Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-12-02

The lei ATTHE GUNS
HOW YANKEE euNhERs FIRED in THE
MANILA FIGHT.
Good Mnrksmanship on q Rolling
Vessel m In the Excitement Of an
Engagement Means More Than the
Public Appreciates.
Lieutenant Bradley A. Fiske, u. S. NJ,
Of the Petrol, who took part in the engage
ment of Cavite bay, has written an article
for The Century on "Why We Won at
Manila" Lieutenant Fiske says Of the,
"man behind the gun:''
Look at him as he stands, lock string in
hand, behind his gun, his legs wide apart.
as he balances himself on the unsteady
deck, his eyes fixed on the sights of his
gun and on the enemy, whom he secs
through the narrow aperture Of the gun
port. He knows that his gun is all right,
and the powder and the she'll and the fuse,
and that years ago the necessary steps
were taken which placed this terrible
weapon in his hand today, so fashioned
that If he fires 1t right the shot will hit
the mark. But the rolling of the ship
from side to side throws the line of his
gun sights Ligh up against the sky and
then down into the sea-, and as no ship
steers exactly straight tho line of sight :
moves irregularly to the right and left, o
that his sights appear to be describing ir-
regular curves, now against the back
ground of the sky and now against the
background Of the sea-. An average roll
may be said to be about seven degrees ON
each side, or IA degrees from one side to
the other. The average time of making
this roll is about seven seconds, making
the time of rolling one degree about half
second.
Suppose now that Tom Bowling is firing
ct an average ship, say 30 feet high, about
1850 yards away. If he fires at the mid
die of the target. as he should do, this
gives him q margin on each side Of ten
feet, which subtends an angle at Tom
Bowling's eye of about one-twelfth of q
degree, SO that Bowling must appreciate
the fact that his sights are son." and do
everything required to fire the gun in one
twenty-fourth of u second, or else he will
miss the target. Now, no man living can
be depended on for such rapid thought
and nerve action, even under tho best JON
dttions of quiet and calmness-that is, he
cannot be depended on to do it every time.
Much can be done by a good gun cap
tain, however, by watching for q smooth
time and firing q little before the sights
boar. No n knows this better than Tom
Bowling. So he braces his feet ON the
unsteady deck, every nerve stretched to
Its utmost tension. He sees that the gun
is pointing a little to the right of the enc
my's ship. "Left!" he orders, and the
gun trainers work their training levers.
or, If in a turret, start the turning engine
SO as to turn the gun to tho left. Mean
while rs tho line Of sight gradually is ap-
proaching the target from the right it ia
also rising and falling with tho rolling Of
the ship. Tom Bowling sees that the
next time the sights rise to the level of tho
target the trainers will have got the gun
trained in the proper direction. He braces
himself for quick pull of his lock string,
and then q wave strikes tho ship on tbs
starboard bow or the helm is shifted a lit
tie, and away goes the line of sight far of
to the left before the sights get up.
"Right!' orders Bowling instantly, and
the gun trainers work the gun back to the
right quickly, but cautiously, for much
NopOAoo APOh uAOAA OOWs "OAAi
'RightI' "Leftl'' etc., come the orders
in quick succession as Tom Bowling md
his trainers work the gun. Suddenly tho
line of sight strikes tho target. There is
a CLEAN in Bowling's eye, a quick pull Of
his arm, a tremendous noise, a sitting
cloud of smoke, and in comes the gun as
If it were a projectile itself and were going
clear across the ship and out at tho other
side, but it quickly, yet gently, slows,
then stops, controlled perfectly by the ny
draulic cylinder, and Immediately it runs
out again and is ready to be loaded and
fired once moro.
In an instant the second captain has
unlocked and thrown open the breeoh.
Quick hands wash off the powder residue
from breeoh block and bore, and then
shove in the shell and powder. The second
captain closes and locks the breech with O
heavy olang, puts in q new primer and re-
ports the gun ready. "Lefti" cries Tom
Bowling, and the same succession of ao-
ions is repcrformed.
If anybody could have gonqfrom ship
to ship of the United States fleet during
the eventful hours between 5 and $50 on
that beautiful Sunday morning, he would
have seen about so Tom Bowlings oil do
ing,the same things and in the same way.
~ "OuAu nave So0L OV guns crews I'LL
eagerly, yet coolly; working their guys,
and he would have seen each division Of
guns and each turret under the charge Of
an officer responsible for it.
Considering that there were about 3s
Spanish gun captains, one may reasonably
ask, Wa there not even one of them who
could shoot straight: There is no apparent
reason why o Spaniard should not be able
to shoot as we'll as anybody else.- Is bad
shooting an Inherent trait in a Spaniardp
If not, was the bad shooting due to a lack
of disciplined There is no reason to be-
lieve it, and the usually accepted idea of
the Spaniard would tend to make one sup
pose that there might have been too much
discipline rather thar too little. Was it
due to lack Of intelligence on the part Of
the o~ffioersp The officers of both the Span
ish army and navy represent the best of
the blood Of Spain, where the ordinary
vocations Of trade and, in a measure, the
civilian professions are deemed beneath
the patrician families, and the literature
Of both services bears convincing proof Of