The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-04-09
MONEY

when there is real danger. Then the oficer
In charge cries sharply:
silence"
That means that no more shots must be
fired from that gun on that run. With II
goes a penalty that works against the ships
record. More than once such command
has been heard on these ships, but II IL
wise, for all too sad have been the records
Of accidents at target practice not only in
our " ships but in those Of every other
navy. It would have pleased any one 10
observe ell the precautions that were taken
this time. The navy has learned some
lessons. Safer and safer the turrets are
becoming all the time, And this element
OF speed which enters into all contests with
the firing Of guns oonduoes TO that end.
You see, il is not only the hits that count
but the time in which they are made.
TURRETs BECOMING FooLPRooF.
But why this haste, you ask. Well,
il trains the men to get the drop on the
enemy and also, and perhaps Of just as
much importance, II reveals the defects
in the system. In other words. 1t tends
more to make turrets and ordnance what
the experts call 'foolprooi," It may be
said that nearly all Of our ordnance on
these ships has reached that stage, the stag
where some man by some unforeseen fool
action, one that no one could guess would
happen, endangers and probably costs the
lives Of himself and several others, Every
breakdown Of a gun on this practice has
had its value and It all goes toward speeding
| the day when these faults will be corrected
and a ship may 60 into action with a rea-
sonable assurance that all its mechanism
will do the work II was intended to do. Yes,
speed has its advantages, very great adj
vantages.
CHANGES IN TWENTY YEARS,
What a change in twenty years! There
are men on this ship who used to take part
in the old practice on such ships as the
Saratoga or the Quinnebaugh, the one that
was on the European station so long that
some one 10 the Navy Department forgot
for a year or two to put il in the naval
register. The Saratoga had one 8 inch
muzzle loading rife that had formerly
been a smooth bore II inch Dahlgren gun.
the kind Of gun that resembled a soda water
bottle and was called such. 1t was mounted
amidships between the ireroom hatch
and the break Of the to gallant fo'c'sle. The
bulwarks at that place we're pierced by
pivot Gun ports that could be secured as
part OF the bulwarks when the gun was not
in action.
The gun swung on circles and pivo I
bolts by using hauling and training tackles,
and could be used on either brosdside
and about ten points forward and abaft
the beam. The ship also had four eight
inch smoothbore Dahlgrens to complete
it's main battery. II required about twenty
two men TO handle such a gun. The charges
OF powder we're in canvas bags and rammed
home. The guns could be sighted up to
1000 Yards. The recoil was taken up
by a heavy hempen hawser fastened 10
the bulwarks and passed through the cas-
cabel Of the gun. The range for target
| practice was 1000 yards, and lucky was
the gunner il he made 30 per cent. Of hits.
In those days the men at the guns were
not half stripped, as they are now. One
half OF them we're armed with cutlass and
pistol and the other half with magazine
rifles and bayonets. This was to repel
boarders. That's all gone. No battleship
ever expects 10 repel boarders in these
DAYS. Protection for the gunners was
made by piling up hammocks and bags
about the last thing that would be thought
of. with it's danger from FIRE, in these days,
even IL all else failed. Nowadays the
recoil Is taken W ALPHABETICALLY, and the
gun is shot back into place with springs.
Even fewer men are required to handle
an eisht-inch gun than twenty years ago.
One OF these guns will shoot five times
further and do ten times-yes, one might
say almost a hundredfold-more damage
than the old ones. And there are eight
OF these on a ship like the Louisiana, TO
say nothing Of twelve seven inch guns,
four twelve inch, twenty three inch and
twelve three Founders.
AMOUNT OF METAL FIRED.
In target practice on one OF these ships
ten shots are fred from each 7 inch
gun. twenty from each 8 inch gun,
twenty from each three FOUNDER and as
many from each s inch and IL inch as
| can be got on in a given time. 1t may
be stretching the prophecies to tell even
that much, and to get back to generalities
Il NAV be said that about twenty-five tons
Of metal we're fred from all the guns, The
cost! Well, put tfor convenience sake at
from 10000 to $4,000 for the feet,
Expensive? Not a bit Of It! That eXpendi-
| ture il the best money spent by the United
States Navy. 1t 10 the premium OF insurance
psid annually FOR efficiency, and ii will
prove its value il these ships ever get into
war. There1l be nc hit or miss or reckless
heller SHELTER shooting then. To make
the practice record here each ship has 10
steam about 100 miles in going over the
course and in a general way II may be said
that each ship made from thirty-fve to
forty runs on the range, There, that's
about all TO be said in print or elsewhere
about target practice by this feet.
Well now honest, you say, didn't the ships
do well, pretty well, just a little better than
. ever before, perhaps a great deal better1
Just that much is what Kou want 70 know
Well, you'll nave to ask'the Navy Depart
ment about that. in it's own good time
and in It's own way II may decide TO give out
such information and It may not. You'll
never get an answer from The Suns corre-
.nondent on this trip.