To sum up, from the test of 10,000 cartridges of 75 millimeter, it may be concluded that American ammunition is in every way comparable to French ammunition and that the two may be considered as interchangeable.
Our designs for shrapnel and time fuses had been proven to be entirely satisfactory, and they were continued as they were. In fact it was generally agreed that ours was the best time fuse used on the allied side during the war. That our decision in the matter of continuing production of shrapnel and time fuses was warranted, is borne out by the fact that we obtained early deliveries in sufficient quantities to meet requirements.
In the use of the adapters and boosters, which introduced an entirely new component to our service in shell making, we had had no experience, and subsequently met with great difficulties due to this lack of experience. Delays were encountered because in this part of shell manufacture it was generally necessary to await information from France whenever difficulties were encountered, or to conduct experiments before we could proceed.
When we began receiving our bids for 3-inch gun ammunition there were comparatively few factories in the United States that were able to turn out complete rounds of ammunition. There were many factories, however, capable of turning out one or more of the shell components. It was necessary to place orders for complete rounds of ammunition with those factories that could furnish them, and have the remaining components manufactured separately, and to provide assembling plants. To get as many factories as possible on a production basis in anticipation of the future large orders for ammunition that must necessarily follow with extension of operations by our field forces, orders for our initial quantities of ammunition were distributed as widely as possible.
To prevent confusion and loss of time because of the scramble for steel forgings and other raw materials it was decided that the Government would purchase all raw materials as well as furnish components for ammunition.
How successful we were in getting into quantity production on ammunition after the numerous and large obstacles in the early months of the war can be indicated best by the fact that of the 11,616,156 high-explosive shell for 75-millimeter guns machined up to November 1, no less than 2,893,367 passed inspection in October; while of the 7,345,366 adapters and boosters for 75-millimeter guns that had been machined up to the 1st of November, 2,758,397 passed inspection in October.
The figures for the 4.7-inch and 155-millimeter guns and howitzers follow:
| Kind of ammunition. | Machined high-explosive shell accepted up to Nov. 1. | Machined adapters and boosters accepted up to Nov. 1. |
|---|---|---|
| 4.7-inch | 994,852 | [20]636,096 |
| 155-millimeter | 2,083,782 | 2,516,216 |
[20] For use in 4.7-inch and other sizes.