Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-18
121ST ENGINEERS
BEGIN TRAINING
At VIRGINIA BEACH
Extended Order Drill, Anti
Aircraft Firing and 0emoli-
tons to Comprise Course.
800 POUNDS OF TINT
ORDERED FROM BOAT
Crew, However, Fails to Notice
Electric Caps Used for Deto-
mating Explosive.
speclal pispateh 70 The star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va, August 10
After moving yesterday into a camp
left spotlessly clean by the outgoing
Virginia National Guard the l2lst
Engineers, District Of Columbia National
Guard, today began a two weeks in
tensive training period by particip at1ng
In extended order drill, anti-aircraft fir
ing. erection of barbed-wirs entangle-
mentS and denolitions.
The latter subject, comprising the
blowing up of abutments mine craters
and trees, and proving in the past to
be the most spectacular and interesting
of the various courses Of instruction,
had some of the kick" taken out of
it because officials of the Norfolk g.
washington Steamboat Co. rendered a
last-minute decision Sunday afternoon
and ordered Lieut.. Joseph F. Fitzger-
aid, Headquarters and Service Company
transportation officer, to remove 800
pounds of INT from the District of
Columbia, which transported the local
regiment and its impedimenta.
Overlook Electric Caps.
While it is we'll known in military
circles that the TINT can be chopped
with an ak, shot at with a rife or
pounded with Sledge hammers without
any danger of defamation, 1t still ap-
pears in popular fancy that the mere
utterance INT will shatter ones nerves.
However, the boat crew failed to no
tice five small innocent boxes, each of
which contained 100 electric caps, which
blocks and which really had to be ham
died with care, so the training of Com
pany c went today as scheduled.
Capt William F. JorgenSen, command
ing the company. made the best of the
situation and instructed his men in the
use Of the various demolition tools and
the methods of wiring the decorating
caps to the explosive.
The wind-up was accompanied by the
loud reports Of the caps. but lacked
the explosion and fireworks" caused by
INT.
Company ?. commanded by Capt.
George w. Johns, is receiving lecture
on and practice in anti-aiTcraft firing,
a phase of infantry training never be-
fore attempted by the local engineer
regiment. First Lieut.. Edward A. Nc
Mahon, in charge Of the instruction,
was giving his men preparatory exer-
cises in triangulation work, and firing
with leads" at parallel. vertical and
oblique stationary targets. Before the
period is over the men will have an OPP
portunity to fire at horizontally NOV
ing target, which travels II feet per
second, at a vertically moving target
which travels 7 feet per second.
and at swinging target, which trav-
erses an arc of $50 degrees, reaches a
maximum height of 40 feet and travels
at an average speed Of IL feet per
second.
Finds New wrinkle"
The soldiers find new wrinkle" in
anti-aircraft craftsmanship because
they are shooting at a moving bulls-eye
which is the silhouette of an airplane
travelling from IS to 100 miles per hour,
rather than at the customary circular
bulls-eye Of the ordinary rife range.
Training in the latter of course, is an
essential step and has been received
by the men at Camp Simms, Congress
Heights. during the past few months.
All of the men who have done any
duck shooting will no doubt make the
best shots because 1t is necessary 10
lead" the moving bulls-eye a given
number of lengths This is not so
difficult on the horizontal moving tar
get because the airplane is always in
view, but on the vertical moving tar
get, which moves from the ground to
a height of IS feet in seconds, the
ShOoI6E must d4lkli AlS SlsibS ou tilS
rudder portion of the airplane, move
them up to the nose portion. and then
out into space" a given number Of
airplane lengths All firing is being
done on the 1,000-inch range with %
caliber gallery rifles.
The targets and equipment necessary
for this work is being provided through
the efficiency and industry of Capt,
Just c. Jensen, Ordnance Department,
State Staff, and the following men,
bers of his detachment: staff Sergt.
Alex J. Thill, Sergt. Theodore L. Har-
rel, Pvt. Eugene A. Ross and Pvt. Louis
+. Pannerton.
At the beginning Of the drill period
this morning the entire regiment was
given a lecture on camp sanitation by
Lieut.. Walter r. Stokes, Medical De-
tachment