BRITISH AND GERMAN GUNNERY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 20, 8 September 1911, Page 7

BRITISH AND GERMAN GUNNERY.

It has commonly be claimed that, in gunnery at any rate, the British fleet was “facile princeps.” The “Daily Graphic,” however, publishing some facts indicating that the comparison between ourselves and Germany' is very different from who" it was ton years ago. Germany reformed her obsolete gunnery methods in 1002; by 1005 her fleet’s gunnery average had risen SO. per cent, and progress has continued. The Kaiser awards as prizes to the best gunners, not money, as in our fleet, but signed photographs of himself, or autograph letters, while the best ships. receive plate and certificates. No official records are published, as here and in America, so that the information obtained comes from private sources. In four , years Germany spent nearly, £IOO,OOO on turning obsolete ships into targets and erecting 'ordinary ’ canvas targets—a sum greatly in excess of our expenditure thereon. Her allowance of practice ammunition almost equals ours, although her fleet is so much smaller. All this points to nearly twice as much gunnery p»at...ice as our fleet gets. There is almost no firing at fixed targets; it is nearly all genuine battle practice, and night firing is common. In 1909-10, four battleships, two armoured cruisers, and three protected cruisers won prizes. In battle practice .the Hanover fired 20 rounds from her llin. guns, scoring 18 hies (one a ricochet); 80 from Gin. guns, 01 direct and G ricochet hits. The Doutchland.maintained her previous year’s llin.. record (17 rounds, 15 hits) with 12 consecutive hits. In both cases flip range was GOOO yards, the com billed speed of ship and target, 21 knots. (