The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-31
JUDGE DISTANCES
Soldiers Have To Learn To
Measure With Eye.
Must Be Able To Estimate
Within Fifty Yards.
NOVEL METHODS ARE USED
Standing Man 800 Yards Away
Just Fills a Gun Barrel.
You Can See Mans Eyes at
About 100 Yards.
BY CAPT. H. B. C. POLLARD
~ the RritiSb rTnv


London. Aug. Is (by mall LIVERY
British soldier is expected to be able
to Judge distance approximately, and
every non-commissioned officer and
officer is expected to do it with fair
accuracy. 1t is an essential part of
his training. Without it he cannot
give his orders correctly.
Most people have their own mental
unit of comparison. Such and such
place is a mile away, and they always
think of distances in terms of COM
parison with that mental picture. But
tho to the ordinary man. half a mile
or so is close enough reckoning, the
soldier must be able to estimate dis
tances in units of fifty yards or less.
and he can only teach himself to do
this by hard practice. 1t is by practice
that he gets a store of mental units of
comparison which enable him to judge
distances in the field.
One of the best ways of teaching
men distance judging is on route
marches At a halt the men estimate
the distance of objects visible ahead
Of them along the road. When the
march is resumed these estimates are
checked by pacing the distances. In
this way the men are taught to take an
interest in distance judging, and a
competitive spirit is encourage among
them.
In the same way the ranges of all
prominent objects near camp are care
fully taken with a rance finder. and
the men are Taught by heart the vari-
Gus distances. Natural objects such as
houses, average sized trees. or roads
where men or traffic move are pre-
f7rred to merely landscape features
for mon retain a mental picture OF
such objects reet.
Some Rules That Help.
In addition to- the mental picture"
method of estimating ranges there are
certain rule-of-thumb methods. One
of these is the observation of objects
thru a service rifle barrel with the
holt removed and the eye placed i'm
mediately above the butt plate. Thus
a standing man completely fills the
diameter of the barrel at 500 yards
distance If he occupies one-half he
IS some $50 yards away. and at 500
yards he occupies a third. This sys-
tenn is good for ranges up to 500
yards. but it requires a good light to
see a dismounted man thru the bar
rel at this range.
For close ranges the following ia
BILE is an accurate guide to a, man of
normal vision: Mouth and eyes of a
man can be seen at so yards.
Eyes appear as points at 100 yards.
Buttons and details of uniform can
be seen at 200 yards.
Face can be seen at 800 yards.
Shoulders are square at 400 yards.
Shoulders so bottle-shaped at 500
yards.
Head is visible as dot at 500 yards.
Head is invisible at 700 yards.
Man looks like post at 500 yards.
Halfway Landmarks.
In long distances the best way is to
select an object which appears to be
half way. to estimate the distance to it
10y one or other of the methods and
then to double the estimate.
Flashes of guns at night are useful
for range finding. Sound travels about
$50 yards a second. A more accurate
computation can be made by counting
eleven beats to three seconds, each
beat between the sight of the flash
and the noise of the sound equaIling
100 yards. But here again practice is
required to estimate the beats cor
rectly.
All the foregoing rules are for good
light and level ground. In bad light
in mist. when looking across a valley
or when estimating distance lying
down. the tendency is to over estimate
distance.
A distinct object will lead to under
estimation and an indistinct one tc
r-estimation.
Practice alone cannot teach correct
range finding without Instruments
but 1t can be learned.