Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-05-03


NAlkNlW been ordered down in two
sections, the first of which
already has been graduated.
Upon the Coast Artillery corps has
been thrust the burden of handling
the heavy ordnance with which the
army is equipped and which in the
held will be manipulated by meth
DDS more or less resembling the meth
DDS already laid down for sea coast
ordnance. These methods are far
different from those used by the field
artillery proper-that is, the light
three-inch rifles and 4.7-lnch howitzers.
The present-day heavy artillery Off
Ger must be n mathematical shark, a
railroad engineer and an expert In
handling gasoline motors, besides hav-
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 nrtilleryman to a slide rule,
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 win not be
securely emplaced In concrete, but
win be exposed TO the mercies of the
open road, with consequent overturn-
ings and sudden shlftlngs. He must
know how 70 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
rery. This included a practical knowl-
edge of ballistics-the science of the
movement Of bodies through the air,
Ballistics Is n very exact science, and
in these days of precision is absolute
ly essential for the artilleryman. Re
duced TO language for the layman, II
consists in the knowledge Of just how
far a given piece of ordnance will hurl
It's projectlle 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 a certain projectile tc
a certain range at a certain elevation
These data are compiled in tables ant
are theoretically the same for all guns
OF the same caliber and model. These
tables are known as range tables, and
the conditions given for the firing Of
projectlles for these theoretical ranges
are known as range table conditions
Remember this.
Now some Of the principal range
table conditions or assumptions arr
that the earth Is fat and does not re
volve; that the atmospheric condI
tIons are standard; that there is n,
wind that the gun and target are OF
The same level, and that the actor
of gravity Is constant throughout tn,
trajectory.
All well and good. We know tha
our gun. then. win fire its projectile
let us say 10000 yards, under rang
table conditions. In other words. givel
the above conditions. IL will, II prop
II. \.
10000 yards away. But unfortunate
ly for us the earth is not fiat. our tar
get Is 10000 yards away, and 200 fee