The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-29
BATTLE SHIPS HARD TO HIT.
At Two Thousand Yards Cruiser
Looks Like a Postage Stamp.
New York Herald.

New York Herald.
One of the things which naval experts
hope will be thoroughly settled by the
Spanish-American war is the degree of ac-
curacy attainable in modern naval gunnery
in actual warfare. 1t is said that, although
the art Of the gunmaker has been for years
pitted against that of the armor manufac-
turer, the greatest difficulty experienced at
sea is not the piercing of the enemy's armor
plate, but the hitting of the ship at all.
With the exception of the battle of the
Yalu in the war between China and Japan
there has been ordnance officials say, no
opportunity to accurately ascertain what
can be done at long range by modern
gun mounted on so unstable a platform
a pitching. ship 1t is also added that the
value of the Yalu fight as an object lesson
is considerably lessened by the unsklled
character of the gunners on both sides.
Destruction and death were melted out on
all sides in that engagement, but the dam
age done, 1t is said, was in no sort of pro-
portion to the ammunition consumed in the
work.
The main trouble, naval officers say is
that, in aiming big guns, only very mi
mute picture of the ship aimed at can be
seen. Professor Alger Of the United States
Naval War College at Newport. recently
declared that at a convenient fighting dis
lance ship of the size of the Indiana APP
pears to be about one inch long. This, he
added; was the case when the ship was
looked at under ordinary conditions. In
actual warfare however this picture would
be considerably lessened by the fact that
the man who aimed the gun would have to
pay quite as much attention to the align
ment of his sight as he would to the posi-
ton of his target, and that he would have
to do all these things at the same time.
Naval authorities say that the recent oc-
currences at the bombardment of Matanzas
bear out these statements. 1t is noticed that
although the battle ships had no difficulty
whatever in hitting the forts. not one of the
numerous shots fired from the shore hit
boat Very much the same condition was
encountered at the bombardment of Alex
andria by the British fleet in the early
eighties. In that case the vessels were at
anchor in smooth water, and their targets
were good big ones. Although the range
the ships was insignificant
Another thing which 1t is hoped will he
cleared up thoroughly, is the exact utility
of the fast unarmored cruiser in battle. The
oretically, it is intended to arm these boats
with multitude of machine guns carrying
small calber bullets. The fire from these is
to be directed on every portfolio, coming
tower slot or aperture in gun shields that
can be made out from the decks of the boat
1t is believed that the fire from one of these
boats will be so searching and whitening
that all the officers in the coming tower
will ba killed and that the crews of the guns
will be so decimated that the ship attacked
by one of these modern spitfires will be put
out of action in five minutes.
There are opponents to this theory, how
mored cruiser may be able to go, a modern
shell can travel faster They cast doubt
upon the ability of the unarmored cruiser
to turn loose the hailstorm of lead with
which she is credited, and declare that one
shot from a big gun on a modern battle
ship Will put the unarmored cruiser both
out of action and out of existence.