Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-04
President Wilson to Witness
Target Practice by Bat
tIeship Fleet.
MANY MILLIONS SPENT
IN UPKEEP OF THE NAVY
Government Prepared to Strike Hard
and Quickly With Its Of
fensive Weapon.

When President Wilson visits the At
lantic battleship fleet on the southern
drill grounds off the Virginia capes. the
middle of this month, he will be given
practical demonstration of the methods
employed in making the gun crews of
Uncle Sans warshipS the best naval
gunners in the world. In a recent dis
cussion of the coming fleet target prac-
tice Commander Thomas T. Craven.
director oftarget practice and engineer
ing competitions. at the Navy Depart
ment. gave the newspaper men an inter
esting account of that important feature
of naval instruction.
"Our government" said Commander
Craven, spend over a hundred million dol
lars yearly in the upkeep and building of
the navy. That money frequently has
been compared to the price a man pays
for a premium on an ordinary life in
surance policy. In fact it is premium
for international peace. The very fact
that the navy always is prepared for war
goes long way toward insuring peace.
Let me tell you how some of this money
is spent in maintaining an efficient navy.
Governments Offensive Weapon.
"The navy is the offensive weapon of
the government To be efficient it must
be able to strike hard and quickly.
ship must not only be able to hit the
target, but she must be able to hit it with
great rapidity. That is why the results
of all competitions of gun crews are
computed in hits per gun per minute
A ship must also be able to start hitting
the enemy first 1t is the initial ad-
too xx-h {o1, xryil dot
of future conflicts.
ITO develop the shooting efficiency of
the fleet two kinds of target practices
are held annually-e1ementary and battle
practice. Both kinds of practices are
held off the Virginia capes in waters
known as the south drill. ground. The
elementary prepares the ships for the
battle practices. 1t is competition be-
tween units and individuals. The prelim-
mary training of pointers and gun crews
does not cost the government a cent in
powder or shell. Instead, simple device
called a "dotter,' which is given the
actual motion of the target on which the
pointer trains his telescope, u now used.
Every feature of the practice is rehearsed
time and again without actually firing.
About a month before target practice
the ships usual routine is somewhat mod
ified 70 give the gun crews more chance
Except for an occasional moving picture
show on the quarter deck nothing inter-
per minute. September II. 1913, the At
lantic fleet went on the range for the
annual elementary practice.
Game of Competition.
Coming on the range Those were
the words which were to electrify every
man on the fleet on that day. They mean
to officers and men the same as batter
up means to the players in a worlds
series game In fact, modern target
practice is a game of competition, and by
appealing to the sporting blood of the
bluejackets, zeal in training and prep
aration has developed which has placed
IL on plane never before reached. The
date for the practice had been selected by
the admiral some time previously When
the day finally came, clear, with light
breezes and a gentle SWELL it was an ideal
day for shooting. There was not ship
on the target range not confident that
she could break navy record.
The day before all boats were sent
ashore, and the huge fighting machines
were stripped for action. Everything
breakable was slowed below and other
movable articles aboard the deck were
securely lashed. Even the pictures of the
wives or sweethearts in the officers rooms
We're taken down and slowed away 1t
has been calculated that only about 20
per cent of the energy developed in \
gun goes to propel the projectile: the rest
goes to make the noise and conclusion
near the gun. If one-fifth of this en-
ergy can cause q twelve-inch She to
pierce twelve to fourteen inches of armor
think of the damage the remaining four
hfths can do.
The practice recently completed was
held by three divisions OF the Atlantic
Meet simultaneously, about twenty miles
of water separating divisions. An auxil
iary vessel towed a raft on which four
screens were mounted, for each division
EVERY gun crew was in direct competi-
ton with every other gun crew, not only
on the same ship. but on every other
ship. The main object of elementary
practice is to develop the guns crews by
fostering the spirit of competition IT is
held IN the open sea, at short and ac
curately known ranges. In other words
all errors due to the gun are eliminated
and. the target being just large enough Tn
eaten all perfectly aimed shots, any miss
is due to faults of the personnel and not
to the material.