Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-07-20
YANKEE GUNNERS' ACCURACY.
They Rely on Science In the Firing
of Every Shot.

of Every Shot.
Ask a modern man-o'-War's man what
Il powder monkey is and he will smile at
your seeming ignorance and tell you hat
the powder monkey was boy who, in
the days when a wooden frigate was the
IDEAL line-of- battle ship, used to hand
the powder up from the magazine in the
vessels lowest hold to the gun deck, add
ing that he is now obsolete. The passing
OF the powder monkey is one Of the many
things which mark the difference be-
tween the old navy and the new. The
difference began when the hydraulic lit
supplanted the powder monkey, when
the ordinary seaman became something
more than mere man OF Drawn and
courage and ended with the transforma-
ton of the gunner from the grade of or
binary seaman, who knew but to obey
orders, into trained man capable of
working with accuracy and precision.
'All the difference in the world" said
all old seaman who began his naval life as
a powder monkey thirty years ago, but
who now cannot qualify as gunner in
any class, in commenting on the changed
condition, sis that now it's all a matter
of education and while used to be called
a good man at the butt end of an old
smooth bore my place is taken by lads
and Pm laid BY"
The ordinary seaman Of the present
navy, who operates the small guns which
compose the secondary battery of bat
tleship and are used only at close range,
has taken the place of the old-time gun
ner and he in turn has risen and is now a
warrant officer, occupying place be-
tween the seaman and the non commits
stoned officer, having a mess apart from
The ordinary seaman. He is not, however,
| eligible to advancement further than
! that of q gunner of the first class. Below
/ him are the gunners of the second GLASS;
/ formerly the gunners' mates, and the
/ gunners of the third class, who i'll the
days OF tie old navy were known rs tue
gunners' apprentices. In he old order OF
naval affairs gunners rose from the rank
OF ordinary seamen and had as their only
claim to the titles the skill in the point
/ blank shooting of the time, acquired by
long practice.
Besides the cool head, steady hand and
keen eye of the oidtime gunner the gum
| ner OF the new navy must possess a
| gunner's education, including not only a
thorough knowledge of both common and
decimal fractions but also the use and
application OF the principles of algebra,
geometry, trigonometry and trajectory
He is taught first, that to locate to a
nicely the object upon which he is to
train his gun, he must observe it from
two different points and then having es-
tabished a base line and two adjacent
angles by the science of triangulation he
finds the intervening distances. Many
experiments have resulted in the formula
ton of tables and the invention of me-
chanical instruments which make the cal
culation Il matter of but a few seconds.
These are based upon the science of ira
jectory and enable the gunner to know in
an instant at what angle to elevate his
gun.
Comparatively simple as his may seem
with the use of the instruments and
tables it embraces in naval gunnery ac-
curate calculations of the speed and di-
rection OF the motion OF the vessel carry
motion of the target, if it be another
ship, and the direction and velocity Of
t he wind, not one of which can be dis
regarded II the range be long one, but
which at close range are overcome to 6
great extent by the shorter distance anc
by the high rate of speed attained by the
projectile.
In the case OF moving vessel being the
target the range is determined by means
of the range finder and noted. After al
interval OF two minutes or convenient
fraction thereof, a second calculation i.
made By the tables the distance il
yards between the two points is deter
mined, and this divided by the interval o
time gives the speed. By another table
based upon the rate OF speed attained by
he proJectile and the range, the distanc,
which The target will have traversed dur
ing he flight OF the projectile may be OBJ
tanned and the gun aimed at such an an
gle as to cause he shot to take effect a.
desired.
BY another process, if the ship upof
which the gunner is stationed be moving
the aim can be made quite as accurate
! and to this exact reduction of the scienc,
} is due the almost marvellous msrksman
ship of the Yankee gunners in the recen
engagements in Cuban waters.
While our modern gunner must know
thoroughly all this he does not have tn,
opportunity in an engagement to apply it