The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-09-30
NAVY SIGNALLING.
SYSTEMS USED 70 COMMUNICATE
,n BETWEEN SHIPS :,

FLASHES and Beams That Carry Messages
Long Distancss--stsam Whistlss and
Other Neisss Also Employed.
There Is nothing more attractive to
the average civilian brought into con-
tact for the FIRST time with naval GUS
toms that the many systems Of signall-
Ing employed ~ a means Of commune
cation between one ship and another.
Visitors on board men-of-war ask
more questions about Signals than
about guns. There Is something mys-
terious- almost uncanny-in the idea
of one ship communicating at night
with another at distance go great as
to insure their being invisible to each
other from aloft, even If 1t were broad
daylight. And yet this actually hap
pened some months ago, when the Gin
cinnati exchanged signals by search
light with Admiral SIMPSONS flag
ship. the New York, more than
thirty miles away. The feat Is.
of course, less wonderful than TAX
ing in Now York through q
telephone with Q friend In Chi
cago, or sending a message many
thousands of miles under the sea by
cable: but we have grown SO accus-
toned to these marvels Of modern
science that we take them as q matter
of course.
Broadly speaking, signalling may be
divided into two classes, visual and
aural. In the daytime, for COMPARE
lively short distances, ships use what
is commonly termed the wigwags This
is method Of visual signalling, de-
pending upon an alphabet similar to
the Morse code employed in telegraph
ing. Indeed the Morse code was at
one time in actual use in the navy. By
this system flag represents 1, or a dot,
when waved to tho right, and 2, or a
dash, when waved to the left. At the
end Of each word the flag is brought
down directly to the front. Thus the
Flagstaff, being held vertically In front
Of the centre of the body Of the signal
man, is moved successfully to the right
or left In such manner as to make any
desired letter in the code. For example
wv" is "1121" and is made by waving
twice to the right, then once to the
left, and again to the right. The al
phabet employed in the wigwag is
called the Myers code and is thefcunda-
ton for nearly all naval signalling. 1t
is also used in the United States Army
for convenience in cooperating with
the navy In combined operations by
the land and sea forces. In the army
signalling is in the hands of very
expert corps Of soldiers, who receive
q much higher rate of pay than the
others, whereas in the navy all except
the fireroom force are taught signall-
ing. The consequence is that in the
army signalling is confined to a few
men specially trained therefore and that
in the navy all hands possess smat-
tering Of this important subject. The
practice of the British Navy is similar
to that of our army. 1t is an open ques-
ton as to which method is the better,
there being many arguments on both
sides. 1t is an undisputed fact, how
ever, that the sailors all became fairly
proficient, and a few highly so.
On board each ship is found series
Of red and white electric lanterns at
tached to a cable running up and down
the mast. The red corresponds to /
and the white to 2 In the Myers code.
and by means of keyboard any de-
sired letter or number can be made at
will. The letter Nv" here becomes
"red, red, white, red" all four lights
being turned on simultaneously. A
message can In this manner be spelled
out and readily understood by all
ships within signal distance. The N.Y.
ers code is also in use for sound sig
Mailing, one foot of steam whistle
representing l, two short toots 2, and
long blast the end Of a word. In fog
this if often the only means Of signall-
ing practicable, ships cruising In
squadron being manoeuvred when en-
tirely invisible to each other. Similar
sounds can be made with horn or by
gunfire. The wigwag signal may be
made at night by waving lantern
or torch to the right or left, just as the
flag is utilized in daylight. Sometimes
a single white electric lantern is fitted
with key for making and breaking
the circuit, and signals are made by
flashes, the system being analogous to
that employed with the steam whistle
Il. e., one quick flash is 1, two quick
flashes 2, and a prolonged fash the end
Of a word.
At night the searchlight may be
brought into play by waving the beam
to the right and left (wigwag) or by
the flash method.
Notwithstanding the many systems
in use at the present day, others are
being constantly added. 1t is even
contemplated to adopt semaphore
system similar to that now used by the
British Navy. The most striking ad-
vantage of this method Is that no tools
are absolutely required for the inter-
change of ideas by its means. 1t is not
an uncommon thing to see sailor on
board an English ship waving his arms
in a manner which at first strikes q
casual observer as aimless, but close
attention reveals the fact that some
system is being followed, the various
angles at which one or both arms are
extended being in accordance with
some well-devised plan. In this man
ner signals can be exchanged with
rapidly, and the method
doubtless has many advantages over
our wigwag system. For long dis
tances a mechanical semaphore is sub
stituted for the mans arms. A modi-
fed type of semaphore, the invention
Of an American, is now being tried on
board the flagship. 1t Is operated by
electricity and adapted for use in con-
nection with the Myers code. g..
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