You are on page 1of 42

A Random Walk Down Wall Street The

Time Tested Strategy for Successful


Investing 12th Edition Burton G. Malkiel
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/a-random-walk-down-wall-street-the-time-tested-strat
egy-for-successful-investing-12th-edition-burton-g-malkiel-2/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

A Random Walk Down Wall Street The Time Tested Strategy


for Successful Investing 12th Edition Burton G. Malkiel

https://textbookfull.com/product/a-random-walk-down-wall-street-
the-time-tested-strategy-for-successful-investing-12th-edition-
burton-g-malkiel-2/

Two-Dimensional Random Walk 1st Edition Serguei Popov

https://textbookfull.com/product/two-dimensional-random-walk-1st-
edition-serguei-popov/

Economic Foundations for Finance: From Main Street to


Wall Street Thorsten Hens

https://textbookfull.com/product/economic-foundations-for-
finance-from-main-street-to-wall-street-thorsten-hens/

Gender on Wall Street Laura Mattia

https://textbookfull.com/product/gender-on-wall-street-laura-
mattia/
Noncompliant A Lone Whistleblower Exposes the Giants of
Wall Street Carmen Segarra

https://textbookfull.com/product/noncompliant-a-lone-
whistleblower-exposes-the-giants-of-wall-street-carmen-segarra/

Huge Deal 21 Wall Street Lauren Layne

https://textbookfull.com/product/huge-deal-21-wall-street-lauren-
layne/

Something for Nothing Arbitrage and Ethics on Wall


Street First Edition O'Hara

https://textbookfull.com/product/something-for-nothing-arbitrage-
and-ethics-on-wall-street-first-edition-ohara/

Street Core Photography January 2020 12th Edition


Street Core Photography

https://textbookfull.com/product/street-core-photography-
january-2020-12th-edition-street-core-photography/

Successful Investing Is a Process Structuring Efficient


Portfolios for Outperformance 1st Edition Jacques
Lussier

https://textbookfull.com/product/successful-investing-is-a-
process-structuring-efficient-portfolios-for-outperformance-1st-
edition-jacques-lussier/
A RANDOM WALK
DOWN WALL STREET

The Time-Tested Strategy for


Successful Investing

BURTON G. MALKIEL

W. W. NORTON & COMPANY


Independent Publishers Since 1923
New York • London
FOR NANCY AND PIPER
CONTENTS

Preface
Acknowledgments from Earlier Editions

Part One
STOCKS AND THEIR VALUE

1. FIRM FOUNDATIONS AND CASTLES IN THE AIR


What Is a Random Walk?
Investing as a Way of Life Today
Investing in Theory
The Firm-Foundation Theory
The Castle-in-the-Air Theory
How the Random Walk Is to Be Conducted

2. THE MADNESS OF CROWDS


The Tulip-Bulb Craze
The South Sea Bubble
Wall Street Lays an Egg
An Afterword

3. SPECULATIVE BUBBLES FROM THE SIXTIES INTO THE NINETIES


The Sanity of Institutions
The Soaring Sixties
The New “New Era”: The Growth-Stock/New-Issue Craze
Synergy Generates Energy: The Conglomerate Boom
Performance Comes to the Market: The Bubble in Concept
Stocks
The Nifty Fifty
The Roaring Eighties
The Return of New Issues
ZZZZ Best Bubble of All
What Does It All Mean?
The Japanese Yen for Land and Stocks

4. THE EXPLOSIVE BUBBLES OF THE EARLY 2000S


The Internet Bubble
A Broad-Scale High-Tech Bubble
Yet Another New-Issue Craze
TheGlobe.com
Security Analysts $peak Up
New Valuation Metrics
The Writes of the Media
Fraud Slithers In and Strangles the Market
Should We Have Known the Dangers?
The U.S. Housing Bubble and Crash of the Early 2000s
The New System of Banking
Looser Lending Standards
The Housing Bubble
Bubbles and Economic Activity
Does This Mean That Markets Are Inefficient?
The Bubble in Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin and Blockchain
Is Bitcoin Real Money?
Should the Bitcoin Phenomenon Be Called a Bubble?
What Can Make the Bitcoin Bubble Deflate?
Part Two
HOW THE PROS PLAY THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN

5. TECHNICAL AND FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS


Technical versus Fundamental Analysis
What Can Charts Tell You?
The Rationale for the Charting Method
Why Might Charting Fail to Work?
From Chartist to Technician
The Technique of Fundamental Analysis
Three Important Caveats
Why Might Fundamental Analysis Fail to Work?
Using Fundamental and Technical Analysis Together

6. TECHNICAL ANALYSIS AND THE RANDOM-WALK THEORY


Holes in Their Shoes and Ambiguity in Their Forecasts
Is There Momentum in the Stock Market?
Just What Exactly Is a Random Walk?
Some More Elaborate Technical Systems
The Filter System
The Dow Theory
The Relative-Strength System
Price-Volume Systems
Reading Chart Patterns
Randomness Is Hard to Accept
A Gaggle of Other Technical Theories to Help You Lose Money
The Hemline Indicator
The Super Bowl Indicator
The Odd-Lot Theory
Dogs of the Dow
January Effect
A Few More Systems
Technical Market Gurus
Appraising the Counterattack
Implications for Investors

