§ SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)To ask the Secretary of State for War whether the investigation into rifle ammunition and high velocities includes the consideration of the strength of breech action; and whether the breech action of our military rifle is weaker than that of its foreign rivals, and our ammunition consequently restricted to a lesser pressure.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The strength of the breech action is taken into consideration in fixing the limits for ballistics of the experimental ammunition. Some foreign rifles no doubt have a stronger breech action than the British, but the strength of the British breech 112 mechanism is in excess of any strain to which it could be exposed under service conditions.