The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-05-24

erful fleet ever under the American
4 flag, when visited by a correspondent
Of the Associated Press, through ar
Management with the Committee on
Public Information, were working
day and night to bring about the de-
feat of Germany on. the sea. Ready
for battle, they are spending the
waiting period turning out sailor
men.
The fleet, temporarily. is a great
workshop of war. Already it is turn
Ing out one of it's finished products
men who can fight. They are serving
the guns on American armed mer-
chant ships. Its other product-men
who can run great merchant fleet the
United States will used to feed the
Allies-will be ready as soon as the
ships.
Five-inch guns, the kind principal
.Iy used against submarines, are there
Nv the hundreds. On the decks great
turrets house long fourteen and
twelve-inch rifles-three or Two to
D. turret On high platforms guns
used for defense against airplanes
point to the sky. Brass is always
shining, steel is always polished,
paint is always new. decks are always
white with scrubbing-
,shipmates in the war-they were
guns crews on merchantmen sunk by
German submarines. And other ship
mates now are on duty aboard the
destroyers operating with the British
and French fleets The men with the
Atlantic fleet are working to prepare
themselves to avenge the killing of
their mates.
\ Here's what happened the other
day.r A vcrews was practicipg with a
1veAash yum e bius5acket about
seventeen-he still had down on his
chin.Mwas pointing. He grasped
handles on a broad brass wheel; his
eye was steady at a rubber cup at the
end of a long sight, through which
he saw the target. His duty was to
keep the gun on; the target so it might
be fired at any time.
Around this beardless youth were
gEaeg 2 !. e a ], 5 Sstag Il, to
Z. The bearch snapped open, the load
was thrown home, the breach was
hurled back in place and then a buzz
Rar, operated from the fire control
station, sounded; there was a flash,
. roar; the hiss of a projectile speed
ing through the air and the louder
hiss of compressed air blowing smoke
Quit of 1.-THE tghAa Miles away the pro-
5eofHsg struck thee targetT y
<sGuess that's bad said an old
man-o'-war's-m looking on admir-
ingly at the third shot, as the guns
crew got the range and the pillar OF
white water leaped into the air.
How wouldFt that do for Fritzy
Suppose that had been submarine
and---" -
Ths buzzer. the roar of the gun and
the hiss Of air interrupted him.
Another hit Gee whiskers tha's
shooting"
On the after deck latest arrivals
aboard the ship were set to work
that day, and every other day; in fact
upon the loading machines. They
consist principally of a breach and
block and a slide that carries away
dummy projectiles and powder bags
Officers with stop watches in their
hands set one crew after another to
work; the idea being to develop ex-
treme loading speed by competition
The newest members of the ships
companies work for days at these
loading machipes The next step in
their training carries them to the
guns. But they are not yet ready tc
fire the regular charges. One pound
ers. that go off with sharp crack
are dashed on top of the big guns and
the crews go through all the motions
of firing, but instead of a big shell
a little one weighing pbund speed.
for the target when the buzzer sound!
orlwhen the turret captains in charge
ofithe bigger rifles yell I" Ffret'a
After period of firing with thu
sub-caliber arrangement the orewl
get down to real battle practice
There are few buster places than {
turret in action. Concave steel WALL
are all around, and steel roof is JUS
above the heads of the gunners. Tn,
pointers sit far forward, underneath
the barrels of the guns. Little seat
lima thpfs On a4motor cycle are Their.
fd &NSnR on tee6 2 exef side are in
strurneHts; n AS the turret begins II
fire. a lift, bearing the huge projectil,
, bangs up from below, great bags O
powder slide from the magazines int
a long brass trough. Husky blue
Jackets toss the powder into anothel
brass trough that is slipped into posi-
ton at the gigantic breach. The pro
Jectile, almost as large as a. man
meanwhile has been rolled inc tn,
trougn,sa long automatic rammer ha
Jumped from the rear and showed /
into the barrel The powder bags ar,
driven home, a man at the breacl
swings a lever, a ton of steel swing
up with a hiss of compressed air. TIL
breach block turns and locks, a buz
ger sounds, the charge is ignited ant
with a rush of air the guns recoi
about a yard and then jump back in
to position. There is a loud Swish
swish as the guns come back an.
then 60 forward Ihsfde the turre
not much more than that is heard
Outside, 1t is much different Their
is flash, a roar, a ring of smok
and the loud whistle of the proJectil
rushing through the air. So great
the conclusion that every man out
side has cotton or some other sub
stance in his ears to save his ca
drums from being broken
FffteeD Lseponffsv from 1stCommenc
firing" to Fire" is considered prett
good time for the big guns in tn
navy. They have new guns crew
in training now who never saw sal
water until three weeks ago who ar
doing the thing easily in sixteen sec
onds.
Some nights the ships of the flee
cruise in waters nearby for night bat
tie practice. Other nights they ar
anchored In the base waters, wher
crews ARE drilled at torpedo defense
The gums are manned and dummy tor