7. HOW GOOD IS FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS? THE EFFICIENT-MARKET


HYPOTHESIS
The Views from Wall Street and Academia
Are Security Analysts Fundamentally Clairvoyant?
Why the Crystal Ball Is Clouded
1. The Influence of Random Events
2. The Production of Dubious Reported Earnings through
“Creative” Accounting Procedures
3. Errors Made by the Analysts Themselves
4. The Loss of the Best Analysts to the Sales Desk, to Portfolio
Management, or to Hedge Funds
5. The Conflicts of Interest between Research and Investment
Banking Departments
Do Security Analysts Pick Winners? The Performance of the Mutual
Funds
The Semi-Strong and Strong Forms of the Efficient-Market
Hypothesis (EMH)

Part Three
THE NEW INVESTMENT TECHNOLOGY

8. A NEW WALKING SHOE: MODERN PORTFOLIO THEORY


The Role of Risk
Defining Risk: The Dispersion of Returns
Illustration: Expected Return and Variance Measures of Reward
and Risk
Documenting Risk: A Long-Run Study
Reducing Risk: Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT)
Diversification in Practice

9. REAPING REWARD BY INCREASING RISK


Beta and Systematic Risk
The Capital-Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
Let’s Look at the Record
An Appraisal of the Evidence
The Quant Quest for Better Measures of Risk: Arbitrage Pricing
Theory
The Fama-French Three-Factor Model
A Summing Up

10. BEHAVIORAL FINANCE


The Irrational Behavior of Individual Investors
Overconfidence
Biased Judgments
Herding
Loss Aversion
Pride and Regret
Behavioral Finance and Savings
The Limits to Arbitrage
What Are the Lessons for Investors from Behavioral Finance?
1. Avoid Herd Behavior
2. Avoid Overtrading
3. If You Do Trade: Sell Losers, Not Winners
4. Other Stupid Investor Tricks
Does Behavioral Finance Teach Ways to Beat the Market?

11. NEW METHODS OF PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: SMART BETA AND RISK


PARITY
What is “Smart Beta”?
Four Tasty Flavors: Their Pros and Cons
1. Value Wins
2. Smaller Is Better
3. There is Some Momentum in the Stock Market
4. Low-Beta Stocks Return as Much as High-Beta Stocks
What Could Go Wrong?
Blended Factor Strategies
Blended Funds in Practice
Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)
Research Affiliates Fundamental Index™ (RAFI)
Goldman Sachs Active Beta ETF
Equally-Weighted Portfolios
Implications for Investors
Risk Parity
The Risk-Parity Technique
Safe Bonds May Also Provide Opportunities to Employ Risk-
Parity Techniques
Risk Parity versus the Traditional 60/40 Portfolio
Dalio’s All Weather Fund
What Could Go Wrong?
Concluding Comments

Part Four
A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RANDOM WALKERS AND OTHER INVESTORS

12. A FITNESS MANUAL FOR RANDOM WALKERS AND OTHER INVESTORS


Exercise 1: Gather the Necessary Supplies
Exercise 2: Don’t Be Caught Empty-Handed: Cover Yourself with
Cash Reserves and Insurance
Cash Reserves
Insurance
Deferred Variable Annuities
Exercise 3: Be Competitive—Let the Yield on Your Cash Reserve
Keep Pace with Inflation
Money-Market Mutual Funds (Money Funds)
Bank Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
Internet Banks
Treasury Bills
Tax-Exempt Money-Market Funds
Exercise 4: Learn How to Dodge the Tax Collector
Individual Retirement Accounts
Roth IRAs
Pension Plans
Saving for College: As Easy as 529
Exercise 5: Make Sure the Shoe Fits: Understand Your Investment
Objectives
Exercise 6: Begin Your Walk at Your Own Home—Renting Leads to
Flabby Investment Muscles
Exercise 7: How to Investigate a Promenade through Bond Country
Zero-Coupon Bonds Can Be Useful to Fund Future Liabilities
No-Load Bond Funds Can Be Appropriate Vehicles for Individual
Investors
Tax-Exempt Bonds Are Useful for High-Bracket Investors
Hot TIPS: Inflation-Protected Bonds
Should You Be a Bond-Market Junkie?
Foreign Bonds
Exercise 7A: Use Bond Substitutes for Part of the Aggregate Bond
Portfolio during Eras of Financial Repression
Exercise 8: Tiptoe through the Fields of Gold, Collectibles, and Other
Investments
Exercise 9: Remember That Investment Costs Are Not Random; Some
Are Lower Than Others
Exercise 10: Avoid Sinkholes and Stumbling Blocks: Diversify Your
Investment Steps
A Final Checkup
13. HANDICAPPING THE FINANCIAL RACE: A PRIMER IN UNDERSTANDING AND
PROJECTING RETURNS FROM STOCKS AND BONDS
What Determines the Returns from Stocks and Bonds?
Four Historical Eras of Financial Market Returns
Era I: The Age of Comfort
Era II: The Age of Angst
Era III: The Age of Exuberance
Era IV: The Age of Disenchantment
The Markets from 2009 to 2018
Handicapping Future Returns

