ARMY MARKSMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 62, 14 March 1930, Page 11

ARMY MARKSMEN.

SERVICE COMPETITIONS. BATTLE FRATICE EVENTS. WlXXEirs RECORD SCORE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLIXGTOX, Thursday. The army rifle meeting will conclude on Friday, when the King's Medal will be fired for. This is a distinct match, ! the 100 men with the best aggregate in the championship series being eligible. The ranges are GOO deliberate, 600 to 1000 fire with movement, 300 rapid, 300 snapshots. A feature of the meeting has been the i entire absence of sickness. Brigadier Sinclair Burgess, Chief of the Genera! .Staff, expressed high appreciation of the exemplary conduct of all ranks. The outstanding competitions at the meeting, which call for military skill, are night firing, and battle practice at a range of 500 yds. Concealed over an area are objects representing an advancing enemy, the practice being a test of lire unit, which calls for judgment, control and economy of ammunition on the part of the section leader. Fire power i = an essential factor in battle, and the competition is designed to exercise the unit commander in quickness in picking up the targets. Thus, a well-trained and commanded section of ordinary marksmen has an enormous advantage over a similar number of men acting individually without control. The conduct of the practice approximates as nearly as possible to that of active service. ' The targets appear unexpectedly at all ranges, smoke and du.=t obscure the view, a gas alarm necessitates the donning of respirators. The ability of young officers to conihnand effectively is severaly tried. Starting with a machine-gun, which is extremely hard to sight, the targets increase "in size, the climax being an explosion in front of firing point. The results were: — Hotchkiss Gun Anti-Aircraft Match, possible 80 points.—Waikato Mounted Kite Seivfint 11. Brown (leader). Corporals A. Millar, W. Bates. J. Thomson, 27, 00/ • Wellington-East Coast Mounted Rifles, Sergeant X. Smith (leader), 25, 30/; Nelson-Marlborough Mounted Rifles, Sergeant M. Orchard (leader), 17, 20/- Seven teams competed. Lewis Gun Anti-Aircraft Match, possible 80.—Northern Engineers, Sergeant <K. Smith (leader). Corporal A. Baxter, Sappers N. Sarney and T. Palmer. 00/; First Battalion Auckland Kegiment, Servant C. Miirett (leader), 24. 50/; First Battalion Otago Kegiment, Sergeant K. Hamilton (leader), 24, 30/. Seventeen teams competed. Battle Practice, open to teams of Territorials. —First Battalion HawkG's Bay Uegiment, Sergeant 11. Ellis (leader), Corporals W. Burton. A. Symons. K. Falvey, I<\ Jane, T. Rosenberg, Lance-Corporal J. Cartnicbnel, Private l>. Burton, 407, 100/ ; First Battalion Waikato Kegiment, Serjeant A. Playle (leader), 318, SO/. Sixteams competed. Cadet Match ; 200 yds tile competition, 200 yds moving target, 300 yds snapshooting, 500 yds deliberate. —Corporal G. Beattie (Hawke's Bay). 70, CO/: Sergeant V, Townsend (Auckland), 60, 40/; Cadet I'.. Tasker (Auckland), 00, 30/. Fifty scores of 0.1 to 44 divide 320/. Cadet Badge, for highest aggregate in all practices.—A. Ley land (Palmerslon Xorth), 301.