A major consideration during the ordnance development process is taking into account all the potential operating environments where the new weapon or ammunition will be used. In World War I, for instance, the Canadian Army had selected the Ross Mk II Model 10 rifle, in part because of its reputation for accuracy in marksmanship competitions and as a hunting weapon. (Another reason it was chosen was because the United Kingdom has refused to allow the Canadian military to acquire the license to manufacture its own Lee-Enfield rifles.) But while the Ross was renowned for its accuracy, it would jam if it or its ammunition was exposed to dirt or grime—two constants of the trench warfare environments of World War I. Though snipers continued to use the weapon throughout the war, it was discarded for use by Infantry in 1916.
Considering every possible condition under which a weapon might be used is challenging enough. But in 1959, the Ordnance Corps was asked to go a step further and begin developing weapons to be used in an environment that humans had never experienced before: outer space.
The subject was first breached in a 1959 United States Army document called
Project Horizon, Volume I: Summary and Supporting Considerations that considered the establishment of a manned military base on the moon to be an essential part of U.S. military strategy, stating that “a manned base of operations on the moon has tremendous military and scientific potential.” The document went on to say that “supporting requirements for special weapons…will be developed” and that “Research in weapons effects…will be required.”
The vacuum of outer space and wild temperature fluctuations on the moon’s surface posed problems they never had to consider before. These were discussed more thoroughly in a 1965 report called
The Meanderings of a Weapon Oriented Mind When Applied in a Vaccum Such as on the Moon. One of these was the almost mind-boggling temperature range weapons would be exposed to: as high as 250 degrees Farenheit in the day, and as low -250 degrees at night. Would a traditional firearm detonate on its own in the heat? Or would it crack upon firing after becoming brittle due to the almost inconceivable cold? Low gravity was another issue—would firing a powerful weapon send a Soldier careening into outer space?
Published by the Directorate of R&D in the Future Weapons Office of U.S Army Weapons Command, the report listed seven possible weapons that could be developed for use on the moon, including a gas-powered sidearm that fired a round projectile and a “Spring Propelled Spherical Projectile Weapon” that would take advantage of the low gravity by using a spring to generate enough energy to propel a metal ball over 1,000 feet per second.
While the Ordnance Corps was a focal point of the 1959
Project Horizon document, it should be noted that it is unclear what input if any the Corps had in the more 1965 paper because the Crops had been subsumed under U.S. Army Materiel Command when it was published.
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