The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-03
SIGNALLING IN THE NAVY.
THE SYSTEMS USED To CoMMUy1.
carr BETWEEN SHIPS.

contact for the first time with naval oua,om.
than the many systems Of signalling employed
IA a means OF communication between ono shlp
and another. One cannot walk along tho wharye,
at Key West at this time. whom the harbor I,
moro or loss filled with men-of.war. without
having his attention attracted TO IA hoist Of
variously colored flags iuttering from the mast.
head OF some vessel: or TO n small flag. attached
to n staff, which Is waved. now to the right, now
to tho left, and occasionally to the front-alwAys
in q quick, energetic manner. To tho meres,
novice it is clear, in either case. that ideas are
being exchanged between the ships In n way Ia
him uninteligiblo; for all efforts to comprehend
the meaning Of the three or four fiags displayed
aloft, or Of tho vigorous wavings of the hand
flag, arc in vain to the uninitiatod.
Visitors on board men.of-war ask more ouea.
ton about signals than about guns. There IN
something Observation-Disclosures uncanny-in the
idea OF ono ship communicating at night with
another at n distance SO great as to insure their
being invisible TO zach other from aloft, even II
1t were broad daylight. And yet this actually
happened some months ago. when tho Cincln.
natl exchanged signals by searchliRht with Ad.
mirnl Sampson's flagship, the Now York, mora
than thirty miles away. The feat is. of course.
less wonderful than talking in New York
through a telephone with . friend in Chicago.
or sending n message many thousands of miles
under the sea by cable; but we have grown no
accustomed to these marvels Of modern science
that we take them as q matter Of course.
Broadly speaking. signalling may DO divided
into two classes, visual and aural. In the day.
timo, for comparatively short distances, shlpa
use what Is commonly termed the wirwaR.
This is q method of visual signalling, depending
upon an alphabet similar to the Morse code en-.
ployed in telegraphing. Indeed tho Morse code
was at one time In actual use in the navy. Nv
this system q flag represents 1. or o dot, when
waved to the right, and 2, or a dash, whom
waved to the left. At tho end of each word the
flag 10 brought down directly to tho front
Thus the Flagstaff, being held vertically in front
Of the centre of the body of the signalman, IL
moved successfully to the right or left In such
manner as to make any desired letter in the
code. For example wv" Is "1l2l" and IA
made by waving twice to tho right, then
once to the left. and again to tho right.
Tho alphabet employed in the wigwaR
is called tho Myers code and is the
foundation for nearly all naval signalling. Itis
also used In the United States Army for con.
venience In cooperating with tho navy in com.
bined operations by the land and sea forces. In
the army signalling is in the hands of very OF.
port corps of soldiers. who receive a much high.
er rate of pay than the others, whereas in the
navy all except the hreroom forco are taught
signalling. The consequence is that in tho army
signalling is confined 70 o few men specially
trained therefor and that In the navy all hands
possess q smattering of this important subject.
Tho practice Of the British Navy is similar to
that Of our army. 1t is an open question as to
which method Is the better. there being many
arguments on both sides. 1t is an undisputed
fact, however. that the sailors all become fairly
proficient, and q few highly 80.
On board each ship Is found q series of red and
white electric lanterns attached to O cable run.
ming up and down the mast. The red CORE
spends to 1 and the white to 2 in tho Myers code,
and by means of a keyboard any desired letter
or number can be made at will, Tho letter W
hero becomes "red. red. white, red" all four
lights being turned on simultaneously. A mes.
sage can in this manner be spoiled out and read.
fly understood by all ships within signal dis.
lance. The Myers code is also in use for sound
signalling. one toot of q steam whistle repre-
senting 1. two short toots 2. and q long blast
the end Of q word. In a fog this 10 often
the only means of signalling practicable, ships
cruising in squadron being maneuvred when
entirely invisible to each other. Similar sounds
can be made with a horn or by gunfre. The
wigwag signal may be made at night by wav-
in g a lantern or torch 10 the right or left, just
as the flag is utilized in daylight. Sometimes a
single white electric lantern is fitted with a key
for making and breaking tho circuit. and signals
are made by flashes. the system being analogous
" bbuO pio "lbLl tLo bbChlu u ~
one quick flash is !, two quick flashes .. and q
prolonged flash the end II of a word.
At night the searchliRht may be brought into
play by waving tho beam to the right and left
(wiRwag) or by the fash method. The search.
light in use on Fort Taylor is visible on the
Havana blockade. and 1t would DO possible to
utilize it to mako a signal from Key West to the
fleet, a distance Of eighty miles. The gigantic
searchlight at Sandy Hook. of 200. 600, 900 can
IL nnuFnr tho NoaA T. a .--Il
flash a signal from New York to a squadron
moro than 100 miles at sea. An instrument
called the Photograph has been designed for
signalling with sunbeams. BY It's means the
suns rays, flashed from mirrors, are impressed
into service as messengers. Messages have
been sent and understood l25 miles on clear
days. At night the moonlight or artificial light
Ia sometimes used in connection with the hello
graph. Although occasionally employed in the
navy, 1t is for shore work that the heliograph 10
especially adapted. and great proficiency has
been attained in its use in tho American Army
since the Signal Corps has been under the super
vision of Gen. Greedy. 1t Is also effectively
utilized in tho Spanish Army. and its flashing
can be seen any clear day in the hills surround.
All The systoms thus far referred to are based
in daily use in the navy which is surrounded
with more secrecy and differs widely from those
TSSys m ne SrSst m This S + the fl9T hoist system:
@ff-A@ @A-H HNhNAM W. $50
ferinR in color, shape, and design, each having
Its own particular meaning. and when three or
four are strung together and displayed from
alOrt a number Is formed, the Specification OF
which. can only be determined by looking intoS
book in which all these signals are arranged.
Every emergency likely TO arise has its own
special number assigned to it in this code: and
many thousands OF messages are thus ,codihed;
Even il the desired message is not to be found
in tho signal book, 1t can be made, one word
at n time. using q dictionary especially
arranged therefor. and any word not contained
in the dictionary can be spelled out, so that
every conceivable message can be transmitted.
The books in which these messages are con-
tanned arc guarded very jealousy; It is NOT
tens OF signalling. to mystify hopelessly any
enemy that might have acquired some knowl-
edge Of our signals. When thus guarded. the
utmost ingenuity OF tho enemy can be deled.
At night, AS the flag hOists would be in INVISIBLE.
pyrotechnic signals are employed In connection
with the same code, red and green stars being
fired into the air from pistols especially designed
for that purpose. These signals can be- dis:
tinguished more than ten miles. Tho red and
white lanterns strung along tho mast can also
bo employed in making the numbers OF this codu.
notwithstanding the many systems in use at
the Ureseut day, others AFRO being constantly