BIG GUN SHOOTING

Evening Star, Issue 14530, 5 December 1910, Page 2

BIG GUN SHOOTING

AT OTAGO HEADS. When a 6in gun is fired, anyone within .twenty yards of the gun. thrills to feel the ground underfoot quiver as though it were being torn apart bv the force of the concussion. The pulsing fascination of tho exnerienco is further enhanced throughout Uio firing of a series of rounds by watching the shell ricochet thousands of yards iistant on the surface of the sea as \hougb it were some marine monster objected by the spirit of hop-skip-and-jump. Saturday was the last day of the Tort annual fortnight under canvas at Mussel Bay. Thev left Port Chalmers in the Lady .Roberts" at 2 p.m. to complete their class firing, portion of which had been fired 011 Thursday night. Besides Major Dodds and Lieutenants Crawford, Braithwaite, :awl Mitchell, there were rtseent Colonel Smvth (tb.6 officer comsianding Otago district), Cartain Gard'ner |of the Permanent Artillery), • Major Straus, Lieutenants Douli, Cooke, White, *nd Skelsey, of tho Dunedra Navals, aud Bome Royal Naval Reserve officers from the' Home 6teamere in port. The Lady Roberts seemed to be loaded with naval volunteers, and, in response to an inquiry thereanent, it was 6tated that the company's roll call of ninety-four officers and men. was largely a list of enthusiasts. This was stated to have been a feature of this company ever 6ince it was formed in 1864. Length of service was quoted to bear out the statement, and men with six, eight, twelve, fourteen, and seventeen years' sorvico were pointed out, and away near the bow of the. boat was sitting the senior man in length of service—he had been a naval officer for over nineteen years. Arrived at the batteries, the Xavale immwliately proceeded to get ruider way the long 6i.i"gun that iay hidden at the bot- j torn of the gun pit. The light was pronounced to be favorable for good shooting. Despite tho bright sunshine, the light easterly breecze was chilly as it blew in from the sea, which was smooth, save for an almost imperceptible ground swell, that in crossing the shallow water on the bar was goaded into foam-crested waves by the ebb tide as it rushed seaward from the harbor. Hal/way over to Waikouaiti Bay the Lady Roberts lay waiting the signal to tow in the Hongkong targets representing an attacking torpedoer. 'Presently the gnnneTs stood ready behind the gun, and in response to a flag si«nal tho Lady Roberts made for the harbor. The 6in gun, by means of its hvdraulic mechanism, rose from its hiding place, and, with a great roar of defiance, fired a shell that buried itself in the vitals of the torpedoer. With a frothy splash it struck the water almost midway between the targets that represented the bow aud stem respectively of the hostile craft. " A beauty." remarked a visiting officer to his companion. The recoil 6ent the gun back to the depths of the pit, and during thet moment that elapsed beforo it started to rise again the spent cylinder was extracted and another shell inserted In the smoking breech. The intelligent dexterity of the men was pleasant to witness, as shot followed shot with almost automatic precision. The mean range was 5,920yd5. Every shot registered a hit, and the firing of "the five shots which constituted this, series occupied omin 20sec, thus reducing the performance of six shots in 4min 18sec, which was Tegarded as the fastest shooting with thi6 class of gun autil the beginning of this year, when the Permanent Artillery beat it and established a record.

'IT. ■ Lady Roberts then etoumed out and extended the range to 7,000yd6 for battle practice, but a haze obscured the targets it that distance, and after f-ome time was spent in reducing the range to s,oooyds with no better result, this portion of the afternoon programme was postponed for a week. Then the men repaired to the new 12p. q.f. gun, and the Lady Roberts toned tho unlets at a mean range of between 1.4C0 and 1,500 yards. In the shallower water the swell was more pronounced, and consequent rising and falling of tho targets rendered accurate shooting very difficult. Bui the men again exhibited a careful turning to account of capable tuition, and the first round of eighteen shots was hied in 85sec, registering fourteen hits, the t-eeond round if a similar number of 6hots occupying 35t;ec and ecorrng 15 hits. This wae the first time this gun.kid been used at this harbor, and Captain Richardson, the chief artillery instructor for the Dominion, had remarked that twelve rounds per mmnU: would bo gcxxl work for a,' start. Tho shooting had averaged thirteen jjjiots per minute. ' 5

Lieutenant Braithwaite was gun group commander at the 12p., Lieutenant Crawford was battery commander at the 6in gun, and Lieutenant Mitchell and Sergeantmajor Montgomery were in charge of the previous night firing in the 6p. quickbrer. Major Dodds will take charge oi the postponed battle practice firing from the 6in gun. At half-past enght o'clock tho company were back at Mti6scl Bay for their final night.in camp.

This year's camp has proved exceptionally resultful. -Major Dodds says it, has been an absolute success. The men have shown great interest in the work, which, lias been more strenuous' than that of previous v ir.s owing to this company having to pertViin the duties that were previously shared by the other company of the cliviliou. For a month before tamp comDi.nifod every evening was spent by the men at fne drill hall, with the result that the proficiency examinations for gunlayiug, range-finding, etc., which were' previously carried out in camp, were practically completed before camp started. The fortnight m camp was consequently devoted solely to practice. An electric-light section was formed to work the searchlight, and the company was increased numerically for that purpose and to provide separate detachments for each gun at the batteries. Camp life meant hard work, but enthusiasm made it interesting. The daily routine was at' hour and a-half drill in the morning. -(, 6.15 p.m. the men proceeded to the Heads batteries by the Lady Koberts, and returned to camp at 9.30. This meant four and a-half to five hours in adHon to their usual employment. But the • pose was achieved in increased all-round This was evident at the start, >. ine gunlayers passed for proficiency wtu ■■ regulations said that only 6ix were . ,::ir<l, and similarly eleven men passed ti;o stalling tests where ten wore stipulated. Every gun at the Heads was manned repeatedly for practice. The good effect of all this was to some extent seen in the class firing, which is expected to work out very near to the figure of merit on which the company won the Hudson challenge cup last year. .The company speak very flatteringly of Captain Caehman and the crew of the Lady Roberts. In addition to ordinary trips, the Lady Eoberts has conveyed the Navals every night to the Heads, and after landing the men has towed the targets for night firing. To the skill displayed in manipulating the targets satisfactorily, despite the 6trongly-running tides, is attributed in a large measure the very suocessful period of gun practice that the ~ Port Kavak have just concluded.