let the guns roar. A grand time was had by all —including two cats!

One of the officers wanted to know how a human being would fare if stood directly in front of one of the guns.

Mice usually make good experimental animals, but this time it was cats. A couple were placed in front of one of the guns, duly stroked and told to be good little pusses.

The brass hats, from high ranking generals down to coastal artillery cap tains, lined up behind the guns, their field glasses, it must be confessed, train ed expectantly on the cats. After all, most men are boys at heart, and boys like playing tricks on animals.

“Bang” went one shell, screaming off over the horizon, the blast flattening the trees and shrubs which camouflage the gun positions. The brass hats were thun derstruck. One cat continued to 101 l in the sun, the other arched its back, twitched its tail, sat down. They could take it!

“Bang” went another shell. The cats stuck to the gun. Whether that meant a human being could, the ranking officer responsible for the experiment would not say.

A total of 14 shells was fired; and, after about the sixth, it was reported by the observers that one of the cats took to the tree tops, whether in fright or simply to get a better view of the show it could not be reliably reported, because the cat would not be coaxed down, even though everybody from the generals down tried their persuasive best.

The other cat remained in the original position and did not budge an inch un til the brass hats en masse strode across to view the Pussy that didn’t turn a hair at 10,000 dollars worth of 16-inch shells!

But now the question that furrows the brows of brass hats is; If one cat can take fourteen 16-inch shells, what man can? Next shoot they may use mice.

Mice may talk.

However, on the more serious side, the gunnery was excellent. Four shells were fired to get the range of a towed target beyond the horizon, 20 miles away. (The guns are at sea level). Two aero planes hovered about the target, report ing back by radio the fall of each shell.

Conditions were the best. The target was towed in a straight line at 9 knots. In actual war, of course, the target would zig zag, answer back, drive away the observing aircraft with anti-aircraft shrapnel.

It took four shells to get the range, then another 10 shells were blazed away in quick succession, six of them register ing direct hits, which is great shoot ing.

Each shell weighs more than one ton.

At the moment it leaves the gun barrel

it is ripping along at 1,800 miles an hour.

It spins four times every 70 feet. With the gun cocked at a 40 degree angle, the shell reaches a maximum height of 2i miles. You can hear the whine of the shell for 15 seconds after it leaves the gun.

But it is not enough to scare cats!

Mr. H. W. Audsley, of B.G.D. staff, Bulolo, New Guinea, arrived in Sydney in September, on furlough.

Major G. E. D. Sandars, a district of ficer in the British Solomon Islands Ad ministration, arrived in Sydney early in October by the “Malaita”.