The object of target practice is to accustom men to their weapons, and make them skilful in their use. It may be said that the ends in view are (1) to train marksmen, and (2) to train tactical bodies of men. The butt-firing, of which we hear so much, has for its object the training of marksmen; it is sought to find out to what degree of nicety the eye and nerves of men, who have special natural skill, can be trained by firing under conditions of great simplicity. No one believes that the members of the rifle-teams could show anything like the skill they exhibit if they were, with two or three other men, crowded around a gun-port, and firing at a moving object in the water. For such work, butt-training alone is not sufficient.
The firing of tactical bodies, such as guns' crews, ships' whole batteries, ships' riflemen or boarders, companies, etc., if conducted under circumstances which are like those which may occur in service, will fall in accuracy far below butt-firing. But though the firing at the butts will not alone make men good shots in the more difficult circumstances, yet it is not useless. Indeed, in any numerous body of men, the simpler form of firing must constitute a large part of the training given.
Here is the right place to say that it is impossible to train men in pure marksmanship with anything but small arms. To use guns of the larger classes is too expensive. A round from an 8-inch B. L. R. costs about $66, from a 6-inch about $34, from a Hotchkiss 3-pounder $3, and from a shoulder rifle about two cents. The object then of the great-gun quarterly allowance is not to produce marksmen, or, to put it in a way which will be more readily accepted, this is a small part only of its object. The men who pull the lock-string may become more expert marksmen in the course of a cruise, but the
improvement will not be great. No one would be satisfied, in an attempt to become a good shot, with some ten or eleven shots per annum for three years. The object of the great-gun allowance is, after drill has perfected the training of the men as much as possible, to perfect the work of (1) the gun's crews and (2) the ship's battery. The gun-captain should have shown some fitness for his place before he is put there, and he and the other members of the crew should thoroughly learn their duties in loading, pointing, and firing a gun before they are allowed to handle it loaded.
Since skill in throwing their weights in the proper direction no longer tells as much as formerly in gun's crews, the old drill has lost some of its importance, or rather, it need not be so often repeated. It is as important as ever that guns should be rapidly and surely handled, but this end will now be attained in other ways than it was. It is dreary work to run guns in and out every few days through a whole commission; and as soon as a crew has learned to handle the gun surely at top speed, the running in and out and fictitious loading should be repeated only often enough to keep up the skill attained. To sum this matter up, it may be said that it is a pity that all drill of gun's crews cannot be target practice. By using sub-caliber bores in the gun, a large part of it can be made very nearly like target practice, and by excluding at drill everything not found necessary when actually firing the gun, we may invest the drill with an interest it does not always possess.
The consequences of the fact that the gun target allowance cannot make the gun-captains marksmen are numerous. Target practice with great guns should not be conducted without attention to the gun's crew as a whole. If a gun is allowed to be loaded in a leisurely manner, and some person ordered to aim and fire it, the mistake has been made of not attending to the gun's crew. The drill should be enforced during target practice. For, leaving out the matter of providing for safety, the object of the drill is to produce rapid and effective use of the gun, and if it will not do this it should be changed.
Here the point may be made that all tactical firing should be on time. There can be no doubt that such firing when executed in battle will be on time, and, therefore, it should be on time from the beginning when preparation is going on. If a single gun's crew is firing continuously at a target, or a body of riflemen are doing the same, it is not advisable to push them into firing wildly in an attempt to fire a great deal; but they should be pushed to fire as fast as they can without loss of the accuracy they can attain to in very deliberate practice. Under ordinary circumstances, and when well mounted, a gun of medium weight can be as well pointed, probably, in 30 seconds or less, as it can be in any greater time. One of the points that officers should note in target practice is the degree of excitement of the men. If they are too much excited, some steps should be taken to restore quiet.
All tactical firing should, then, be on time, and men should be pressed to fire as fast as they can while having a proper regard to safety precautions in loading, and to the balance and steadiness of the man pulling the lock-string.
Although the argument that all firing in battle will be on time, and that our practice with tactical bodies is a direct preparation for this, may be held to be sufficient to establish the rule that we should note the time elapsed in all firing of tactical bodies, yet a word may be added as to the importance of rapid fire. Sea-fights of former days were won within point-blank range—that range for which, with the guns and targets present, there was no need to know the range—and it is the belief of many that sea-battles will always be fought within point-blank. At such ranges, speed in serving the gun is of very great importance. The gun may be kept pointed all the time, and the lock-string pulled as often as a load can be put in. Then, too, the volume of fire must be made as great as possible; all guns must be fully supplied with ammunition, and the riflemen open, if the target is at about half the point-blank range of the great guns. Guns must at such times be worked at full speed with comparatively few men, and those spared from the crew must aid in passing ammunition, and open fire with rifles.
It is doubtful whether in all men-of-war of recent times as much ammunition can be passed to the battery as can be effectively fired at a target close aboard. It would be an interesting point to note regarding the stationing of ships' companies at general quarters, how great a weight of shot (from calibers of all classes) could be kept up per man per minute for a short time. The duration of such a trial must be made sufficient to test the supply of ammunition. If, under such circumstances, the ammunition cannot be supplied fast enough, measures must be taken to overcome this. There can be no doubt that, at the very short ranges which occurred in former times, the successful ship usually drove her enemies to cover—or to a fancied cover—causing a slackening of fire, and at the short ranges which will again occur the same thing will happen. If, as is by many believed, the principal part of sea-conflicts will occur at short range—ranges which, when referred to the point-blank of guns, our true tactical unit, will not be longer than in the days of Benbow—if such be the case, the number of bullets we fire, together with some regard to their direction and penetrating power, will be all-important. We might try to put a shot from a 50-ton gun through our opponent's bottom at close range, but unless the 50-ton gun were protected much better than is usual, it could not be reloaded under the fire of 100 ½-ton guns, and its crew had better be put at some more useful work while the range is short.
