New-York tribune., 1912-04-28
Ike 5istcal bridge H tite u 5 5.
Hirke5Cte- IN tie Cs1ntre IS
tEe E1eotr1e SeMop phore
Ssha 80 9rm1Or MULLER.
American Gunners Are Tested
Twice Each Year Under
Conditions Repro
ducing Those
e. of Battle.

fleets comprising the United States
navy spend the sl.ooO ooo-more or less
appropriated annually by Congress for
urget practice. The Atlantic feet per-
formed It's duty in this respect between
April and 10. while at sea about fifteen
miles of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.
Twenty Of our greatest batteships. headed
by the Connecticut Admiral Osterhauss
flagship ino,uding In the number the latest
additions TO the navy. the dreadnoughts
Florida and Utah and other of our big
ships. such as the North Dakota. the
Delaware and the Michigan. participated
In the powder burning contest for suprem-
acy In planting heavy weights where
they would Go the most damage in time
Of war. The officers are not discussing the
records for publication, but there are
rumors that some very gratifying ones
we're made 1t is reported. for instance.
that a target about thirty by sixty feet
was DESTROYED by one battleship at dis
tsnce Of eleven thousand yards, or more
than six land miles. A target ct that dis
lance is a mere speck on the horizon. Had
v
would have been badly disabled before she
came within the fighting range adopted ~
some powers
In target practice all the rules aim a.
the REPRODUCTION OF the conditions OF actuai
battle. and every effort is put forth TO &C
cUmplish this end. Some time before tle
practice is 10 be held, each officer whose
post requires an advance knowledge OF the
work 10 be done receives book OF rules
for that particular practice. THIS pook
is considered to be confidential dcumeht'
the contents Of which are not 20 be re-
vealed 10 persons outside the service Ihe
first paee is perforated and bears num-
Der corresponding TO that on the book IL
self The recipient signs a receipt On thls
page, and II is torn out and retained oy
the Navy Department. This book. there
fore. is held under a signed agreement not
TO reveal what its pages contain.
The practice this year included spoilers
test target shooting by individual ships
and by divisions, torpedo firing by battle-
ships and by torpedo boats. The sunkeh
battleship San Marcos, formerly the IeXas'
which is being used as naval mark was
the target in the case OF the spotter TEST
II is reported that later her lattice nre-
cortrol rnssts are TO serve as targets. In
order TO learn how long that type OF must
Will stand when under fire. Each oat'ie-
ship has one or more spoilers. THESE are
the men who occupy the fire control pas
kets on the lattice masts and watcn the
fau Of the shots They are expected 10 De
able 10 tell almost instantly how far over
or under the mark the shells struck ana
telephone Il TO the plotting room, down IN
the bowels OF the vessel. They supplement
the mechanical range finder, and assist the
plotters below working out the ranges u
correct any differences thus indicated. mo
tiscrepancy between the range optaineo
mechanically and the observation OF 'he
spotter il considered 10 Indicate ''o
strength Of the powder charge ana the sup
ply Of power Is varied accordingly.
In the spotters' test the range was known
to the umpires, and the guns were Hreu 1t
prearranged elevations. or ranges Inc
spotters were expected to tell what inc
errors or discrepancies. were. Their est-
mates were then compared with the known
ranges
In Individual practice each ship is Limited
TO certain number OF shots, ana IL mas
It's own target The scoring Is paseo oh
the number Of hits per minute per gun II
has been found that the gunners In lana
Ratification may be expected TO average
one hit In three shots at a moving target
II is, therefore, considered that ship that
Can make 80 per cent of hits has MADE
Perfect score for the floating gun platform
not only is unstable but is moving WhiIe
forfI IN.,, only "a
form, but there are opportunities Tor IN
eeasing the length OF the base OF tne
range finder.
The ranges are obtained by taxing TWO
nights at the mark from different points
whose distance apart is known with pre-
e'seness The angles Of the two sight lines
snen the sights are focused simultaneously
VI the object, taken with the known length
VI The base line will show its exact ols-
Ahce. The fertilization has an advantage
O'er vessel also In that the garrison can
~" out some OF its ranges in advance
'He range finder on battleship is approx
,'S'ey sixteen feet long This Is the base
"e upon which the calculations are worked
Taking this into consideration, the
...peeity for making hit on target more
-" ELK miles away Is an evidence or
,0 s,sat skill on the part OF all who manipu-
''e The fghting machine
-" me ship is not only limited In the
-"oef OF shots 10 be fired. but in meas
- The interval Of time in which they
De sent in search of the target. 1t will
=, seen that without preliminary practice
ZONE kind IN. records which have been
sa' ae would he impossible II Is not known
~, 'ong l2-inch gun. such as those
q, POKE their shining black muzzles out
g.. s tnrrets Of the dreadnoughts, viii
the pressure TO which they are sub