The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-08-17

y not been paid to the neces-
~ saTy training to produce ex-
erl .eSults in any navy in the world,
Except possibly the French and Rus
Jan. Since that time. England and
Germany have made important
hanges in their systems, and in the
nited States target practice has been
Prried on so a~ssiduouSly that recently
pc American gunners established the
est records that have V been made.
3he Wisconsin first broke the record,
md later the Texas shot even better.
Target practice in our navy is as old
s the guns. We always devoted much
me and attention to the guns, and in
p doing we acquired a worldwide
equation in all our wars for excellent
hooting.
In the beginning of the new century,
hen the infant navy Of the United
Rates first began to make itself heard
the West Indies and on the coast of
sarbary, target p~ractice-not the
ficntitic drill of to-day, but none the
fss target practice. including shooting
beef casks-became throughout the
pvy a part of every ships routine
nd our sailors were thus for years
ept in training until the great strug-
Re came with the acknowledged
hampions of the ocean. Up to that
me only one English ship. the Shan
pm. had target practice, or put sights
p her guns, and her reward came one
Fentful June day in Boston Bay
tnety years ago. when she fought the
zhesapeake.
The necessity for target practice was
fught for all time on the bloody decks
the Guerrero, the Macedonian, the
hva. and the Peacock. 1t matters not
hether the gun in vogue is a carron-
PIE. a Dahlgren. or a modern high
pwered rifle; unless it can be made to
$t the target, it is absolutely useless.
ut it was not until the battle Of the
aiu, in the ChineSe-Japanese War,
pat heavy gun-practice was seriously
pnsidered. The value Of the practice
fas proved at Manila and Santiago.
he search of foreign experts for the
psf way to hit a mark resulted in the
resent system of target practice, gen
fally the same in all navies, and
Fought to a high point of efficiency in
hrs.
1t is only half the work to arm and
Auip ships with the most improved
pms and sights; they must also have
highly trained personnel capable of
Manipulating guns, turrets, and tor
fdoes. When China found herself ar
Dyed. against Japan she offered $500
fsh per month for skilled gun
Pinters, but, in all great navies, gun
@pirters are trained. not bought, and
her. the fight is on it is too late for
Struction.
{How does a nan become an expert
inner? Diligent drill and constant
aiming are not enough without a GER
IN amount Of natural aptitude. One
= an after another is tried. A few
Rys' drill in the turrets eliminates ali
kcept the fairly promising. For the
lent Of eye and nerve which marks
e born gun-pointer the Government
hys from 50 to $40 a month in addi-
pm to the mans regular pay. This
Femium is not confined to any rae
iced. or color. On one vessel in the
hwy n of the gun-pointers is a
|egro.
Selecting gun-pointers is one of the
ost important duties in the navy.
fauing selected the men for gun
pinters, the next step is to train them.
wo methods are now in vogue, both
living the same principle, but differ
g in detail. In the Old days Of sails
2hd s~mooth-bore guns. the invariable
leland the only rule the gun-cap-
ms knew-was this: "Fire at the
ESp Of the downward roll Gust as the
pip begins to roll toward the target,
)hd aim at the enemy's wateriine."
[his rule lasted far into the age Of
team and turret guns. and has only
fcently been %supplanted by 'continu-
ls-aim firing" or the art of keeping q
IN trained on the target regardless Of
be oscillations Of the vessel, during
be whole or a portion Of the roll.
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