If it be true that much firing at sea will be at distances extending not far beyond point-blank range, it follows that most of our target practice should be similarly conducted. Under such circumstances, the gun must be very rapidly served, everything being sacrificed to hitting the target a large number of times.
It is essential to the success of any scheme of target practice intended to be applied in a military organization, that, among other things, the environment of the individuals of the organization be carefully studied. Armies, having usually better facilities for improving the skill of individual marksmen at the butts than have sea forces, will probably always excel the latter in butt-firing with hand rifles. We cannot in the navy, from the circumstances of our ordinary peace service, pass a great deal of time in training individuals in this way. But, as has been mentioned, this seems to be the only way in which the marksmanship of a numerous body of men can be materially improved, and we must, therefore, resort to it as much as possible. An attempt is now being made to establish at each receiving-ship a school of marksmanship depending principally upon the use of the rifle and revolver. In order to make these thoroughly efficient, much must be done in the way of building ranges and procuring other facilities, elaborating suitable and progressive forms of training, etc.
The great difficulty experienced on board these ships is the want of ranges. In the case of the receiving-ship at New York, where, from the large number of men passing through, a range is most needed, the circumstances are most unfavorable. But this difficulty will probably be overcome, either by the erection, at considerable expense, of a covered range within the limits of the yard, or by arranging to send the men in drafts to some point where a range can be built more cheaply. At the navy-yards in Boston, San Francisco and Washington, at which latter place the seaman-gunners are held, very fair ranges have been secured; and at Norfolk, which in importance is probably second to New York, a range over which reduced charges may be fired is in use.
Another difficulty under which the receiving-ships labor is the very uncertain time that men are held on board them, some being retained for a few days only. It thus becomes necessary to give men their practice as soon as may be after coming on board, and the embarrassment in arranging and putting into effect a good scheme is much increased.
The details of the plans to be adopted in each receiving-ship are, by order of the Navy Department, at present left to their commanding officers, it being required that they shall classify into four classes, and being provided that men, upon transfer to cruising vessels, shall receive an award diminishing from $2, according to the class in which the man stands. It is also provided that, by an entry in the transfer papers, the skill of each man shall be shown. The firing is with rifles and revolvers, and the score depends upon the results of firing with the two. This plan is now in operation. The facilities for its convenient and efficient execution are some of them wanting; but in its main outline it is now carried out, with the exception of New York, where the expense which must be incurred cannot at present be met.
Whenever proper facilities can be had at each receiving-ship, the methods of firing can be made the same at all; but meanwhile each commanding officer uses the best method he can arrange with the facilities to be had. The men then come to cruising-ships classified in marksmanship with the rifle and revolver, having had an award paid to them depending on the degree of their skill, and with the same marked on their transfer papers. These marks are carried along in each man's record for every quarter during his enlistment. The marks and the award for each quarter are the same as already referred to for the time of transfer from the receiving to the training ship. The only record made or report sent forward regarding this firing, is the entry in the man's papers. The scheme here outlined is described at length in Order 14 of the Bureau of Navigation, of July 20 last.
There is thus provided and in actual operation a plan by which enlisted men are classified in both receiving and cruising ships, and by which their records in shooting rifles and revolvers are carried with them. The plan is also carried out in the training service. The receiving-ships, though all dividing their men into four classes—not counting those who fail to classify at all—arrange the details of the firing by which men reach the several classes, in the best manner possible with what they have at command; but cruising ships, while having the same four classes and the same awards, to be paid quarterly when firing occurs, have all the same requirements for reaching the several classes. The firing in the cruising ships is with rifles and revolvers, and is from either a ship or a boat.
This scheme, so devised that it may be generally applied and at the same time sufficiently elastic to allow ships whose opportunities are very different to compete, cannot fail, if elaborated in accord with the dictates of experience, to improve the shooting of most men in the navy. It is true that some of our men do not remain long in the service, but others do for considerable lengths; and any plan, if it serves no better purpose than to teach us that it is bad, must result in good. The theory of naval training should contemplate the conclusion of certain parts of men's education when they go on board cruising ships. Our men should have some use of firearms before going afloat.
One trouble is the great multiplicity of fire-arms and weapons generally which our men must learn to handle. And when, to the skill in caring for and using these, is added the complexity of drills intended to provide for all cases which may arise, it appears that a good deal is necessary. Still, there must always remain some similarity in the care and use of fire-arms; and, if the drill-manuals be reduced to the smallest compass possible, not more, perhaps, than most men can master will remain.
By the means now in use, the records of all enlisted men in firing with rifles and revolvers are obtained, and are always carried with them. At two or three of the receiving-ships, some firing with boat guns has been undertaken; but this, because of its cost when extended to a large number of men, must be limited in its application. On board the Dale, where men are training for the rate of seaman-gunner, an excellent and well-equipped range 1000 yards long has been built, and here the men are required to shoot at frequent intervals. When the Alarm is prepared to add to this, and to the varied experience the men get in the shops in handling ordnance material, some firing with 6-inch and 3-pounder rifles, we shall have the ideal gunnery school. It will remain only to use the facilities to good purpose to produce results which will commend themselves to everybody.
In this statement of the conditions of necessities for target firing on board the receiving-ships, the advisability of including for the men on board them some drill should not be overlooked. All knowledge of service drills which may be possible should be acquired by men in receiving-ships. The men at New York, where facilities for target practice are so unfortunately wanting, pass through very complete schools of drill—sighting exercises, and firing with parlor rifles—and at the Washington yard, the men training for the rate of seaman gunner are taught all service drills. These last, from the fact that they have all, or nearly all, previously to their stay on board the Dale, been petty officers, and because they go back to the same rates, are very carefully taught the service drills. We need in the navy a numerous body of men well trained in gunnery duties, and the outlook is promising that the school at the Washington yard may be able to furnish these in sufficient number, and with the degree of skill and permanency of stay which we need.
