St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-10-08
ACCURATE SHOOTING
seen Target with Shots from
the Great Guns.

The other day they tried the four
ten-inch rifles recently placed in posi-
ton at Fort Wadsworth, and the guns
worked beautifully. and did what they
were expected to do in the manner in
which they were expected to do it.
But there was little humor connect
ed with the doing that is interesting.
At Fort Wadsworth there ere two
systems of range finding. The older
system has horizontal base line, one
end of which IL at Fort Hamilton, the
other end at Fort Wadsworth. The
newer system has a vertical base line,
and the instrument is known as q de-
preston range finder. When 1t was
determined to test the disappe airing
gun carriages Git was not target prac-
tice) an artillery captain the night
before placed a dozen Dating targets
down the bay. got his angles. and then
worked out the range for each gun.
He reached the conclusion that the
targets were 5000 yards away.
The next morning the captain and
his gun detachments got to work.
just for the experience the observer
at Wadswcrth squinted through the
telescope of the depression finder. He
found the range to be $500 yards, and
SO reported to the captain.
"Oh, no." said that officer. 81 rot
the angles and workedsout the range.
For THAT target it is 5000 yards. /" and he
quoted the exact range as he had de-
termined It.
"Rut the finder says
"Well, the finders wrong. I've given
you the range" Then he gave the
angle and the elevation for the gun.
1t must be said here that the depres-
sion range finders -&re still new, al
though adopted by the government, no
the captain's incredulity may be ex-
cused.
Well, they trained the carriage CAV.
the gun the proper elevation and
started the machinery that raised til.
piece into firing position. 1t worked
The gun came up. thrus.
its nose over the parapet, looked to
see il there was any vessel in range
and then fred. In second the car
rage settled down to its place and
the gun was ready to be reloaded. But
from the observation t4wer came tn.
telephone message: 4ixe hundred
yards short, SO many to tie left
1t looked rs il the depression finder
was right, after all; the capaaiu
thought 50, too, for he shrugged his
looked disconcerted, then
grinned and told the observer to give
him the range II must be remem-
bered that if the carriage is disappear
ing the gunners. too, are out Of sigh.
Of the target. and never see what
they're aiming 1t. The range given,
the second shot was fired, and the
word came down: "Six yards over,
two yards to the left"
The third shot carried away the tar
get; said target was SIX feet square,
ut a distance of 9, 500 yards.
Then the cannoneers went to the
second gun and did as well. After theI
second shot. to the left, every shot but |
one that Gid not actually strike the
target was an absolute liner-that il. |
fell either in front or Just over the tar
get. Two OF the targets were demol-
shed and two shots struck precisely
n the same spot. The only shot that
vent astray didn't really go astray,l
because it went where it was aimed:
but it was aimed wrong. The receiverl
the observer to ephoneI
TO him to lay the gun at an angle oil
'36 degrees, while the observer reallyI
aid 326 degrees; 50 the shot fell wide,
.hough the distance was all right.
Twelve shots in al were fired; of these
wo were distinctly wide. three hit the
arget and seven would have fallen DOL
vessels deck u one had been thsye.1l
3esteS JysussyiDA