GARRISON GUNNERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 966, 5 November 1910, Page 10

GARRISON GUNNERS.

OOOD WORK AT FORT KELBURNE* Tho Pc'tone Navals have again' distinguished themselves as an efficient gunnery corps, and proved by their accurate shooting that Now Zealand gunners aro capable of .attaining a very _ liigh degrc o , cr.. efficiency when, training ,is. _carried out on practical-; lines. That tho New-Zealand soldier" does not mind. work, so ■ long as hia energies are Being directed intel- . .ligently, and with 1 some ' practical' ob-. .. j ect- -has - bei»h ; -f tiUy ' illustrated energy displayed b~y the l'etono Navals during the past sixteen days. Reveille at.4.30 a.rii., drill from oto 6.30-a.n).V:,ii work all day, and drill again at night 6.30-'i):m. to 9 p;m., is a routine which no '.man' could- keep' going for a. fortnight, unless- he . .were actuated' spirit of ,-bufc..ulns has been , tho daily programme of : tne intone gunners, and they have earned roward,fur the", shbotiiig ro-..' cords* snow remarkable - accuracy. -: • ' J™ company , has; again . qualified 3 s a :: first-class" . company. ■ • ,For classi-c'i ncation, two series have been firedi at from 4600 to .4200. yards .'respectively-,-.' every round being a hit, and-all shots.-,;: .tailing within'., an v exceptionally.'small:: rectangle. For .tho;:!'battle practice" ■yesterday morning, jme.ssries .was fired, opening at 7000 yards, the longest' range yet. used for. service practice'{in ; isow Zealand. This series was an interesting one, new -features .being .:the... testing of the .company in 'maintauh.'"'' '"6,3 rapid, rate;'of r 'fire:.and keepiiig.uri the _sripply 'of' ammunition. for tracted period. .The: records show' that'' .eighty;: rounds.;would. 1 have ibeen .'fired'':j'JJ . ; minutes'.'' Sixteen' of these rounds' were" "actually'" fired"~uT"' three small groups of rounds. Tho first round, at 7000'yards;:Jell -at the water- , line, betrweeri -the '/.targets, - the record for the whplfe series-' 'at;-this range [ being 337. ■There -Twere foiii: misses, j-ihese, -to «the, ordinary'observer, were j excellent shots,; hut,alth'ough': they fell i only. 20 yards shorty ..^ere-recorded aa [misses... At this, idngeI,'there1 ,'there is 110 j ricochet—in -. fact, if tli&y had fallen I one . yard short only,' these would havo I been/recorded, .theore'ticiUv, a miss; Tho next group of rounds'was fired at 4500. All were excellent hits. The third group., was fired at a very ,short rangfr—2soo yards—all':' shots being Poetically on tho water-line. ■ To the layman it may seem an easy matter for tho gunner ;to hit a targetat any range.' : ; All he-has.-to do, apvparently, is to load -his .gun, adjustf' the sights to. tlie range ; lay. on, and' [ fire. _ In reality,••however, the operation is a highly technical and. difficult! one, involving a consideration of at least a hundred-factors,'.of: which ternperaturo and pressure of .the air, wind, muzzle velocity of shot, the-wearing away of the barrel of t}ie gun, rangefinding, "mirages;" weight, and different shape of shells, and ;the manner in which they, are rammed home, arc but a few. . • there' "is the thorough, training of ; all, whereby they may make their calculations 'accurJ ately, ,and, servo thefr guns: quickly. | The camp, which i breaks up to-day,, has been a very successful one' from' all points, of view: The'atteidanoa: has averaged nearly 100: per. cent... Every, man hag been examined in ; kun-' nery, signalling, and gun-laying, whilethe officers, N.C.O.'s, and .the specialists have been examined .in their speciaU-duties.- .Despite the fact thai there is: a large-number, of. recruits urn the; company, the results are' bjgfily. satisfactory. -' ■ ' :,v '; ' The officers present during the cajnp' were: Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, Majorat Courtneyland Menzies, Captain Mickle.i , Ross, whflli-' attended-'at all the practices as medical officer on duty, and Captain G. S. ~ Richardson, chief, instructor of artil--lorv. ■ jo-'-- M The excellent catering'arrangfementar were earned out by--- Qi-il.-Sergi. Cruickshank. Last evening the company held itfr annual smoke concert.