The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-05-28
JACK TAR CAN SHOOT.
SUPERIOR SKILL OF AMERICAN
GUNNERS DUE TO PRACTICE.
The Recent Victories of Our Navy Demon
strate to the World the Superiority of
Our Gunners Brought About by System
and Practice. .-a.' .. .....

Dewey, have caused a thrill Of pride tt
rermeate the breast of every true Amer
, nxaass e1tl re Ths thing that has i'm,
n'anship Of our gallant defenders of the
Stars and Stripes. The Spaniards have
appa1 emily been unable to do any execu-
tdon with their guns. while every shot
fired from the American ship seems to
have told tale of destruction.
The natural 81 cry is: why is it?'
How, asks the average citizen who Is
not conversant with naval affairs, can
our ships do such damage without retail
1ation? And the unthinking ones set It
down as an evidence Of the luck Of war.
But 1t is no such thing, asserts the New
York Herald. 1t is the result Of constant
drilling and a beautifully disciplined
navy. There are too many calamity
hcwlers in America. 1t would be better
should we blow our horns a little more,
There is too great tendency to apollo
gize for our insufficient navy. Does Ma
tsnzas warrant it? Isn't Manila sufficient
proof that our sailor boys can more than
take care of themselves?
AS matter of fact. our boys can give
the defenders of Spain cards and spades
IN the matter of craftsmanship. That
much has been proven to our own salts
faction and to the discontinue Of the
Dons. And If you come right down to IT,
there is no little comfort in the assur-
ance OF our superiority in this respect
over most Of the navies Of the world.
1t is no inexpensive thing, this drilling
OF gunners. 1t is a luxury which Spain
cannot afford. Hence her poor showing
IN the recent encounters which she has
mad with our hsips. This fact may be
during the bombardn:.eei:t OF Matanzas
Uncle Sam paid 5000 every time the
Puritan discharged one of her big guns.
or course in practice; this would be
n1y ct, Fl,
navy had adopted other means of in
surfing proficiency on the part of her
gunners. Our ships are obliged to have
target practice with big guns at least
once every three months, when the num-
Der OF shots fired is prescribed by regu-
lattOnsi which vary as the men grow in
pfeHe1ency: The great expense attached
to this necessarily reduces the number
of shots fired from each gun.
But in order that practice may be
kept up, daily drills are substituted,
either in the form of sub-caliber or aim
ing drills.
The great gum practice takes place I'M
der conditions as near as possible to
those which would arise in actual war
fare. The target is anchored, and the
gums are trained on it both while the
ship is moving and while she is station
airy.
The target is placed upon a platform
oIalpoIIed Wy OdIISlS. Up from the GEN.
ter comes a pole, on the summit of which
Is attached red flag. Then there are
four protruding canvas wings or sails,
with a semicircle painted on each, so
that no matter which way the target
shifts, there Is always a bulls'-eye to
aim at. !
The target may be placed at any dis
lance outside of 1000 yards from the
vessels. Twelve hundred yards is usual
ly the range. To each gun is allotted a
certain number Of fires, or "strings,"
as they are technically called.
The -otal number of shots fired during
one-quarter for a ship say Of the Texas
class, would be e42. Two 12-inch guns
would fire three shots each, one each
with full charge. and two each with
reduced charges. The weight Of the shot
would be 800 pounds, and the charge Of
powder from 300 to 400 pounds.
Then there would be thirty-siX shots fol
six 6-inch guns, 2SS from twelve 6-poun'
ders, IA from Six 1-pounders and ninety.
six from four Hotchkiss revolving can.
non Six sharpnel from 6-iach guns anc
twenty-five additional shots would be al
lowed the secondary battery, In order te
give others than those regularly stationed
at the guns practice in Workmanship.
These days of great gun drill are epochs
in the lives of our sailor boys. Four OBJ.
servers are employed to not& the accu-
racy Of the fire. Two are in small boats
on the water. They determine by means
of graduated II squares the point OF fall
of the shot, whether it be to the right
or the left of the target, and whether
the shot has gone short or over the mark
The other two observers are stationed on
the ships. One notes the number of shot
and records the apparent fall as 1t ap-
pears to the fourth observer, who watches
the flight of the projectile. A similar
record of shots is kept by each Of the
observers in the boats. This system ap-
plies particularly to when the ship Is
stationary. In moving practice, when
ever possible, the same system of record
ing Is observed, but there are times when
this is impossible, owing to the condt-
ton Of the sea. &..
Regular reports are made to the admiral
of the fleet, and the successful gunners
are then indeed happy. Money prizes are
given to the best marksmen of the various
ships, and quarterly the bureau of navi-
cation issues a printed circular, showing
the relative standing of each ship IN the
service as to target practice. r.. s..
This list contains the names Of all the
best marksmen of each ship, arranged In
order of merit This in itself fosters q
spirit Of emulation among the men, as
we'll as q keen rivalry between the ships,
and even among the gun divisions of the
same ship. The honor thus gained Is by
far more highly appreciated by Jack than
the mere money prize ...a r.
BUT it must be remembered that the
actual firing of the big guns Is great
expense. 1t is luxury which might
easily bankrupt a nation If kept up.
Consequently the subcaliber and the aim
ing drills are those which are practiced
daily. ...
The former practically brings into play
the same degree Of skill in sighting and
manipulating the big fellows. But in
stead Of actually firing the great guns.
with their massive charges, q rifle or
musket Is placed inside the bore, and
the shot is discharged from that. There
is circular frame, with four supports,
which fits inside the bore, and this sup
ports the small firearm in position. The
gunner thus has practically the same OPP
portunity to exercise his skill and accur-
acy and to maneuver the big gun as he
would have If it were heavily charged.
The aiming drill Is a. most interesting
fired, yet the greatest degree of accuracy
lis obtained. In this drill the marksman
"a rifle on a tripod at a distance of usually
thirty feet from the target, the operation
taking place on The main deck.
rne target Is a piece Of blank paper
ruled off into squares and nailed upon q
wooden background about the size OF an
ordinary door. At the side of this stands
the sunner's mate, holding in his hand
an ordinary disk made of tin and perfo-
rated in the center with a small hole.
This disk has q handle and the gunner's
mate holds it over the target.
The man at the gun sights his weapon
aiming at the hole in the center Of the
disk. which he tries to get as near the
& As he squints along the barrel he calls Out
to the gunners mate where to sight the
01ak. i