14. A LIFE-CYCLE GUIDE TO INVESTING


Five Asset-Allocation Principles
1. Risk and Reward Are Related
2. Your Actual Risk in Stock and Bond Investing Depends on the
Length of Time You Hold Your Investment
3. Dollar-Cost Averaging Can Reduce the Risks of Investing in
Stocks and Bonds
4. Rebalancing Can Reduce Investment Risk and Possibly
Increase Returns
5. Distinguishing between Your Attitude toward and Your
Capacity for Risk
Three Guidelines to Tailoring a Life-Cycle Investment Plan
1. Specific Needs Require Dedicated Specific Assets
2. Recognize Your Tolerance for Risk
3. Persistent Saving in Regular Amounts, No Matter How Small,
Pays Off
The Life-Cycle Investment Guide
Life-Cycle Funds
Investment Management Once You Have Retired
Inadequate Preparation for Retirement
Investing a Retirement Nest Egg
Annuities
The Do-It-Yourself Method

15. THREE GIANT STEPS DOWN WALL STREET


The No-Brainer Step: Investing in Index Funds
The Index-Fund Solution: A Summary
A Broader Definition of Indexing
A Specific Index-Fund Portfolio
ETFs and Taxes
The Do-It-Yourself Step: Potentially Useful Stock-Picking Rules
Rule 1: Confine stock purchases to companies that appear able
to sustain above-average earnings growth for at least five
years
Rule 2: Never pay more for a stock than can reasonably be
justified by a firm foundation of value
Rule 3: It helps to buy stocks with the kinds of stories of
anticipated growth on which investors can build castles in the
air
Rule 4: Trade as little as possible
The Substitute-Player Step: Hiring a Professional Wall Street Walker
Investment Advisers, Standard and Automated
Some Last Reflections on Our Walk
A Final Example

EPILOGUE

A Random Walker’s Address Book and Reference Guide to Mutual Funds


and ETFs

Index
PREFACE

IT HAS NOW been over forty-five years since the first edition of A Random
Walk Down Wall Street. The message of the original edition was a very
simple one: Investors would be far better off buying and holding an index
fund than attempting to buy and sell individual securities or actively
managed mutual funds. I boldly stated that buying and holding all the
stocks in a broad stock-market average was likely to outperform
professionally managed funds whose high expense charges and large
trading costs detract substantially from investment returns.
Now, over forty-five years later, I believe even more strongly in that
original thesis, and there’s more than a six-figure gain to prove it. I can
make the case with great simplicity. An investor with $10,000 at the start of
1969 who invested in a Standard & Poor’s 500-Stock Index Fund would
have had a portfolio worth $1,092,489 by April 2018, assuming that all
dividends were reinvested. A second investor who instead purchased shares
in the average actively managed fund would have seen his investment grow
to $817,741. The difference is dramatic. Through April 1, 2018, the index
investor was ahead by $274,748, an amount over 25 percent greater than the
final stake of the average investor in a managed fund.
Why, then, a twelfth edition of this book? If the basic message hasn’t
changed, what has? The answer is that there have been enormous changes
in the financial instruments available to the public. A book meant to provide
a comprehensive investment guide for individual investors needs to be
updated to cover the full range of investment products available. In
addition, investors can benefit from a critical analysis of the wealth of new
information provided by academic researchers and market professionals—
made comprehensible in prose accessible to everyone with an interest in
investing. There have been so many bewildering claims about the stock
market that it’s important to have a book that sets the record straight.
Over the past forty-five years, we have become accustomed to accepting
the rapid pace of technological change in our physical environment.
Innovations such as e-mail, the Internet, smartphones, personal digital
assistants, smart home devices, iPads, Kindles, videoconferencing, social
networks, and new medical advances ranging from organ transplants and
laser surgery to nonsurgical methods of treating kidney stones and
unclogging arteries have materially affected the way we live. Financial
innovation over the same period has been equally rapid. In 1973, we did not
have money-market funds, ATMs, index mutual funds, ETFs, tax-exempt
funds, emerging-market funds, target-date funds, floating-rate notes,
volatility derivatives, inflation protection securities, equity REITs, asset-
backed securities, “smart beta” strategies, Roth IRAs, 529 college savings
plans, zero-coupon bonds, financial and commodity futures and options,
and new trading techniques such as “portfolio insurance” and “high-
frequency trading,” to mention just a few of the changes that have occurred
in the financial environment. Much of the new material in this book has
been included to explain these financial innovations and to show how you
as a consumer can benefit from them.
This twelfth edition also provides a clear and easily accessible
description of the academic advances in investment theory and practice.
Chapter 10 describes the exciting new field of behavioral finance and
underscores the important lessons investors should learn from the insights
of the behavioralists. Chapter 11 asks whether “smart beta” investment
strategies are really smart and whether risk parity strategies are too risky. A
new section has been added to present practical investment strategies for
investors who have retired. So much new material has been added that
readers who may have read an earlier edition of this book in college or
business school will find this new edition rewarding reading.
This edition takes a hard look at the basic thesis of earlier editions of
Random Walk—that the market prices stocks so efficiently that a
blindfolded chimpanzee throwing darts at the stock listings can select a
portfolio that performs as well as those managed by the experts. Through
the past forty-five years, that thesis has held up remarkably well. More than
two-thirds of professional portfolio managers have been outperformed by
unmanaged broad-based index funds. Nevertheless, there are still both
academics and practitioners who doubt the validity of the theory. And the
stock-market crash of October 1987, the Internet bubble, and the financial
crisis of 2008–09 raised further questions concerning the vaunted efficiency
of the market. This edition explains the recent controversy and reexamines
the claim that it’s possible to “beat the market.” I conclude that reports of
the death of the efficient-market hypothesis are vastly exaggerated. I will,
however, review the evidence on a number of techniques of stock selection
that are believed to tilt the odds of success in favor of the individual
investor.
The book remains fundamentally a readable investment guide for
individual investors. As I have counseled individuals and families about
financial strategy, it has become increasingly clear to me that one’s capacity
for risk-bearing depends importantly upon one’s age and ability to earn
income from noninvestment sources. It is also the case that the risk
involved in many investments decreases with the length of time the
investment can be held. For these reasons, optimal investment strategies
must be age-related. Chapter 14, entitled “A Life-Cycle Guide to
Investing,” should prove very helpful to people of all ages. This chapter
alone is worth the cost of a high-priced appointment with a personal
financial adviser.
My debts of gratitude to those mentioned in earlier editions continue. In
addition, I must mention the names of a number of people who were
particularly helpful in making special contributions to the twelfth edition. I
am especially indebted to Michael Nolan of the Bogle Research Institute
and to my assistants, Benjamin Tso and Anne Daniecki. I am also grateful
to Chris McIsaac, Alexandra Burton, and Andrew Shuman of the Vanguard
Group for important assistance in providing data.
Thanks are also due for the assistance of Daniel Campbell, Jakub Jurek,
Steven Leuthold, Joyce Niesman, Kristen Perleberg, James Sarvis, Stacy
Sarvis, Jeremy Schwartz, Jeremy Siegel, and Larry Swedroe. My
association with W. W. Norton remains a superb collaboration, and I thank
Drake McFeely and Nathaniel Dennett for their indispensable assistance in
bringing this edition to publication.
My wife, Nancy Weiss Malkiel, has made by far the most important
contributions to the successful completion of the past eight editions. In
addition to providing the most loving encouragement and support, she read
carefully through various drafts of the manuscript and made innumerable
suggestions that clarified and vastly improved the writing. She continues to
be able to find errors that have eluded me and a variety of proofreaders and
editors. Most important, she has brought incredible joy to my life. No one
more deserves the dedication of a book than she and her second-best friend,
Piper.

