The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-06-01

the latest pattern Of mod
ern heavy artillery officers
The National Guard coast
RHfmn''Nd artillery officers and such
MYll||I OF the regular establish
IMR NH ment as have not yet been
EKkNKNf through this school have
6aaR2skS been ordered down in two
sections. the first Of which
dready has been graduated
Upon the Coast Artillery corps has
oeen thrust the burden Of handling
the heavy ordnance with which the
army Is equipped, and which In the
peio VIII be manipulated by meth
ous more or less resembling the meth
ods already laid down for sea coast
ordnance. These methods are far
inherent from those used by the field
artillery prOper-that Is, the light
tnree-lnch rifles and 4.7-inch howitzers.
The present-day heavy artillery off,
Ger must be mathematical shark, a
railroad engineer and an expert in
handling gasoline motors, besides hay
ing an Intimate knowledge Of gun
merry, says writer In the New York
Herald. His equipment has changed
from the battery commanders ruler
Of the field artilleryman to a slide rule,
a transit and book OF logarithms.
In addition he must understand per-
fectly the manipulation Of heavy
masses-termed the art Of mechanical
maneuvers-for his guns will not be
securely emplaced in concrete, but
will be exposed to the mercies Of the
open road, with consequent overturn-
engs and sudden shiftings He must
know how to use tackle Of all sorts,
and In general know all the tricks Of
the modern contractor.
The officers who came down to Fort
Monroe were nearly all graduates Of
the National Guard courses prescribed
by the war department and were fully
competent to handle seacoast ordnance
In the forts to which they were as
signed. They thought that their
knowledge was ample, and it would
have been for this work perhaps but
after a day or so they found out that
while this knowledge was essential
TO them as basic, 1t was only the be-
ginning.
Gunnery the Big Thing.
The big thing, of course, was gun
merry. This included practical knowl-
edge of ballistics-the science Of the |
movement of bodies through the air. |
Ballistics is a very exact science, and |
in these days Of precision is absolute
~ essential for the artilleryman. Re
duced to language for the layman, 1t |
consists in the knowledge of just how
far given piece of ordnance will hurl
Its projectile under all conditions.
Very simple. say you. Yes, under
standard conditions. Every gun when
It is turned out from the maker is
known to fire q certain projectile to
n certain range at certain elevation.
These data are compiled in tables and
are theoretically the same for all guns
of the same caliber and model. These
tables are known as range tables, and
projectiles for these theoretical ranges
are known as range table conditions.
Remember this.
Now some Of the principal range !
table conditions or assumptions are /
that the earth is fat and does not re-
yolve; that the atmospheric condi- s
lions are standard; that there is no {
wind; that the gun and target are on
the same level, and that the action
pf gravity is constant throughout the
trajectory. I
All we'll and good. We know that t
our gun, then. will fire its projectile, q
eft us say 10000 yards, under range q
able conditions. In other words, given q
he above conditions, It will, If prop c
,erly laid in direction, hit target v
1000 yards away. But unfortunate e
v for us the earth is not fiat, our tar b
net is 10000 yards away, and 200 feet p