The scheme of practice in marksmanship which has been described extends to every officer and man on board ships of the navy. Four classes of marksmen are provided, and commanding officers may pay stated awards to persons in the several classes. Incidentally, the history of the marksmanship of each enlisted man is obtained and goes with him. By such a plan, if it stands the test of time, the general skill of the navy in shooting will be improved, and the means adopted of training men in firing their pieces immediately upon enlistment will ensure us that all men in cruising vessels know something of the use of the weapons put in their hands. The matter of the practice of ship and boat guns is not touched upon here. This comes afterwards, and will be improved by the better skill of the masses, so to speak.
Before leaving the matter of the instruction of individuals in marksmanship, attention may be called to the fact that recruits should be taught to handle and fire their rifles and revolvers before they spend much time on other parts of the military drills—the stations in gun's crews, facings, marchings, etc. The seaman side of a man-of-wars man is left to grow with his surroundings, and as his natural bent may incline. His military training is undertaken by his divisional officer. And certainly among the first steps in the work should be to put a rifle into his hands, and let him learn how to use and fire it. A man who is afraid to fire his gun is as useless as one who does not know how to face to the right, or what to do at the order "Cast loose and provide." It is true that, for one opportunity to let a man fire his gun we have in the navy a thousand to tell him to face to the right, but the plea is here made that we must get the opportunities which do not exist.
The matter of the practice of gun's crews, riflemen, boarders—that is, tactical firing in general—is now provided for in an order of the Navy Department of date July 31 last. The firing of guns is marked by cross-bearings in the horizontal plane, and of boarders and riflemen by counting the shot-holes in targets of stated size. Prizes are given as commanders-in-chief of squadrons direct, and authority to rent rifle-ranges is granted. The only limitations as to the kind of great-gun firing selected by any ship are those necessary to secure the possibility of recording the practice in the book of Record of Great Gun Target Practice. It is thus possible to select in each ship the kind of firing which will be most useful to the crew, and prizes may be paid to gun's crews as soon after the firing as the record can be made up. For some quarters in the years 1889 and 1890, all the gun's crews in the navy competed for prizes under the same rules; the records were sent to the Navy Department, there to be made out, and the resulting standing, together with orders awarding the prizes, finally published. The objection to this way of doing is that all ships, however long in commission and whatever their needs, fire under the same circumstances, and that awards can be paid only after the lapse of months in some cases. The plan now in use, and the former one, have their advantages and disadvantages. Other plans have been proposed, as laying down what a ship shall do in each of the twelve quarters of her commission, establishing an annual competition on the same rules, while leaving all other quarters open to be decided by each ship, etc.
Attention may here be drawn to the danger that any scheme of target practice may do more harm than good. They always run the danger of becoming too refined and elaborate; but this feature, though causing unnecessary labor and trouble, does not prove that a plan is a bad one. The plan is bad only when it is less good than what would be adopted by the persons in charge if left to themselves. But in order to ensure some degree of fairness and efficiency in the use of the appropriation for gunnery exercises, now voted by Congress, all ships of the navy must have certain points of resemblance in their target practice. The great point is that they must have a record, and that this record and the manner of getting it must be sufficiently accurate for the purpose in view.
This brings us naturally to the matter of recording the firing of guns. All other than that of boat and ship-guns is recorded by observing the shot-holes in targets of stated make; these being either regulation targets of the army or specially designed ones. The fall of shot from ship and boat-guns, in the case of both stationary and moving practice, is recorded by observing the points of fall in the water to the nearest degree or half-degree, by observers placed on lines which intersect at right angles at the target. The instrument used by the observers is called a T-square; and consists of an apparatus resembling a T-square, carrying a number of vertical wires at about 36 inches from the eye. The aperture between each vertical wire subtends, at the observer's eye, an angle of one degree.
The most natural and in many respects the best way to record gun-practice is to have targets sufficiently large to catch all shots we are interested in knowing about. Thus a canvas screen representing the broadside of a ship might be used. The T-squares fail to give us the side-errors of guns, as will be mentioned again further on, and this a large target would do. They would cost a good deal, as they would frequently be broken; but this is a matter which probably can be provided for. The principal difficulties in the way of the use of great-gun targets are two in number: (1) they must be stored at certain places, and ships must go there to use them, and (2) if made large enough to catch a large fraction of the shots fired by a moving ship when in a seaway, they must be very high and unwieldy. The English use a gun-target 20 feet high, but the circumstances of the run by it while firing render the distance finding very simple, and the practice is consequently accurate. If a target 20 feet high only is used, and the circumstances of the firing are made difficult, the record of many shots will be lost.
There is no reason why the two methods should not be used: the large canvas screen, and the observation of the points of fall in the water. If a more accurate instrument than the T-square could be found, a great step would be made. But the circumstances of its use must be kept in mind. It must be held to the eye in a boat in a considerable seaway, and must give the points struck by shots as fast as the observer can talk. The instrument must be read while at the eye. It is necessary in some gun-practice to have a number of guns firing, in order to cause familiarity with the noise and smoke. The use of photography has been proposed, and some attempt to use it been made. The T-square gives us with accuracy what we most want—the range-error. The ammunition for the main and secondary batteries of the Newark at her first target practice will cost about $3000, and so large an expenditure should be made with care.
The accuracy of the T-square is such that, admitting an error of one degree in the observation of the point of fall, the shot is placed, in the horizontal plane, when the observers are 1000 yards from the target, to within 17 yards. This limit is sufficiently close so far as the range-errors of guns go, but is wholly insufficient with regard to side-errors, because the side-errors of guns are much less than this. In other words, if we have observers, provided with T-squares, over a gun which is firing at a target 1000 yards distant, and abreast of the target and 1000 yards from it, we shall be able to place the shot to within 17 yards of its position in range and sideways. And, because the ordinary errors of guns afloat are in range much greater than this and sideways much less, the accuracy of the determination is sufficient in range, and insufficient sideways. In other words, if the horizontal diagram is plotted by appropriate means into the vertical plane through the target, the position of the shot-points vertically is practically correct, while their side position has no value. In truth it depends largely upon the liberal or illiberal nature of the observer stationed in the plane of fire. To offset this deficiency, the determination of the side position of the shots is not very important, because the side-errors of guns are usually well within the side dimensions of targets, while the reverse is true of range-errors and the heights of targets.