Burton G. Malkiel
Princeton University
June 2018
Part One

STOCKS AND THEIR VALUE


2

THE MADNESS OF CROWDS

October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to


speculate in stocks in. The others are July, January, September,
April, November, May, March, June, December, August and
February.
—Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

G REED RUN AMOK has been an essential feature of every spectacular boom
in history. In their frenzy, market participants ignore firm foundations of
value for the dubious but thrilling assumption that they can make a killing
by building castles in the air. Such thinking has enveloped entire nations.
The psychology of speculation is a veritable theater of the absurd.
Several of its plays are presented in this chapter. The castles that were built
during the performances were based on Dutch tulip bulbs, English
“bubbles,” and good old American blue-chip stocks. In each case, some of
the people made money some of the time, but only a few emerged
unscathed.
History, in this instance, does teach a lesson: Although the castle-in-the-
air theory can well explain such speculative binges, outguessing the
reactions of a fickle crowd is a most dangerous game. “In crowds it is
stupidity and not mother-wit that is accumulated,” Gustave Le Bon noted in
his 1895 classic on crowd psychology. It would appear that not many have
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
yards. The Austrian army was similarity equipped. The Italians were
equipped with a 105-mm gun essentially of the same characteristics
as the French 105-mm M-1913.
Medium Gun. Ideal. A caliber of between 4.7 and 5” on a carriage
permitting a vertical arc of fire of from minus 5 degrees to plus 80
degrees; a horizontal arc of fire of 360 degrees. Shrapnel and shell
weighing not over 60 pounds, maximum range 18,000 yards; with
semi-fixed or separate loading ammunition permissible.
Medium Gun Practical. Corps artillery should be armed with the
present type 4.7” gun, Model 1906, except that at least one regiment
should be armed with the British type 5”-guns purchased abroad.
Transport. All corps guns should be developed for long, rapid
hauls. Similar ammunition vehicles should be developed. The wheels
for the gun carriage should be rubber-tired.
Medium Howitzer. In the opinion of the French, Italians, British
and the Americans, the 155-mm howitzer (Schnieder) was
conspicuously successful in the present war. It should, therefore, be
retained as a type. The howitzer and carriage as it stands at present,
is a highly satisfactory and efficient piece of armament. For the
future it is believed that effort should be made to increase the range
by improvements in the form of projectile, and it is believed that the
form of howitzer and carriage should be studied with a view of
obtaining, through modifications, a maximum range of approximately
16,000 yards.
Many batteries of 155-mm howitzers (Schnieder) were motorized
in the American Army in France, and the consensus of opinion is
definitely toward the retention of this form of prime mover. It is
interesting to note that all the important belligerents have settled
upon a howitzer of approximately 6” in caliber, and otherwise
essentially of the same ballistic characteristics as the type in
question. The projectile of this caliber is the smallest projectile which
can be called upon to give adequate mining effect against material
targets of semi-permanent nature. The place of this howitzer is,
therefore, determined by considerations of its destructive ability. It is
a splendid destruction and neutralizing weapon.
Medium Howitzer. Ideal. A caliber of about 155-mm on a carriage
permitting a vertical arc of fire of from minus 5 degrees to plus 65
degrees; and a horizontal arc of fire of 360 degrees. The projectile
should not weigh over 100 pounds and should be interchangeable
with projectiles for other guns of this caliber referred to later on. High
explosive shell, only, should be supplied.
Medium Howitzer. Practical. The corps should be armed with the
155-mm (Schnieder) howitzer referred to above. The type of fuses
for shell should be super quick and long delay.

