The Washington times., 1924-01-11
By REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM
A. MOFFETT, U. s. NJ,
Chief or the Bureau Of AerOmaut1c0,
Navy Department.

Chief Of the Bureau Of AerOnaut1cs.
Navy Department
copyright, 1924. by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)
One Of the newest uses to
which aircraft have been put in
connection with operations with
naval forces is that of spotting,
or observing the fall of shells,
OF the big gunfre Of the battle
ships and other vessels. The in
formation obtained by the OBJ
servers in the planes is radioed
to the firing ship or ships and
corrections are Immediately ap-
: Piled from the information.
Accuracy Increased.
The work Of observing the
accuracy Of gunfire was formerly
1 done by observers stationed in the
tops of the maSts Of the firing ships.
The use of aircraft for this purpose
means that the field Of vision OF
the observer is increased not only
many times, but accurately.
The use Of this method OF spot
ting in practice firing has re-
suited not only in a marked IN
crease in the accuracy Of the fire
Of the big guns Of the fleet
battleshipS, but in greater range
Of fire. The spotting planes are
usually carried by the battlesE!ps
themselves, using catapultS for
launching them into the air, but
sporting planes can also operate
from aircraft carriers.
The navy has been conducting
experiments with different types Of
planes to determine their suit
ability for gunfire spotting, and
has evolved plane for this pur-
pose.
In time Of battle the spottlng
planes. protected by the fighting
planes, would be able to fly near
or over the enemy's battle line,
well out of range of his anti
1 aircraft guns, and note the splash
caused by each salvo fired by the
battleships. The information as
to accuracy, necessary ranga cor.
rections. the speed and direction
Of the enemy ships, will be trans
n1itted by radio to the firing YES
sels. and they would make cor
recttongS the results being also
checked hW She spotting plane
observers.
The efNect Of battleship gunfire
was formerly observed from the
tops Of the n1asts Of the vessels.
From this point, a hundred feet or
less In the air, the range Of vision
Of the observers was not much
greater than that Of those on the
decks of the vessels or in the gun
turrets. But the spotter in an AFR
plane, 10000 feet or more in the
air, has a vast expanse Of vision
below him.
Range Almost Unlimited.
This is Of particular value in OBJ
serving the fall of shells from the
powerful batteries of modern bat
tleships. 1t has frequently beer
stated that the effective range Of
\ these guns Is only limited by visi.
\bility. This is essentially true when
the fall Of the shells was observed
from the top Of the masts Of the
vessels. In fact with the limited
visibility possible under the old con.
dition. a battleship could be placed
In the position of being able tt
reach an enemy vessel with her
fire only If the enemy could be
seen.
With the use Of aircraft spottins
this condition is obviated. The ex
trerne range Of the most powerful
naval guns ever constructed does
not equal the wide extent Of sea
that is disclosed to an observer ir
. plane thousands Of feet in the
air, or even less.
AS was indicated above, the oh
server in the spOtting plane doe.
not confine his observations t.
watching the fall Of salvos, but
from his vantage point can note
any movement that the enemy mnS
make. The approach Of additiona
enemy units would be visible to hin
long before a watcher of the sur
face vessels Of the fleet could se,
them. So that in reality, in time
OF battle, the aircraft spotter would
perform, besides his spotting duties
Invaluable service as an observer
over the scene of battle.