Some important consequences flow from this. The desirability of plotting gun-practice into the vertical plane becomes questionable, because the side position on the target in this plane has no value; and the plan now adopted in service diagrams, of giving equal merit to shots falling, anywhere in horizontal belts extending indefinitely both ways, is justified. The complications arising in plotting the practice of stationary guns into the vertical plane are not great; but if a ship moves freely about in front of a target, while firing at it, the difficulty of getting the record so that the firing may be plotted into the vertical becomes very great. And there is an objection, too, to plotting stationary practice into the vertical plane and leaving the moving practice in the horizontal; this being that the diagrams made
at the two kinds of firing are not then readily comparable. The difference between the two is that in the moving practice the range is known and communicated only by methods which would ordinarily be available in battle, while in the stationary firing the range is always known. The moving practice is always less accurate, and for this the distance-finding arrangements are responsible.
The record of gun-fire, besides being kept in the book of Record of Great Gun Firing, is sent to the Navy Department, where it is plotted. The records of all ships are sent to every vessel in commission; there having been issued in this way within the last year two pamphlets, containing 52 sheets showing the practice of main battery guns alone, and containing, together with the names of the gun-captains firing each shot and their average time of serving the guns, a record of nearly 2000 shots.
The book of Record of Great Gun Target Practice is intended to enable a ship to keep throughout her commission a record of all her target-firing with ship and boat guns. The book is turned in to the Navy Department when the ship goes out of commission. It was first issued October 1, 1889, and is accompanied by explanations of its use. It consists of a series of sheets conveniently ruled, and arranged for plotting in the horizontal and vertical plane. The scale in the horizontal sheets is one inch to 80 yards, and in the vertical ones one inch to 20 feet, and, to plot from the horizontal to the vertical plane, trajectories of all the guns on board are furnished. These are drawn on transparent paper, so that they may be superposed on any diagram; and their horizontal and vertical scales are the same respectively as those of the horizontal and vertical sheets in the Record Book. Their coefficient of distortion is thus 12, and this, while giving a convenient form to the trajectory, enables us in using them, by an entirely graphical process, to plot from the horizontal into the vertical plane.
There will shortly be printed a series of tables, computed by Ensign Haeseler, which will make plotting into the vertical plane less laborious than it now is by the use of the transparent trajectories just described. These will enable us, by entering a table with the reading of a T-square abreast a target, to state immediately how much above or below the water-line of the target the shot passed.
Thus, by two orders of July 20 and 31 last, certain schemes of target-firing are set in motion. The first deals with individual rifle and revolver firing of all officers and men in the navy, both in cruising and other vessels. This firing is recorded only in the men's papers, and excellence in it is stimulated by the immediate payment of an award. The second deals with gun practice, and that of riflemen and boarders. The reports of this are sent to the Department on blanks issued for the purpose, and the firing of ship and boat guns is recorded in a book retained on board the ship until the end of the cruise. Prizes for this class of firing are paid upon the order of commanders-in-chief of stations.
A question which arises here is whether all this firing can be combined; whether a reasonable scheme for combining firing of different kinds may be devised, so that men who exhibit skill always may be specially rewarded. The following, for example, is a case of a man who showed skill in several particulars:
1. In the third and fourth quarters of a certain year he qualified first-class under the rules for individual firing with rifle and revolver. On the first occasion only 2 men in the ship's company reached first-class, and on the second 12.
2. In the third quarter of this year he reached a merit of 100—the highest possible—while firing a 37 H. R. C. at 1000 yards range. No other gun-captain of the ship reached as high a merit on the day in question.
3. In the competitive firing of all the first gun-captains in the navy, in the third quarter of the same year, when firing the 60-pounder B. L. Parrott, he reached ninth place among the 61 gun-captains competing. On this occasion he was again the first among the gun captains of his own ship.
Numerous cases similar to the above might be quoted, and have suggested that, if a plan by which each man in the navy should keep his score, or by which the scores of men in different divisions should be kept, a body of men skilful in the use of all kinds of fire-arms might be developed. The difficulties in the way of getting a satisfactory plan are many, as the weights to be assigned to accuracy in the use of different weapons must be arbitrary at present, and must be so even in the use of the same weapon under differing circumstances.
The development of good captains for the guns of ships would, of course, be a principal object in such a scheme, but that success in this respect would be reached is by no means sure; for it does not follow that a good shot will make a good gun-captain. It appears reasonable that, from among the men who are recognized as the leaders in a ship's company, those who have a good record with rifles and revolvers should first be tried as gun-captains.
The machinery which now exists provides for getting, and does get, the record of all classes of firing in our ships, and from it may be obtained the record of any man we please; but if this record lay more on the surface than it does now, officers of ships would probably be aided in stationing men to the best advantage, and we might recognize more clearly than we can now, a class of men who are more valuable to the service than is generally believed.
On July 1, 1889, money for the payment of prizes or awards for excellence in target practice and gunnery in the navy, first became available by congressional appropriation; and, from the steady pressure which the continuance of this fund will cause, it may be expected that our plans of conducting and recording target practice of all kinds will improve. The system now existing in the army, for small-arm practice, has been some ten years in growing to its present condition. In these ten years, plans of organization at posts, such as building and equipping of ranges, appointment of officers necessary to do the work, etc., have all been put on foot. And, in Washington, suitable and steady appropriations of the money necessary have been secured. Some of these details have yet to be arranged with us, but if the officers of the navy as a body want things not now existing for the prosecution of target practice, they can get them. They may at first be refused money which is considered necessary, or may be unable to see how the organization of time and labor, which is necessary, is to be reached; but all these things will come in a few years if the matter is adhered to.
