Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-05-24
AMERICAS FLEET OF Big WAR
SHIPSREADY TO DRIVE U-B0ATS
FROM SEA; US. MARKSMEN ARE.
BEST many NAVY lNTHE WORLD
Men Trained to nth Power of Efficiency and Work With
Speed and Precison-Target Shooting Reveals
Wonderful Ability of Gunners-Great
Fleet is an Inspiring Spectacle.

With the United States Atlantic
Fleet, May 24.-The big ships Of the
most powerful feet ever under the
American flag. when visited by a cor
respondent Of the Associated Press,
through arrangement with the. COM
mittee on public information, were
working day and night to bring about
the defeat 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 1t is, turn
Ing out n of its finished products
men who can fight. They are serv-
ing the guns on American armed mer-
chant ships. Its other product-men
who can run the great merchant fleet
the United States will use to feed the
allies-will be ready as 20 as the
ships.
Many Five.Inch Guns.
Five-inch guns, the kind principally
used against submarines, are there by
the hundreds. On the decks great
turrets house long fourteen and
twelve-inch rif1es-three or two to a
turret. On high platforms guns used
for defense against airplanes point
to the sky. Brass is always shining,
steel is always polished, paint ia al
ways new, decks are always white
with scrubbing. \
The men behind the guns have lost
shipmates in the war-they were guns
crews on merchantmen sunk by Ger
man submarines. And other ship
mates now are on duty hoard 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. A crew was practicing with a
five-inch gun. A bluejacket about II
he still had down o n his chin-was
pointing. He grasped handles on a
broad brass wheel; his y was steady
at a rubber cup at the end of a long
sight, through which he saw the tar
get. His duty was to keep the gun
on the target so it might be fired any
time.
Around this beardless youth were
grouped other guns crews ready to
fire when his crew had completed its
period.
Great Target Shooting.
The breach snapped open, the load
was thrown home, the breach was
hurled back in place and then a buzz
ger, operated from the fire control sta
ton, sounded; there was a flash, a
roar, the hiss of a projectile speeding
through the air and the louder hiss
of compressed air blowing smoke out
{. Of the gum. Miles away the projectile
struck the target.
Guess that's bad" said an old
man-o'-war's-maA looking on admir-.
ingly at the third shot, as the gun.
crew got the range and the pillar Of
white water leaped into the air.
"fTow would tt. at :. do. for F'ritzys
Suppose that had been q submarine
and---'
The buzzer, the roar of the gun and
the hiss of air Interrupted him.
Another hit! Gee Whiskers, that.
shooting"
On the after deck latest arrival:
aboard the ship were set to work tina
day, and every other.day, In fact, upor
the loading machines. They consis
. principally of a breach and block ant
q slide that carries away dummy pro
%jectiles and powder bags.
Loading Speed.
Officers with stop watches in theil
hands set one crew after another tt
work, the idea beiAs to develop ex
IRENE loading speed by competition
The newest members Of the ships
loasiing machines. The next step il
their training carries them to tn
guns. But they are not yet ready tt
fire the regular charges. Ore pound
ers, that go Off with a sharp crack
= are dashed on top of the big guns an,
The crews go through all the motion
Of firing, but instead of a big shell.
little II weighing a pound speed
for the target when the huZzer sounds
or when the turret captains In charg
of the bigger rifles yell fret"
After a period of firing with tn,
sub-caliber arrangement the crew
get down to real battle practice
There are few buster places than
turret in action. Concave steel wall
are all around, and a steel root is jus
above the heads of the gunners. TIL
pointers sit far forward, underneath
the barrels of the guns. Little seat
like those on a motor cycle are ther,