The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1908-03-16
TARGET PRACTICE
AMERICAN BATTLEsHIPS TO BE-
GIN ACTUAL WORK.
The Usual Quiet Waters of MaKdaIema
Bay VIII Splash and Dance I'm.
der Rain Of Shot and
she'll

San Diego, Cal, March l5-The
American battieship fleet now at an
Choir In Magdalena Bay. Lower Califor-
MIA. will begin the serious work OF
record target practice tomorrow morn
ing, according to official wireless des-
patches received here, and for the next
two or three weeks the usually quiet
waters OF this harbor will splash and
dance under the rain of shot and she'll
The targets will be set and ranges
established at the lower end of the bay,
where II narrows to an island parted
channel leading to Almias Bay. another
landlocked harbor whose natural adj
vantages would stand out strikingly
in the search for naval base In any
other part of the world than in close
proximity to Magdalena. The ranges
are to be set first at 1000 yards. They
will be next extended to 1000 yards
and then to a maximum of 5000 yards
for the smaller target, which is 12x21
feet in size. For the great turret guns,
the twelve and thirteen inch rides. the
ranges are heightened from 5000 to
5000 yards, and the targets are in
creased to 30x60 feet. As one ord
nance officer on the battleshfps ex-
presses it, it is absolutely essential that
the gunners should be able to see the
target before they can train the sights
upon it, At 5000 yards the white can
vas object to be shot at appears as
only tiny speck.
The gunners of the Atlantic fleet are
conscious of the fact that they have a
hard task before them to equal or
surpass the records recently MADE at
Magdalena Bay by the armored cruis-
ers guns of the Pacific fleet under COM
mand of Rear Admiral Daytons and
Sebre. These ships alternately have
been at the practice grounds In the
Mexican Bay for the last two months
and six of them have completed their
work The Maryland outdistanced all
of her competitors among the armored
armored cruisers of the station, with a
percentage OF SO hits out of pos
sible 100, with all classes of guns. The
Tennessee next with a percentage OF
IS IA 'hits., the Colorado being third
with 63.6s, the Pennsylvania fourth
with $3.50. the West Virginia nth with
$3.50 and the Washington last with
$3.50.
The seemingly low score of the
Washington was expected, as she is a
brand new ship with new guns and new
crew, but 1t serves to make all the
more important the splendid record of
the Tennessee, Admiral Sebree's flag
ship. which is just as new as the
Washington, and which went to the
targets under the same conditions as to
green pieces and gunners The Ten
nessee and Washington also for the
first time used ten inch turret rifles,
a new weapon for American cruisers.
which were put on board the vessel In
response to the demand of the ordnance
officers for heavier guns than the eight
inch rifles of the West Virginia class
The heavier guns and turrets added
nearly a thousand tons to the weight
of the Tennessee and Washington over
the West Virginia and caused a thin
ming of the main armor belt from six
to FIVE inches. The turret protection
was increased, however. from six and
one-half inches to nine inches.
All of the big armored cruisers are
ranked with the battIeships in summing
up their target records, and for this
reason their scores are of unusual in
terest at this time. when the world
eircling feet is about to begin It's tar
get work.