The Washington herald., 1907-09-08
OUR NAVAL GUN FIRE
Result of Arduous Work at Target Practice
Big Prizes for Accurate Shooting.

The trophy winner Of the Atlantic fleet
was the battle ship Illinois. which al the
record practice scored a total Of 1912
points ont OF a possible hundred The
work OF the turret guns was less accurate
than that Of some OF the other battle
ships. but she took first place on the
high general average Of all Of her guns.
In the British navy there has also been
notable improvement and some bril-
liant records have been made, there being.
Ia fact quite a neck-and-neck race be-
tween the gunners OF that navy and our
own for the worlds record From the
British admiralty publication, the Scien-
t!dC American recently compiled target
statistics showing the results Of the gun
layers test in the fleet for the year 1876.
and the high average OF hits made as
compared with the results In FIVE previous
years during the decade. Thus, compar-
ing the years 1897 and 1896, the PERCENTAGE
OF hits TO rounds fired in 1871 was 81 So.
IN 1904 IL was 42-S3; IN 1875 IL reached
J6.5S. and last year il rose TO 7I.12 Under
the table Of hits per gun per minute we
note that for the 10 and u inch guns the
figure rose from COG IN 1897 20 OS1 in 1906
For the 9.2-inch gun there was recorded IN
1897, OH hit per gun per minute. and this
ID
hits. The 6-inch gun averaged !. 80 hits per
gun per minute in 1897, 223 hits I'm 1894, and
4.5 hits per gun per minute in 1896. The
record for the whole navy for this year
was held by the cruiser Drake. which
brought Prince Louis of Battenberg TO
this country In IS05. On this ship. with
the s.2-inch gun. seventeen hits were made
out Of eighteen rounds al a moving tar
get. and in one minute eleven hits were
made out Of eleven rounds with a 6-inch
gun.
Japanese Shooting.
This publication further points ont that
the japanese. IN repelling the sortie of
the Russian feet at Port Arthur. did
some very Indifferent shooting: but.
profting by their experience. they put in
an enormous amount Of target practice in
the interval between that engagement
and the great fight Of the following May.
when the Pinch guns OF Admiral
Togo's battle ships were credited with
making 70 per cent Of hits out Of the total
number Of shots fired
But neither the japanese nor the Brit
ish practice their crews under the condi-
tiOns which American regulations Insist
upOn-rules that are 50 stringent that it
is quite certain that the men could make
better scores in battle, and when such re
striCtiOns as are imposed in mere prac-
tice do not obtain.
For instance, a ship goes to the target
ranges with every gun unloaded and
breech blocks closed As the gun is
brought to bear on the target the whistle
is sounded, and that is the sigma to load.
train, and FIRE, to fire as rapidly as pos
sible, and to make as many hits as can
be made within the time limit that Is
allowed.
when a ship did not approach her target
with loaded guns. And there would be
few targets that are not many times
larger than the twenty-foot long and sew
enteen-foot high section of canvas which
our gunners shoot at from a range Of
l,690 yards.
Nor in war times would any officer Of
gun or turret neglect to make swift
correction of any error which he saw the
gun pointer make. But he cannot do this
in target practice without multiplying the
gun. There was an instance Of this not
long ago One Of the newer battle ships
had gone out TO the ranges, and her first
shot fell considerably short of the target
gun captain. who probably had become
a bit ''Tattled" by his first wild shot. de-
pressed It. and his second shot fell still
further short Again and again he made
the same mistake, the officer standing
by and seeing all of his hopes for his di-
vision making a record going more and
more to the bad with every shot But
neither by word nor wink was he al
lowed to warn the gun captain that he
had set his sight bar wrong
The system of competition by which
such superb results are obtained IS not
generally known 1t is one that brings
competition to its highest mark The
Navy Department allots $50 In what
might be called prize money to each tur-
ret. and a similar sum 10 the batteries
Of less caiibeT. Now, $50 is not q very
large sum when divided among the crew
Of one gun division. But by one accord
the various gun crews agreed TO pool is
sues. the winning turret to take all Of
the tuTret class, the premier crew OF the
smaller battery to take all in that class.
Therefore, in a feet like the Atlantic.
there were prizes OF more than S2,0O0 each
TO divide between winning gun crews Is
il any wonder that the competition is
sharp?
Nor are these prizes for the enlisted men
alone. The commissioned officer, he who
commands tuTret or gun division, may re-
ceive a commenCatory letter from the
Secretary of the Navy, a copy OF which
would be appended to his record. Again.
the captain of the ship viii receive an
other such oficia! eneomium, as will also
the executive officer and the ordnance or
feer. Besides, the gun pointers will re
ceive an extra s or $40 month for the
sest OF their service.