Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-10

cal1ber method Is almost 100 per cent
cheaper than using the full-caliber
charges. and the Spanish-American war
just effective
In the case of gun of six-inch bore or
less, the tube is simply rifle barrel. but
III large turret gun-a twelve or thir-
teen-lnch gun-the tube is for the cart
ridge used in the regular one-pound
rapid-fire gun-that is the proiectiIe
weighs pound. The target is placed at
a Instance OF about 1000 yards for the
big bore gun or about 300 yards for the
smaller gun, in which the rife barrel is
used.
Method of Firing.
The gunners go through all the mo-
lions of loading the gun with the regular
charge, only they load the tube; the gun
Is sighted just as if they were shooting
at target five miles away. and the gun
Is fired just as the full charge would be
the gunner squeezing the bulb which fires
the charge by electricity very much on
the order OF taking a snapshot with a
camera.
The Morris tube is valuable principally
Tor instructing the gunners in continuous
sighting In the days of the old smooth
bore guns the piece was sighted in the
direction of the object aimed at and fired
when the object came within the range of
sight 1t was always the custom to fire
just as the vessel on which the gun was
topped on the crest of a wave. If the gun
was fired as the vessel rose on wave the
shot was apt to fly above the target
whereas If it was fired as the vessel de-
scended the projeetile. if it missed would
probably ricochet and strike the target or
hit 1t on the bounce. as the school boy
would say. But the projectile from a mod
ern gun does not ricochet the revolving
motion impaired to it by the rifing of the
gun causing it usually to fly off to the
right.
Sighting the Guns.
In modern gunnery the gunners are
taught to keep the sight always on the tar
get. The officer having ascertained the
range and estimated the initial velocity of
the charge regulates the sight, and then it
is the gunners duty to keep the sight al
ways on the target. The sight is where
two iron bars, crossing at right angles in
tersecs- The vertical bar shows the eleya-
ton of the gun and is regulated by the
gunner who fires the charge. The lateral
bar shows the lateral movement of the
piece.
with the Morris tube system the rifle
is attached to the carriage CT small guns
and to a band about the breech of the tur-
ret guns. small target is erected at a
distance from the muzzle of the gun. so
that it will appear to the eye of the gun
ner just if it were the regulation target
at the regulation distance. This target is
made to move, to represent the rolling of
a ship. and the gunners must keep the sight
of the gun always ii. When the COM
mand to fire is given the rife is discharged.
If the bullet strikes the target the gunner
has properly sighted the piece: if the bullet
flies wide of the mark the gunner must
try again until he never makes a miss.
That's the way good gunners are made
Both methods of sub-caliber practice are
Invaluable TO the nayies of the present
time and the Japs .kaye probably made
good use of the system, but 1t is certainly
a mistake to suppose that our navy learned
1T from them. The reverse Is far more
likely