The fund for prizes and awards is more important than is at first realized. Not only does it apply a direct stimulus to skill in marksmanship, but, requiring as it does for its proper expenditure a record of firing and an examination of results attained, the indirect interest aroused is very great. The naval service expended in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, about $1000 in awards for good marksmanship, which was at about the rate per capita of the army expenditure during the same time. The amount of money thus put afloat, or the money value of the badges, if these are used, is small; but the interest indirectly aroused in marksmanship, very great. In the navy, the practice of giving awards in money has been adhered to. The usage in military and naval services differs in this respect, some giving money and higher rates, while others give honorary badges. The question has hardly come up with us as yet, because, until our schemes have further crystallized, it is better to give money, which establishes no classes or other precedents, and thus admits of changes as deemed expedient. In our army, badges made at the U. S. Mint are sent to successful competitors upon a proper certificate; while in the English navy, money prizes are used. It may here be added that there is much less complication caused by the use of money prizes, particularly when the prizes are to be awarded on board ships widely scattered.
The above has been written largely with the view of eliciting the views of officers of the navy. Besides the various points which may be suggested by what has been said, an expression of opinion as to the plotting of great-gun target practice is hoped for. Should it all be plotted into the vertical plane, should the stationary practice go into the vertical plane and the moving remain in the horizontal plane, or should all remain in the horizontal plane?
It is better, since the targets which we are to fire at are vertical, to put it all in the vertical plane. But the complications which this will require are very great, unless an approximation, presently to be described, is adopted. If it is all left in the horizontal plane, a less clear image than is attainable is given; and if part is in the horizontal and part in the vertical plane, the stationary and moving practices are not readily compared. When firing at 1000 yards range, the two observers locate the shots in the horizontal plane to within about 17 yards as a maximum error; and, in the stationary firing, the shot-points are strung out in a long line, while, in moving practice, unless the run is directly towards or away from the target, the shot points are sprinkled all around the target. The position of the ship with respect to the target must be known for every shot, both in distance and azimuth, if we are to plot into the vertical. These data can be obtained, but the complication will be great. There is one way out of it. This consists in assuming that all shots in the moving practice are line shots; or, what is the same thing, assume that the distance from the centre of the water-line of the target to the point they strike is a range-error—measure the hypotenuse erected on the range and side errors and call this the range error.
The difficulty of knowing the azimuth of the firing ship for every shot is thus got rid of; but the range, which also is necessary to plot into the vertical, is still known imperfectly. For this the range given the gun may be used; but if this has been determined by estimation, the diagram resulting has not much value. There can be no doubt that the errors in distance-finding by other than good instrumental means are considerably greater than the range errors of guns at ordinary ranges. Thus the method of plotting just described presents grave errors in certain cases—errors which must be considered inadmissible. In cases where ships fire at a target under circumstances in which they cannot themselves determine the range by instrumental means, a boat suitably placed might determine their range at each shot.
Another point of great interest and importance, incidentally raised by the examination of great-gun target diagrams, is the marking and use of sight-bars. Since in some cases of firing at a moving ship from a ship which is herself moving, the continuous motion of the sight-bar in its sleeve, if it is kept rightly adjusted, will be visible to the eye, it is very important to bring this matter down to its simplest form and systematize it. The usual method is to set the bar at the distance communicated, aim at the water-line of the target, and fire. This, unless we presuppose some excitement or rapidity of work to cause coarseness in the sighting, will drop one-half of the shots into the water short of the target. The Bureau of Ordnance is now considering the fitting of a central sight on new guns, to be called a "battle-sight." As this sight cannot be very long, the greatest range attainable when using it will be in the neighborhood of 2000 yards; its first mark will be at about 800 yards—this will be its mark when down; and the steps by which its marks proceed will be longer than those on the side sights.
The whole matter of the marks put on sight-bars, the steps by which they proceed, the degree of coarseness of the sight to be taken, and the use of the bars generally, should be as simple and as widely understood as possible. It should also be as nearly the same in weapons of all classes as may be. The subject is very complicated, but it is suggested that, in ordinary firing at sea, the following rules should apply:
1. The gun should always be aimed at the water-line of a target.
2. The bar shall be marked for each range, so that, when aiming as directed in Rule 1, the shot will pass five feet above the water-line of the target.
3. Sight-bars shall not be capable of being lowered below (?) yards.
4. The marks on sight-bars shall proceed by large counts, as indicated by the degree of flatness of the gun and by a target (?) feet high.
5: All great-gun sights shall be put on coarse; they shall be as nearly as possible of the same pattern, and the distance between them shall be as great as it can be made.
6. Divisional officers shall carefully watch men when firing, and shall, at times of excitement or when the ship's motion is sharp, lower the bars by suitable amounts.
DISCUSSION.
Lieutenant J. C. Wilson, U. S. Navy.—The paper on "Target Practice," by Lieutenant J. F. Meigs, offered for discussion, deals with one of the most important matters affecting the final efficiency of war vessels. Other things being equal between two combating vessels, success falls to the one whose battery is served and fired with best effect. So vital a point is target firing in the drilling of crews that too much attention cannot be paid to it, providing, of course, that other necessary points be not neglected.
The question of rapidity and accuracy of firing the arms with which a man-of-war is armed is the consummation of the whole ordnance question as applied to guns. It matters not how good these may be in themselves, if they are not served and fired with good results in time of action; so that in bringing up for discussion the question of how best to obtain these results, Lieutenant Meigs has placed the service under an obligation to him.
It is a melancholy fact, known to every officer of the service, that until recently but very little attention was given to target practice, which was conducted on no system at all; and it is fully time that this be changed.
There is no question but that the "recruit" should go on board a cruiser a fairly good marksman, and to become this, opportunity for practice must be given him. For this and other reasons I advocate a year's preliminary instructions for every "recruit” in barracks where ample facilities and opportunity could be found; such instructions to comprehend all gunnery as well as other drills. This year should be an extra one, that is, if the regular enlistment (or rather re-enlistment) is made four years, as it should be, the first (or recruit enlistment) should be made five.