ARMY ARTILLERY.
Missions. In addition to the division and corps artillery fulfilling the
missions outlined above there must be additional artillery available.
There are missions of interdiction, neutralization and destruction
which fall beyond the activities or capabilities of the normal corps or
medium field types; there must exist a surplus of division or corps
types, properly transported, for strategic reinforcements of divisions
and corps during such times as the normal allotment to such units is
insufficient; there must be artillery of special purpose—mountain
artillery, trench and super guns and howitzers. Of the above
additional artillery, a type of heavy field gun and a type of heavy field
howitzer are considered normally necessary in the armament of a
field army; the gun should have a range of approximately 25,000
yards, and the howitzer a range of about 18,000 yards. These
weapons are more powerful than the medium field types, add range
to the interdiction and harassing and to the neutralization and
destruction possible with the corps type. Considering the paragraphs
pertaining to divisional artillery and the introduction to corps artillery
it will be seen that the normal artillery of a field army can be
accomplished by the assignments of two caliber, i. e., two light
weapons, two medium weapons and two heavy weapons—a gun
and a howitzer in each class—and a satisfactory anti-aircraft gun.
Heavy Field Gun. The consensus of opinion of all artillery officers
—British, Italian and American—is that the heavy field gun should be
of approximately 6” caliber and that guns of greater caliber than this
are necessary in limited number for field operations. The French
were constructing 194-mm guns during the latter stages of the war. It
is believed that in developing this type of gun the French were
actuated almost entirely by the necessity for increased range, since
the German 150-mm gun, Model 1916, outranged the G. P. F. by
approximately 5,500 yards. The French have recently made
considerable progress in securing the necessary increase in range
with the G. P. F. All of the principal nations engaged in the war used
a heavy field gun of approximately 6” caliber. This type has given
such general satisfaction that its continuance is assured. The
principal mission of the heavy field gun is harassing and interdiction
fire, and for these uses the 6” projectile is sufficiently heavy. The
maximum practicable traverse and elevation should be provided by
the carriage of the heavy field gun. The G. P. F. carriage has given
general satisfaction, but its wide tread and the excessive time
required to occupy a position are very objectionable features. It is the
consensus of all artillery officers—French, British and American—
that the heavy field gun should be of approximately 6” caliber and
with a range in excess of 25,000 yards, with not less than 60 degree
traverse, weighing not more than 12 tons, limbered, capable of
occupying and leaving a position quickly, and with a width of tread
which does not prevent two-way traffic on ordinary roads. The
Italians differ from this opinion only in that they are satisfied with a
maximum range of 18,000 yards.
Heavy Field Gun. Ideal. A caliber of about 155-mm on a carriage
permitting a vertical arc of fire from 0 degrees to plus 65 degrees;
with a horizontal arc of fire of 360 degrees. The maximum range
should be about 25,000 yards.
Heavy Field Gun. Practical. Arm with the present type 155-mm
G. P. F. and carry on experiments for type of carriage as outlined for
division field gun. The fuses should be super-quick and short delay.
Transport. All artillery of this type should be motorized and tested
and experiments for ammunition vehicles to correspond with the
types of carriages developed, and should be carried on
simultaneously.
Heavy Field Howitzer. No type of heavy field howitzer developed
during the war has given general satisfaction. The consensus of all
army artillery officers—French, English and American—is that two
calibers of howitzers are necessary—one a companion piece for the
6” gun and one of the maximum possible power consistent with the
necessary mobility. The lighter of these two howitzers should have
the same mobility as the 6” gun, with a caliber of about 8” and a
maximum range of not less than 16,000 yards. The heavy field
howitzer should be of about 9.5” caliber with a range in excess of
16,000 yards; the carriage should provide for wide traverse and must
have sufficient mobility to accompany the army in the field. It will
probably be necessary to transport this howitzer in more than one
load, and the maximum weight of any load should not exceed 12
tons. The average time necessary for occupying a position should
not exceed six hours under actual field conditions.
Heavy Field Howitzer. Ideal. A caliber of about 8” on a carriage
permitting a vertical arc of fire of from 0 to plus 65 degrees; and a
horizontal arc of fire of 360 degrees. The maximum range should be
18,000 yards.
Heavy Field Howitzer. Practical. Use at present 8” material of
British design which is on hand.
Railway Artillery. The war has demonstrated the necessity for
long range and powerful guns for distant interdiction and harassing
work and for super-heavy howitzers for the destruction of semi-
permanent fortifications. Artillery of these types can best be mounted
on railway carriages and this type of mount offers no serious
disadvantages since these guns will not be used except with large
forces which require extensive railroad systems for their supply. This
does not apply to guns of the type used to bombard Paris; such guns
have no military value and their construction is not justifiable.

ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS.
Light Gun. Ideal. Caliber about 3” with initial velocity of at least
2,600 f. s.; semi-automatic breechblock, mounted on carriage,
permitting 80 degrees elevation and 360 degrees traverse;
projectiles weighing not less than 15 pounds, of one type high
explosive shell with maximum ballistic qualities and as large
explosive charge as possible; fixed ammunition; smokeless,
flashless powder, mechanical fuse. In this type every effort must be
made to increase the rate of fire and decrease time of flight; this
latter is limited only by considerations of a reasonable accuracy life
for the gun.
Light Gun. Practical. Arm units with present 3” anti-aircraft
equipment. Continue experiments leading to the development of the
ideal.
Transport. Ideal. Caterpillar mount or caterpillar trailer mount
drawn by caterpillar tractor, each unit to permit a sustained speed of
12 miles per hour.
CHAPTER V
THE 3-INCH FIELD GUN.

THE GUN.
The Gun is known officially as the 3-inch Field Gun, Model 1905. It
is a built-up construction of nickel-steel and consists of a tube with a
rifled bore, 3 inches in diameter, upon which are shrunk the jacket,
locking hoop and front clip hoop. The jacket reinforces the rear half
of the tube. The locking hoop serves to secure the jacket from any
longitudinal movement to the rear. On the under side of the gun,
extending the entire length of the jacket, locking hoop, and front clip,
are formed two recoil guides or clips which fit over and secure the
gun to the guide rails of the cradle. When the gun is fired, it slides
along the guide rails. The dust guard covers the part of the guide
rails between the locking hoop and the front clip. The rifling of the
bore is right-hand twist and starts with 0 turns at the breech
increasing to 1 turn in 25 calibers at 10 inches from the muzzle, then
uniform to the muzzle.

Weights and Dimensions.

Weight of gun 788 lbs.


Calibre 3 inches
Length about 7 feet
Number of lands and grooves 24
Muzzle velocity 1700 ft. sec.
Maximum pressure per sq. in. 33,000 lbs.
Limit of depression (90 mils.) 5 degrees
Maximum elevation (265 mils.) 15 degrees
Maximum range, trail sunk, about 8,500 yds. (5 M)
Range at 15° elevation (265 mils) 6,000 yds. (3½ M)

3 Inch Field Gun, Models of 1904 & 1905.


Breech Mechanism Assembled.

Nomenclature of parts of Gun:—

Jacket.
Locking hoop.
Tube.
Bore.
Rifling.
Lands.
Grooves
Breech recess.
Front clip.
Muzzle.
Dust guard.
Recoil guides or clips.
Chamber.
Recoil lug.
Line sight (front and rear).
Handy oilers.

THE BREECH MECHANISM.


The breechblock is of the interrupted-screw type, and is provided
with four threaded and four slotted sectors. The front end of the axial
recess in the block is closed by a bushing. Four ventholes lead from
a cavity in the bushing and permit the escape of gas to the rear in
case of a ruptured primer. On the rear face of the breechblock are
cut gear teeth, in which the gear teeth of the operating lever
bevelgear mesh. The breechblock is concentrically mounted on a
hub on the block carrier, in which the firing-lock case is fitted. Its
position in the breech of the gun with reference to the axis of the
bore is eccentric.
The breechblock is closed or locked by a continuous movement of
the operating lever. When the block is swung to the closed position
the front face of the block latch comes in contact with the rear face of
the breech of the gun, thus forcing the latch out of the notch in the
breechblock and back into a recess in the carrier. By continuing the
motion of closing the mechanism, the breechblock is then rotated on
the hub of the carrier and its threads engage with corresponding
ones in the gun. When the breechblock is in the closed position, a
lug on the firing-lock case serves to lock the carrier to the
breechblock and prevents displacement due to a blowback.
The firing mechanism belongs to that type known as a
continuous-pull mechanism; that is, no cocking of the firing-pin is
required.
The firing-lock case is eccentrically fitted in the hub of the block
carrier, in such a position that the axis of the firing-pin is always in
line with the bore of the gun. The vent bushing in the front end of the
breech block through which the firing pin passes when in the fired
position, is fitted eccentrically with reference to the breechblock. This
eccentric arrangement of the breechblock, masks the point of the
firing-pin and prevents any possible contact between the pin and the
primer in the cartridge case when the block is unlocked. The block
will be practically fully locked before any contact between the firing-
pin and primer can take place.
Nomenclature of important parts of Breech & Firing Mechanism.
Mod. 1905:—
Name of Part Where located
Breech Block On block carrier
Vent Bushing Front end of block
Block Carrier Hinged to jacket; supports block
Block Stop Screwed into front face of carrier
Hinge Pin Hinges carrier to jacket
Hinge Pin Catch In hinge pin
Extractor In breech recess
Extractor Lever Mounted on hinge pin
Operating Lever Pivoted on block carrier
Lever Pivot Pivots lever on block carrier
Lever Latch In operating lever
Lever Latch Spring In operating lever, lower part
Lever Latch Pivot In operating lever, lower part
Block Latch In recess in carrier
Block Latch Spring Around latch bolt
Firing Lock Case In hub of the block carrier
Locking Bolt Nut and Pin On firing lock case, rear face of carrier
Firing Pin In axle hole, center of firing lock case
Firing Pin Spring Around firing pin
Firing Spring Sleeve Around firing pin spring
Sear In slot in firing lock case
Trigger Fork Rear end firing lock case
Trigger Shaft On rear end firing lock case
Trigger Shaft Detent On trigger shaft
Firing Pallet On pallet shank
Pallet Shank On recoil lug of gun
Firing Handle On firing handle shaft
Firing Handle Bracket Attached to right side of cradle
Firing Handle Shaft Assembled in bracket, right side of cradle
Trip Latch Attached to trip latch plunger
Trip Latch Plunger Assembled to firing handle
Adjusting Screw Assembled to firing handle bracket
Check Nut Assembled in adjusting screw
3 Inch Gun Carriage, Model of 1902.
Plan

