THE WASHINGTON BEE — JUNE 03, 1899
Major Davidson Thinks Mounting Cannon on Self-Driven
Carriages the Next Step
Dr. Maxim discovered that a machine gun could be made to act automatically. That is, that the recoil of the weapon could be used to repeat the fire indefinitely. Some Frenchmen then went to work and designed a device by means of which a carriage could be made to progress with speed and smoothness without horses. Maj. Royal P. Davidson of the Illinois national guard, commandant at Northwestern military academy, has put two and two together and decided that a cannon could be mounted on an automobile carriage and made to do effective service.
Maj. Davidson has progressed so far with his idea, says the New York Journal, that he has mentally fashioned two armored gun carriages which may in time revolutionize methods in handling small machine guns and heavier field artillery. That the idea will work satisfactorily over smooth streets in cities and be a valuable adjunct in suppressing riots is beyond doubt; whether it will work as well across country and taking in all kinds of ground remains to be demonstrated.
So many things must be thought of in designing such a carriage that Maj. Davidson frankly says he is by no means out of the woods. The carriage must be light, so that with the piece mounted and four men aboard the motive power can be generated in the machine. Electricity as a motor was abandoned by Maj. Davidson almost as soon as suggested.
