The National tribune., 1904-07-07
(World's Work.

A revival of target practise dates from
the Spanish-American War. Up to that
| time, adequate attention had not been
| paid to the necessary training to produce
except possibly the French and Russian.
Since that time, England and Germany
| have made important changes in their
| systems, and in the United States Navy
| target practise has been carried OH SO as
siduously that recently the American gun
| ners established the best records that have
| ever been made. The Wisconsin first broke
the record, and later the Texas shot even
| better
Target practise in our navy is as old
rs the guns. We always devoted much
time and attention to the guns, and in go
doing acquired worldwide reputation III
all our wars for excellent shooting.
In the beginning of the new century.
| when the infant navy of the United
States first began to make itself heard in
the West Indies and on the coast OF bar
barry target practise-nOt the scientific
drill Of to-day. but none the less target
| practise, including shooting at beef casks
became throughout the navy part OF every
ships routine, and our sailors were thus
for years kept in training until the great
struggle came with the acknowledged cham
pions Of the ocean. Up to that time only
one English ship, the Shannon. had target
practise. or put sights on her guns. and nor
ton Bay 90 years ago, when she fought the
Chesapeake.
The necessity for target practise was
taught for all time OH the bloody decks of
the Guerriere, the Macedonian. the Java,
and the Peacock. 1t matters not whether
| the gun in vogue is a carrOnade, Dahl
| gren. or a modern high-powered rifle; un-
less it can be made to hit the target. 1t il
| absolutely useless But it was not until
| the battle of the Yalu, in the Chinese-Jap-
anese War, that heavy gun-practise was
seriously considered The value Of the prac-
tse was proved at Manila and Santiago.
| The search of foreign experts for the best
way to hit mark resulted in the present
system of target practise, generally the
/ same in all naves. and brought to hlgh
point of efficiency in ours.
| 1t is only half the work TO arm and equip
ships with the most improved guns and
sights: they must also have highly
| trained personnel capable of manipulating
guns. turrets and torpedoes. When China
| found herself arrayed against Japan she
offered $500 cash per month for skilled
| gun pointers. but, in all great navies, gun
| pointers are trained. not bought. and when
the fight is Oh it is too late for instruc-
ton.
| How does a man become an expert gun
ner? Diligent drill and constant training
are not enough without a certain amount
of natural aptitude. One man after an
~
turrets eliminates all except the fairly
promising. For the talent of eye and nerve
| which marks the born gun pointer the Gov
ernment pays from 50 to $40 IA month in
addition to the mans regular pay. This
| premium il not confined to any race, creed
or color. On one vessel in the navy, one
| of the gun-p0inters is n negro.
| Selecting gun-pOinters is one of the most
| important duties in the navy. Having Sc
lected the men for gun-pointers. the next
step is to train them. Two methods are
now in vogue: both having the same prin,
| days of sails and smoothbore guns, the
| invariable rule-and the only rllle the gun
| captains knew-was this Fire sat the
| top OF the downward roll Gust as Ahe ship
| begins to roll toward the target, and aim
at the enemy's Mnterline." This rule last
guns. and has only recently been supplanted
| by "continuous-aim firing" or the art of
| keeping A gun trained on the target,
gardless of the oscillations of the vessel.
during the whole or portion of the roll.
| This kind of practise was first brought 10
the attention of the Navv Department by
| Lieutenant Commander w. S.. Sims. re-
| Gently Naval Attache at Paris. and a pres
| ent Inspector of Target Practise.
The method for training men by this
| new system-by the use of "dotter'-
was devised by Capt Percy Scott, Of the
Il
great reputation by his improvised gun car
| riage upon which the fve-nch naval guns
| were Transported from his ship. the Power
| ful. to Ladysmith. in the Boer War The
| "dotter' Is a mechanical device which
causes small target to move across the
| face of gun. with a combined vertical
and horizontal motion The gun pointer
must make the gun follow the target. and
whenever the sights are on the bull's-eye.
he presses n button. This causes a pencil
to dot the target. That is his shot The
other method of instruction is with The
| Morris tube. which consists of n small gal
lery rifle fitted on the gun, to take the
place of the "dotter's" pensil.
I So expert have some of the English
ships become in target practise by the con-
slant use of the "dotter," that one Cap
tain declared that he was prepared to keep
| side of the enemy's shin mt the fighting
| range of 1900 yards. Indeed one of his
crews fired six-inch gun eight times in
| less than a minute, every shot striking the
| target and another with nine-inch gun,
| made nine hits out Of II in six minutes,
| or at the rate Of one and one-half hits q
| minute. This is very nearly perfection.
In addition to the dotter and the tube,
| n loading machine is used. This tea ches
the men to load quickly. for, while accuracy
| Of fire is the most important element in a
battle. rapidtv of fire is the next essen
tal. The loading machine. also the inven-
tion of an English sea-officer. consists sim
ply of the breech of a dummy gun fitted
| with service mechanism. The regulation
shell is used and the men are trained to
| load the machine bv hand without the use
of rammers. On board the British ship
Barfleur all the movements of loading a
| fve-inch gun 20 times with service ammu-
milton were performed in one minute
and "a seconds. This is an exer-
else the men are very fond Of 1t has be-
come one Of the features in the athletic
| contests. common on all large war-vessels.
Two kinds of target practise are en-
ployed now in all navies: one in which the
target is stationary and the ship moving
the other in which both ship and target
are moving. In the first the target is
| towed out to any predetermined distance.
say 1000 Yards, and anchored i'm such a
way as to lie constantly in one direction.
| The target is at an apex Of an equilateral
| triangle, the otherrtwo angles being marked
| by buoys. The ship. cleared for action and
| with all hands at battle stations, steams
| at n speed of 10 or 10 knots in front of the
| target. firing her. guns only in the interval
between bnoys. In the towing practise
the firing ship moves in one direction, while
| the target is towal in the opposite direc-
| tiay nv opntbar shin NSb;c rrcnt;so =, A..