BATTLE PRACTICE

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 39, 9 November 1938, Page 16

BATTLE PRACTICE

Naval Gunnery

HOW SAILORS FIND THE

TARGET

When it is announced that firing prac- | tiee will lie carried out by warships, few people realize the amount of preparation entailed by these naval “shoots” says Commander H. It. Gor-don-Cumming. R.N. I Ret.) in tlio “Johannesburg Star.” Quite apart from the men at. the gums, a good half of (he ship's company, from the control officer himself down to the ammunition supply parties, have been exercised separately 'since the ship commissioned. Now, the whole system is co-ordinated and tested us the complete lighting-machine. Fifty years ago, when the decisive range of even the heaviest gnus was under two miles, gunnery was taken very casually. A battleship would go to sea. drop a barrel, and blaze away at it: with every size of weapon, including the machine guns in Hie lighting lops. When the quota of rounds had been expended the ship would return thankfully to the worship of “Spit-and-polish,” for those wore the days when the Navy might have been expected to dazzle the enemy rather than sink him. It was even whispered that in certain really smart ships the ammunition was dumped overboard in case the smoke of the black powder should imperil the spotless paintwork I Nowadays, with ranges of anything up to 15 miles, there is no one who takes liis job more seriously than the naval gunnery specialist. Unlike the artillery officer ashore, he has neither captive balloons nor forward observers, and very seldom aircraft to tell him where his shots are falling. Further, there are uo objects near his fast-mov-ing target whose ranges may be read accurately off a map.' He must rely upon corrections to his own “fall of shot” —the splashes 100 feet high thrown up by his previous salvoes. Let us see how this is done, from a cruiser’s control position, in rear of the bridge. Getting Ready.

Here are the gunnery control officer, armed with a pair of powerful binoculars, and several seamen who attend various telephones, voice-pipes and dials. Some of these connect with the conning tower, the armoured pill-box from which the ship is commanded and steered in battle; others lead to the transmitting station, or “T. 5. the heart of the ship from the gunnery standpoint, and therefore placed well clown in her vitals. There, the second gunnery officer and his satellities receive all kinds of information, much of it constantly changing, boil it down by means of moving graphs and calculating machines, and produce the results in tabloid form. These consist simply of the vertical and horizontal angles which the guns must make with the “line of sight” so as to hit the target, and are transmitted to the gunsights in tlie form of “range” and “deflexion.”

At 14,000 yards, for instance, a 6-incli gun would be “cocked up” at about 20 degress to the horizontal. Among other data used are the readings of two rangefinders (arriving at 10-seeond intervals), the speed and direction of the wind, the estimated course and speed of the target, and any alterations in those of the tiring ship herself. Even the temperature of the air, which affects the propelling force of the cordite, must be allowed for. The “T.S.” also passes on all executive orders “All guns load,” “Follow director.” and so on—which are now coming through from the control. The Director. Directly above the control, and placed there so that smoke and shell splashes will cause the least possible interference, is the director. It resembles a glorified gunsight, and its expert layer and trainer keep the cross-wires of their telescopes as nearly as possible on the leading top corner of the target, a tiny black oblong which is being towed along the horizon eight land-miles away. Every movement of the director is reproduced electrically at each of the guns, and their firing circuits are connected with a pistol-grip and trigger operated by the director layer. No one is in sight on the upper deck, and the four turrets are trained on the target. Each pair of long guns is raised expectantly like an insect’s antennae, but they are queerly unaffected by the roll of the ship. They do this quite blindly, for their gun-layers and trainers, instead of using the telescopic sights supplied in case the director is disabled, are merely watching certain dials on which they keep two pointers in line. One pointer moves with the director, and the other with the elevating or training mechanisms of the guns. The remainder of the turrets’ crews are at action stations, and in rear of eacli gun the ammunition hoists are working. The shells are painted black with a yellow band to show that they are non-explosive, and “for practice only.” Open Fire. When all is ready the control reports to the conning tower, the captain gives the order to open fire, and the control officer passes “Director salvoes — shoot!” to the T.S. The latter transmits to the sight-setters what the calculated range and defleetion will be in half a minute, sounds the fire gongs (that “Ting-ting, ting” means “Stand by, lire!”) and the director layer presses his trigger. Crash! Four gi’Cat: tongues of orange flame leap out on the broadside and the right gun of each turret jerks back with a three-foot recoil. The control officer, however, takes no notice of the target ; at 14,000'y.ards the salvo will not pitch for 20 seconds, and meanwhile another must: be got off, slightly spread for direction so as to get a shot correct for “lino” as early as possible. So he orders “Right, eight —shoot!” almost before the echoes have died away or the yellow cordite smoke has drifted aft. A moment’s pause while the correction goes through, then “Ting-ting, ling.” ami the four left guns thunder off their 100-pound shot at a speed of 20 miles a minute.