THE GUN CARRIAGE.


The gun carriage for the 3-inch gun Model 1905 is of the type
known as the long-recoil, in which the gun is permitted a sufficient
length of recoil (about 45 inches) upon the carriage to render the
latter stationary under firing stresses. The gun is mounted upon a
cradle which forms a housing for the recoil controlling parts. The
cradle rests upon the rocker and has a small traversing motion of 70
mils on each side of the axis of the carriage. The rocker is journaled
upon the axle and its rear end is supported by the elevating
mechanism, which is seated in the trail.
The principal parts of the carriage are the wheels, axle, trail and
elevating mechanism forming the lower carriage, the cradle and
recoil-controlling parts constituting the upper carriage, and the rocker
and traversing mechanism intermediate between the two. In addition
there are provided shields, ammunition carriers, the road brake, and
the axle seats.
The Wheels and the Axle. The wheels are a modified form of the
Archibald pattern, 56 inches in diameter, with 3-inch tires. The axle is
hollow and forged from a single piece of steel. The wheels are held
on by the wheel fastenings.
Trail.—The trail consists of two steel flasks of channel section with
the flanges turned inward, tied together by transoms and plates to
form the sight and the tool boxes. Attached to the trail are the trail
spade, float trail handspike, trail handles and the lunette.
Elevating Gear.—The elevating gear is of double-screw type and
consists of an inner and outer elevating screw, an elevating-gear
bracket, an elevating bevel gear, two elevating bevel pinions, and
two elevating crank shafts. The inner elevating screw is a steel
screw, threaded with a right-hand thread. It is attached at its upper
end by the elevating pin to the rear end of the rocker. The outer
elevating screw is of bronze and is threaded on the exterior with a
right-hand thread to take the inner elevating screw. On the exterior
are also cut two longitudinal keyways, in which the keys of the bevel
gear work.
Traversing Mechanism.—The traversing mechanism consists of
a shaft, called the traversing shaft, mounted in bearings in the
traversing-gear case, and a traversing nut moving longitudinally on
the shaft, but restrained from turning with it by its bearings in the
gear case. A cylindrical lug on top of the nut fits in a hole in a bronze
traversing link, the right end of which is pivoted by the traversing-link
pivot to the traversing lug on the underside of the cradle. This pivot is
secured to the cradle-traversing lug by a nut and split pin. The left
bearing of the traversing shaft is split for the purpose of assembling
and rests between two collars on the shaft. The bearing, with the
shaft in place, is slipped into its seat in the gear case, where it is
held in position by two pins.
TRAVERSING GEAR, VERTICAL SECTION

Elevating Gear Half Elevation and Half Section


The Cradle Complete.—The cradle supports the gun, guides it in
recoil, and forms a housing for the recoil-controlling parts; it consists
of a flange steel body with the upper edges flanged outward. The
flanges are bronze lined, engage the clips on the gun, forming the
guide rails for the gun on recoil. Riveted to the bottom of the cradle
are four steel forgings, the pintle, traversing lug, rear clip, and
elevating and traversing lock lug. The pintle fits the pintle socket in
the rocker and forms a bearing upon which the cradle is traversed.
The traversing lug has been heretofore mentioned as affording a
point of attachment for the traversing-link pivot. The cradle rear clip,
in addition to embracing the rear end of the rocker, has a broad
bearing on the latter directly over the point of attachment of the
elevating screw.
To relieve the pointing mechanism from all strains in travelling, an
elevating and traversing lock is provided, by which the cradle may be
securely locked to the trail.
The recoil-controlling parts contained inside the cradle are the
cylinder, the piston rod, the counter-recoil buffer, the counter-recoil
springs and the spring support.
To the rear end of the cradle is riveted a steel cradle head, rear,
through which the cylinder moves in recoil and projects for
attachment to the recoil lug on the gun by means of the cylinder end
stud and nut. The front end of the cradle is closed by the cradle
head, front, and the retaining ring.
Recoil Controlling Mechanism