Sufficient facilities for the training of men should be supplied every naval (barrack) station. A more advanced school of instruction might be established at Washington, for the special instruction of those considered worthy to qualify as gun-captains, seaman-gunners, torpedo-men, etc.
Assuming that this has been provided, and systematic instruction in the use of all arms has been given each recruit during his year of preliminary training, he should step on board a cruising ship with a record which would show how much he was worth as a gunnery man. In connection with any plan or system which may be adopted to perfect our crews in gunnery, systematic records and incentives are of prime necessity. Without these, no scheme would give the best results.
The method of recording must be left to those whose study and experience in this direction have better qualified them than I feel myself or the average naval officer to be; but it would seem that, for purposes of comparison, stationary and movable firing should be plotted in the same manner, and of the two planes, the vertical would be the more graphic, or at least show the more important errors. Accuracy in firing of course includes horizontal accuracy, but such errors are not nearly of as much importance as are vertical ones, and if a practical working system to plot both cannot be devised, let us make sure of the vertical ones at all events. It is comparatively easy to learn to fire "in line," but not so as to elevation.
As the writer remarks, it is neither practicable nor necessary for any man to fire enough service-charges to acquire skill as a marksman.
Sub-caliber bores are very useful in this connection, and should be used more constantly. The greater part of the time spent by the crews at the guns should be devoted to theoretical and practical instructions in pointing and firing, the sub-caliber bores being used for the practical part.
Vessels on stations should rendezvous at least once a year at some convenient port, where suitable targets should be kept, and competitive firing take place under the same conditions.
I see no reason why the system of medals and money prizes should not be combined, each medal carrying with it a certain money prize.
There might be as many medals as there are classes of arms, and in addition, one for general excellence in firing with all classes.
There would then be:
1. Medal for excellence in revolver firing.
2. " " " small-arm rifle firing.
3. " " " secondary battery firing.
4. " " " main battery firing.
5. Medal for general excellence in firing with all classes of arms.
Values to be given for firing with the different classes of arms would have to be determined, as they should not all have equal "weight" in determining "general excellence." This last medal should carry with it a much larger money prize than any of the others.
A more general and systematic scheme of perfecting our crews in target firing should be adopted, and one which would not only enlist the interest both of officers and men, but also make it a matter of honor and profit to excel in "target firing."
Any system is better than none, as experience will suggest improvements, and it is to be hoped that the interest Lieutenant Meigs has taken in this important matter will lead to good results to the service.
Lieutenant W. F. Fullam, U. S. N.—The most important and practical subject within the range of naval science is that of target practice, because the proper system of training and discipline for men-of-wars-men must be based upon the same principles that govern the development of good gun-captains
and good marksmen—the principles that win naval battles.
In demonstrating so clearly that marksmen cannot be developed by great gun target practice alone, owing to its necessary limitations, Lieut. Meigs calls attention to the great importance of small-arm practice, a subject that has been sadly neglected and underrated. Every navy-yard should have a range—some kind of a range—where men could practice with revolvers and with rifles, using reduced charges for the latter, if necessary. This is perfectly possible. Even at New York a detail from the crew of the Boston fired at a target every day for several months, and the results were excellent. Reduced charges, a short range, and targets proportionally reduced in size, were used; but the principles of aiming could be taught quite as well. The cost of providing such ranges would be trifling. Thousands upon thousands of dollars are annually expended upon objects which, in comparison with target practice, have an insignificant bearing upon the efficiency of the navy. Ships have been known to remain for months in port, or at a dock, and not a man has fired a revolver or a rifle! The most important feature of naval routine was thus ignored.
To insure uniformity in small-arm practice, whether in the case of a single ship or a squadron, one or more officers, with petty officers to assist, should be appointed to superintend the practice, provide and keep the targets in order, and do the scoring. Divisional officers should have nothing whatever to do with such details, but should see that their men aim and pull the trigger properly, and that a spirit of rivalry is encouraged. If men never see their target records, if no comparison of results in different divisions or in different ships is ever made, if one bulls-eye is eight inches in diameter and another gradually grows to a diameter of sixteen inches, if when a shot strikes the paper target four or five pasters fall off and the divisional officer selects a hole at hap-hazard or takes the one nearest the bulls-eye in scoring, the men will lose interest, there will be no enthusiasm, little improvement in marksmanship, valuable opportunities will have been lost, and the only result is an expenditure of time and ammunition—that is all. But if, as Lieut. Meigs advocates, a uniform system is followed throughout the service, and records carefully kept, compared, and published, great interest can be aroused among the men, and they will soon be made to feel that the skillful use of weapons is the most important requirement.
It does not always follow, by any means, that the best shot under dress parade or peace conditions should be a gun-captain. Of two men, the one who is the poorer marksman at target practice may be the better in action. Personal characteristics—coolness and pluck—may decide which of the two will be most likely to hit a target that is hitting back. For this reason the man himself, as well as his target record, must be studied before making him a gun captain. The qualities that enable a man to control other men will, as a rule, be the qualities that will enable him, with proper instructions, to become a fair if not a first-class marksman, provided he has good eyesight. A man who is by nature a leader of men will probably be a good gun-captain and a good marksman in action. This quality of force in handling men is very necessary in great-gun practice. With small arms the man has the weapon entirely under his own control. In the case of a great gun, however, two or three other men assist in pointing; the men at the elevating and training gear must be controlled by the gun-captain. If the latter is a man of force who is respected by the crew, he will inspire obedience and attention, and his chances of hitting the target will, for this reason, be better than with one who cannot command the respect, attention and confidence of others.
The proposition to have one man to aim the gun and another to control the crew, is not a good one. It is perfectly possible to develop a class of men who can do both, and thus avoid the danger of "too many cooks." A gun-captain in the navy must be a man of force and intelligence, and a fair marksman as well. No system should be accepted by naval officers that will not meet this requirement.