Those high-powered glasses are now glued to the target, for much depends on the fall of the opening salvoes. Four tall white columns appear to the left, pause for an instant, and vanish. At (his distance it, is impossible to toll whether they are nearer or farther than the target, but perhaps the second salvo will be more helpful. It is. for right behind the target rise the tops of more splashes. “Down four-shoot!” Away goes the third salvo, closely followed by yet another with a further reduction of 400 yards. This is called a “Down ladder,” ami another would be employed should both these salvoes still fall over. It is not required, however, for

salvo No. 3 drops short ami perfectly in line. The control officer mils) now allow for the fourth salvo —still in the air—which will fall a farther 400 yards short. He most drop his shots half-way between tin* Inst: “over” and the first “short,” so "Up six- shoot!” is bis next order, and, as the •‘spread’’ of the four projectiles may bo anything up to 400 yards, he has got as near his mark as possible, so be orders "Rapid salvoes.” Range .Secured, Tlie first of these arrives as a perfect "straddle" —two "overs" ami two "shorts.” Any of these may have passed through Hie target, either as direct hits or ricochets. Without receiving furl Iler orders, the T.S. passes the range and deflection and sounds the tire-gongs, and tlie broadside roars at 10-seeond intervals until, perhaps, the target is "lost.” If so. "salvoes” will be reverted to and more corrections applied Io straddle it again. All eight guns can be tired simultaneously if required, but at long range four-gun salvoes tired at shorter intervals give a better value. Target Observation. Now let: ns sec what is happening at the other end. from tb'e quarter-deck of the towing ship. Right astern, and edge on Ions. is the big battle-practice target. Its 140-foot hull is streamlined like a ship, built of great baulks of timber, and with a two-ton keel 20 feet under water. Near either end are the masts, supporting a wooden trelliswork to which lengths of black canvas are laced. This 30 by 100-foot area represents the vitals of an enemy ship and follows us obediently at the end of a steel wire hawser, a third of a mile long and thicker than one’s wrist. The officers and men near us are not mere spectators: they are keeping an accurate record of this end of the practice. Some, with stop-watch and pencil, are counting and timing the distant flashes. Others are grouped round the “Elevation Rake,” so called because it resembles the garden implement. A midshipman, whose stop-watch is marked with the time of flight, gives a. warning shout: “Number eight-salvo—-falling!” It approaches with the muttering crescendo roar of an express train and—wnmp!—up go the towering spray-fountains. They glisten in the sunlight for a moment and then collapse, while one of the shots ricochets with a throbbing drone to pitch half a mile farther on. The Rake Party read off the positions of tlie splashes from the butt of their instrument and aligned with the teeth—“ Short, a hundred. Over, fifty, a hundred, two-fifty!” Meanwhile, a complete record is taken in the firing ship of every order given and received, and, when the ship returns to harbour, the shoot is plotted on a special ehart and minutely examined. On this analysis may be plainly seen the result of every order and any mistake made in carrying it out. The fact that Abie-Seaman Buggins, sight-setter of “B” turret, applied the deflection the wrong way for No. 4 salvo, is easily detected, so that the Shoot is a pretty good test for all concerned.