The cylinder lies inside the cradle and is surrounded by the


counter-recoil springs. Its rear end is closed and has a projection on
the inside to which is screwed the counter-recoil buffer, a tapered
bronze rod which fits with small clearance into a bore at the rear end
of the piston-rod. The front end of the cylinder is closed by a bronze
oiltight gland, through which the piston-rod slides. The cylinder is
filled with a neutral oil called hydroline. The interior of the cylinder is
cylindrical. Three longitudinal ribs or throttling bars of uniform width
but varying height extend along the interior from the rear end to
within 19 inches from the front end. Three notches are cut in the
piston head, forming ports for the passage of the liquid from one side
of the piston to the other. The height of the throttling bars is
calculated so that the resistance which the liquid offers, plus the
resistance of the springs, is constant and such that the recoil will be
checked at the desired point. During recoil the front end of the
cylinder is supported by the spring support.
The piston rod is of steel, and is provided with a bronze piston
head, screwed against a shoulder at the rear end. The head has
three notches cut in its perimeter, which fit over the throttling-bar
projections on the cylinder wall. The rear end of the piston is bored
out to take the counter-recoil buffer. In counter recoil the oil in this
bore can escape only by a small clearance. In this way the return of
the gun into battery is so eased and regulated that very little shock
and consequent derangement of the aim of the piece occur. The
front end of the piston-rod is attached to the cradle head, front, by
means of the piston-rod nut.
The counter-recoil springs (three in number each 36 inches long)
are helical, being made from a rectangular steel bar coiled on edge.
They are assembled in the cradle, end to end around the cylinder
and bear in front against the spring support and in the rear against
the cradle head, rear. They are assembled under an initial
compression of approximately 750 lbs. which is sufficient to return
the gun into battery at the maximum elevation. In place of the single
counter-recoil springs a set of three inner and three outer counter-
recoil springs is also being issued.
The spring support forms a support for the front end of the cylinder
and a bearing for the front end of the spring column. It has guide
lugs which fit into and glide along guide rails inside the cradle during
recoil. The spring support is held in place by the retaining ring.

Action of the Mechanism.


The action of the recoil mechanism when the gun is fired is as
follows:—The gun moves to the rear 45 inches on the cradle,
carrying with it the cylinder and compressing the recoil springs. The
piston rod being attached to a fixed part of the carriage in front, (the
cradle-head) does not move. Therefore, since the cylinder moves to
the rear, the oil in it must pass from one side of the piston head to
the other. The energy of recoil of the gun is therefore absorbed by
the resistance which the oil offers when being forced through small
openings between the notches in the piston head and the throttling
bars along the inside of the cylinder and also by the resistance of the
counter-recoil springs to additional compression. The energy stored
up by the springs during this compression, returns the gun and
cylinder to the firing or original position. This return movement is
eased and regulated by the counter-recoil buffer. The piston rod pull
and the spring resistance are transmitted to the carriage, but owing
to the latter’s weight and the resistance opposed to the trail spade by
its engagement in the ground the carriage remains stationary.

Weights and Dimensions.

Weight of gun and carriage complete 2,520 lbs.


Width of track 60 inches
Length of recoil on carriage 45 inches
Amount of traverse of gun on carriage 140 mils
Nomenclature of important parts of the Gun Carriage:—

Axle
Trail, consisting of—
Flasks (right and left)
Tool box
Elevating gear transom
Rear sight box
Spade
Spade Edge
Float
Handspike fulcrum
Cradle, head, rear
Gun slides or Guide Rails
Cradle Pintle
Traversing lug
Rear clip
Lug for elevating and traversing lock
Bracket seat, firing handle
Quadrant fastening
Rear-sight bracket support
Front-sight bracket support
Spring-support guides
Retaining ring, with hasp and fastening
Cradle head, front
Shoulder guard
Cradle brush
Recoil-indicator throw
Recoil indicator
Cylinder head
Cylinder with cylinder end screwed in
Cylinder end stud and nut
Counter-recoil buffer
Rings, packing
Gland
Piston rod, with plug, screwed in
Piston
Piston-rod nut
Filling plug with gasket
Drain plug
Spring support
Counter-recoil springs
Rocker
Cradle Pintle socket
Elevating and traversing lock
Traversing mechanism, consisting of—
Traversing-gear case
Traversing plate
Handwheel with handle and spindle
Traversing shaft
Traversing-shaft bearing in two parts
Traversing link with bushing
Traversing-link pivot with nut
Azimuth pointer and scale
Elevating mechanism, consisting of—
Elevating pin
Inner elevating screw
Outer elevating screw
Wheels guards
Trail handles
Trail seats
Trail-seat supports
Sponge-staff socket
Name plate
Handspike
Lunette
Cradle, consisting of—
Cradle body
Elevating bevel gear
Elevating bevel pinions
Elevating crank shafts, with handles
Elevating screw cover
Axle seats, include—
Seat arms
Seat-arm guards
Foot rests
Tie rods
Shield braces
Apron shield
Apron latches
Main shield, consisting of—
Main shield
Hood
Shutter, open-sight port
Shutter, panoramic-sight port
Top shield, consisting of—
Top shield
Top shield fastenings
Road brake, includes—
Brake beams
Brake shoes
Springs with covers
Brake rods
Brake lever
Brake shaft
Brake segment with two segment racks
Ammunition carriers
Range quadrant case

You might also like