The point made by Lieutenant Meigs, that target practice with great guns alone must not be depended upon to develop marksmen, emphasizes the necessity of resorting to every means of instruction that will tend to this end. Pointing-drill is an excellent way to train marksmen. Nearly all great guns have two sets of sights. Let the officer keep his eye on one set and the gun captain on the other. If a primer is used, the officer will know if the gun captain fires at the right instant. By constant practice, whenever the crew has great-gun drill, the men will improve wonderfully in aiming. Every man in a gun's crew should, in turn, be permitted to aim at a moving target. In this way every man will see how necessary it is that the men stationed at the elevating and training gear should obey the gun-captain implicitly and watch him constantly. Otherwise the gun-captain can never get his sights on the target. If each man has personally noted this fact, he will be more careful' himself at the training or elevating gear. This pointing-drill, using primers, will also enable the officer to note if the gun-captain pulls the lock string steadily, and if he keeps his eye on the sights when he pulls. Not only will men be greatly improved by this exercise, but it may serve to demonstrate that a man is totally unfit to be a gun-captain. If he is nervous, excitable, and nags the crew without controlling them, he is not the proper man for the place. This exercise, better than any other, will reveal a man's strong or weak points.
And Lieutenant Meigs is right in saying that, at target practice, men should be taught to fire rapidly not wildly, but rapidly. This is a rapid-firing age. All but two or three of the heaviest guns of modern battle-ships and cruisers are of the rapid-firing type. What is the use of a rapid-firing gun if it is not fired rapidly? What is the use of firing rapidly unless the piece is aimed rapidly? And it is impossible to aim and fire rapidly if the loading is not rapid, and this cannot be done unless the men have been taught to do it rapidly at target practice—the only time when charges are used. Evidently the whole crew, not the gun-captains alone, must be trained with great care. And if this result cannot be attained at target practice alone, it must be sought in the pointing drill. This pointing-drill can be practiced alongside a dock or at anchor, as well as at sea; better, in fact, because, as a rule, there are always moving objects in sight at which to aim. In this, again, the time in port or at a navy yard should not be wasted. Instruction with great guns and small arms can be kept up to great advantage.
The argument that at the first target practice after a ship is commissioned the firing should be slow, is not sound. It displays its own weakness and the weakness of our system of naval training—or lack of system. As Lieutenant Meigs says, "the gun-captain should have shown some fitness for his place before he is put there, and he and the other men in the crew should learn their duties in loading, pointing, and firing a gun before they are allowed to handle it loaded." "All knowledge of service-drills which may be possible should be acquired by men in receiving-ships." "Recruits should be taught to handle and fire their rifles and revolvers before they spend much time on other parts of military drills." These conditions and requirements are all possible, even now. If every man has not been taught to aim a rifle before he comes on board a cruising ship, there has been neglect somewhere. The day after he enlists he should be taught to aim a rifle, resting it on a sand-bag so that a petty officer can verify his aim. After being taught, the first day to aim, the recruit should fire at a target the second day. It has been shown that a range, for reduced charges at least, is possible at every naval station. Thus a recruit should not have been three days on board a receiving-ship without firing a rifle.
And before a ship has been three months in commission, before the first target practice, every crew and gun-captain should have been thoroughly instructed in pointing, first at fixed and then at moving targets, first deliberately and then rapidly. As the day for target practice approaches, the crew should be exercised in all the motions of firing six rounds as rapidly as possible, bringing ammunition to the gun, using primers, and the gun-captain sighting properly. Then it would not be necessary to fire slowly at the first target practice. The reasons for doing so are necessarily based upon the assumption that previous instruction has been neglected, and that proper care has not been observed in selecting gun-captains. Such objections can be removed, and the few shots fired from great guns should be fired rapidly to secure the best results.
The pointing-drill and rapid firing will make one thing plain to a careful observer, that the men to handle rapid-firing ordnance efficiently must have the military habits of attention, exactness and obedience, and this requirement should govern modern naval training.
In discussing the necessity for some uniform system of target practice. Lieutenant Meigs is right in saying that "a plan is bad only when it is less good than would be adopted by the persons in charge if left to themselves." It is not possible that any plan could be "less good" than no plan at all. The idea is to establish uniformity in the navy, and arouse among officers, petty officers, and men a spirit of rivalry by comparing the skill of different divisions and different ships and rewarding those who win.
It is evident, however, that to reap any substantial benefit from target practice and instruction in marksmanship, the men who have become good gun-captains must be induced to remain in the navy for some time at least. If instruction is to be without system or thoroughness; if gun-captains are to be appointed with little care; if there is no permanency in their rates, and if they leave the service soon after they become efficient, we have, in our naval routine, simply a wear-and-tear upon ships, a wear-and-tear upon guns, a wear and tear upon the patience and zeal of officers and men, and no result that tends to prepare a navy for war.
Lieutenant Kossuth Niles, U. S. Navy.—The interesting paper of Lieut. Meigs gives assurance that the important question of target practice is receiving a careful and systematic consideration. If much of the practice heretofore during a cruise has been of a perfunctory nature, it has been due, perhaps, as much to the want of a definite system of rewards for good shots, as to the lack of interest resulting from no uniform method of marking and keeping permanent individual records. As the allowance for great-gun practice is necessarily small, the few shots permitted should be made with the utmost care, to determine not only the skill of the marksman but the efficiency of the gun under the favorable conditions of deliberate service. To perfect the working of the gun-crews, and at the same time afford an excellent opportunity for improving the marksmanship, I think Mr. Meigs' suggestion as to sub-calibers is excellent. All division gun-drill, or most of it, can be made of the nature of target practice by using sub-caliber bores. Each gun could have its own target; and, there being a certain number of shots allowed, the rapid service of the piece at point-blank range would afford a practice approaching partially the conditions of using service charges and projectiles; the pointing would be practically of the same nature if either the vessel or the target was moving, and this condition should be obtained in using sub-caliber bores. The drill complete should be enforced just as if service-charges were in use. It is not likely that there will be any undue excitement during target practice, especially with sub-calibers, and therefore a certain amount of excitement should be encouraged, for without it there can be no vim and no definite amount of quickness. Rapidity of fire will certainly be all-important.
