Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-27

every ship in the navy. dreaming. talk
ing and almost eating the new target
practice. They had TO break down tho
water-tight compartments of conserva-
tism and Indifference: but back OF theni
was the powerful influence OF "fightns
Bob" Evans. whose two-s,arrea nag
was flying on the Kentucky. So this.
YOUTH and the records OF the Kentucky.
carried the day in the United States
Navy.
Ping pong" practice became the rage
and the crack Of the one-pounders a.
subcaliber practice was heard when
the fleet came TO anchor in secluded
bays. The British system was modi-
fed. improved upon and fnally. AT tho
end of a year. our navy had a system
of its own. Year by year the weak
points have been eliminated. the good
ones strengthened and the team work
of scientifically trained officers and
keen-eyed enlisted men has perfected
a system that will. when the crucial
test OF battle comes. produce moro
hits per gun per man to the minute
than any other seagoing power an the
world
By this time the navies OF the world
have adopted systems based on the
pattern that the gun crews of tho Brit
ish Powerful and the Yankee Kentucky
wove back in 1903 on the Astatic sta
tion The sea battles OF the Russo
Japanese war were fought In those
same waters one year later and under
notifications OF that system
Just as I'm the outside world great
systems are built on one basic prin-
ciple so the brains Of this naval sys-
tenn are founded on the basis OF fire
control Down below the water line
protected by huge belts OF armor. the
brains are housed I'm the central IRE
control station The officer in charge.
the ordnance officer. is the Connie Mack
or the John McGraw OF the big game.
Up in the fighting tops. perched dizzily
on military masts. that look for all the
world like elongated waste baskets
turned upside down. are the main
antennae Of the fire control
There are others on the searchiiGht
platforms. boat crane masts. on the
bridge. in the coming tower and In
the turret hoods. From all these points
come bulletins by telephone OF the
enemy's location. his speed and direc-
ton. and the course which the ORD
nance officers shin is following.
The ordnance officer chooses a gun
for the first shot and then from all
these antennae the accuracy of the
shot, whether fired at steeI-buttressed
enemy a dancing target, Is observed
by telescopes and binoculars. With all
this information at his finger tips the
fire control station becomes the clear
ing house for the battle orders.
From here goes the range to the gun
pointers. the order to the turret captain
to load and even the word for firing from
a man out of sight of the battle. This.
in brief. is the workings of the system.
There is not an officer In the feets and
few Of the enlisted men. who could not
reel of thousands of words on Its rami-
fications. for II is the groundwork for
the final staging Of the big game.
There are strong incentives that spur
on officers and men to excellency in the
big game. Its spectacular features alone
would fire the imagination of a monk
The spurts Of flame. the roar of the big
guns the splashing fountains OF salt
water. six miles away, that obscure tho
when you have forgotten the name OF
the man who snatched victory for his
college by a J0-yard drop-kick. or the
man who moved down the Giants In the
worlds series.
The officer may win distinction in tur-
ret behind his brace of roaring twelves.
or make an enviable reputation in the
fighting tops OF his superior ability In
spotting the fall OF the shots and esti-
mating the necessary correction to bring
the next one on the target. Success
above his fellows means detail as ord
nance officer the ships white hope" for
the next big game.
Should he win the coveted bronze
trophy for his shipmates his name be-
comes a household world in the service
and from the Secretary OF the Navy
comes an official letter that in itself he
feels is reward enough. The following
year may find him ordnance officer OF
the fleet on the stan Of the commander
in-chief, or holding down a berth IN
Washington as head of the division OF
target practice, exercising general su-
pervision not oriy over the practice or
the fleet. but every other fighting craft
in the navy.
The enlisted men OF the navy reap both
professional and financial reward. The
heavy gun-pointer to quote deep-sea
talk, draws some water" with his ship
mates and if his tuEret is decorated with
the big white e." he is indeed cock OF
the walk in the feet. In addition, he
draws down from S. to 80 per month
extra each man in a winning turret crew
sports an embroidered white "E' on his
blue sleeve and there are money prizes
for the turret crew and the ships COM
pany.
Compared with the gate money paid TO
the victorious Red Sox. the financial re-
ward Is scant, but the zest of the big
game Is not circumscribed within the Sill
yer rim of a dollar. The leagues of deep
water that encompass IL in mighty
circle are crowded with thrills and am
billions. with thunderous salvos and SOUL
stirring hits that make the historic mo-
ments of a worlds series contest seem
relatively fat and Improbable.