The plans set forth for classifying, rewarding, and keeping the individual records of the enlisted men, appear to be well devised under the present facilities. As soon as the methods of firing can be made uniform at the several stations, the value of the classification on the receiving-ships will be increased. On cruising ships the plan ought to produce a gratifying improvement in the marksmanship in small-arm practice.
An annual competition in tactical firing, the records to be sent to the Department, appears to me to meet the desirability of a general competition of all cruising ships. With regard to the plotting of great-gun practice, I think it would be desirable to plot all shots in the vertical plane, as we obtain one point of great value in knowing the position of the shot with reference to the water-line although the position sideways is in error. The complications arising from the additional labor and data required may be reduced by the use of tables; and as the interest in the practice is increased, some better instrument than the T-square may suggest itself, thus reducing the range error.
Commander C. M. Chester, U. S. Navy.—While agreeing with the lecturer in the main on the great importance of the subject under discussion, I differ with him on one or two points. Particularly would I advise against the "time" element in a target-firing exercise. Of course, of two vessels equally well-drilled in precision, the one firing the most shots at an enemy will do the most injury, but it is very questionable to my mind if perfection in one of these branches does not detract from the other. In no class of work that I know of is the old saying of "hurry makes flurry" so applicable; and officers will in battle spend more energy in trying to keep the petty officers from throwing away shot in rapid firing, than in urging the crew to quick action. The whole tendency at such a time is for rapidity of motion, and the crew that has been best drilled in the details of loading and firing will in the end gain the best results.
In target practice the captain of the gun is alone to be marked. If time enters as a part of the record, his standing depends, not upon his ability as a marksman, but first upon the handling of the gun by the crew; second, the handling of the ship by the commanding officer; and, above all, upon the handling of the vessel by the natural elements. The gun-captain has no chance to improve his time, for, at best, he has but three or four shots during a practice, and his mark must rest on other qualifications than his own. The question of aiming a gun in a seaway with the ship underway is not one of pointing in 30 seconds or less, but of laying the gun so that when the proper moment arrives it may be fired to hit the object.
The lecturer states that "if they (the men) are too much excited, some steps should be taken to restore quiet." What else can be done but to slow down? and another deduction from the score results. Furthermore, rapid firing is too expensive. In practice it is almost impossible, where men are working on time, to prevent shots following in quick succession, with the loss of record of one or more shots—thus $34 or $66 and upwards is thrown away, and sometimes the practice is at the expense of a man's life.
It has been my invariable custom, when directing practice of this kind, to urge and insist that the captains of guns should pay no attention whatever to the passage of time, but to fire with the greatest possible deliberation. I, of course, knew full well that the score would be reduced by this order, but felt that more than enough would be gained in precision to make up for it.
I also beg leave to suggest that, in my opinion, the record of target practice should only be taken from the vertical scale. It is necessarily plotted first on the horizontal scale, for none of the service targets are large enough to catch but a very limited number of the shots fired. It is not a difficult matter to transfer from the latter to the former, and the record as thus projected is easily understood by the men who work the guns. In reading the score from the horizontal projection, they must understand the nature of the shot's trajectory for the particular gun fired, before being able to comprehend the value of the practice.
I recall an instance in my own experience, to particularize. A shot fired from an VIII-inch rifle, by one of the best marksmen I ever saw, struck just outside the 50-yard circle, giving him but 50 per cent of the maximum mark. Another shot struck about 90 yards to the right and over the target, scoring the same. Plotted on the vertical scale, the first shot showed close to the bull's eye of the target, while the second would have entirely missed a vessel of the size of the Galena. This latter shot was from a IX-inch S. B., and the discrepancy is due to the difference of the trajectories of the two guns. A third shot from a IX-inch gun struck about 50 feet from the center of the target, and short, gaining a perfect score (100) for the captain of gun.
I would here remark that while the T-square is not inappropriate for recording target practice, there are so many young officers who have had experience in observing horizontal angles in surveying as to make a finer register of this work practicable in most ships.
The side error should, in my opinion, always be observed, and with the sextant. It can be done either from the ship itself, or from the observation boats, by reading the angle from the target to the ship. If the horizontal projection is used for marking the value of the practice, it becomes necessary to have varying areas of equal weight for each class of gun, or the rifle gun will always be handicapped as against the old smoothbores.
Captain L. A. Beardslee, U. S. N.—The importance of the subject so admirably treated by Lieut. Meigs will undoubtedly so commend it to the thinking men of the navy, that there will ensue full and free expressions of views upon several of the points presented: and of the younger men of the service, many who have been favored with opportunity to gain personal knowledge from practical experience with modern guns on modern ships, will contribute valuable opinions founded upon their facts. There remains very little for one of the old school, whose knowledge of ordnance and cruisers is confined to a life-long experience with old-fashioned muzzle-loaders and wooden ships, plus the results of his study of the work of others, to justify him in entering into the discussion; but the references in the essay to methods and systems on board of recruiting-ships, by which some little knowledge of gunnery is sought to be imparted to recruits, prompts me to give a little in detail of the method in vogue on the Vermont.
During the year ending in September last, about three thousand men had passed into and out of my command, and our average number on board has been about three to four hundred. Some of these men have been with us but a few days, others for months. It seemed highly necessary that we should do something toward carrying out the Department's views, and we did our best, starting with obtaining a full outfit of the service-rifles and a wooden model of an 8-inch gun, and some revolvers, with all of which we thoroughly instructed the men in everything but firing. Situated, as is this ship, in the midst of a thickly populated town, it was simply impossible to fire a shotted gun of any kind, so we had to make believe a good deal.
Then we obtained some Quackenbush air-rifles, with which, on our spar deck, we practiced considerably; but such practice did not have value enough to arouse a great deal of enthusiasm, especially as it was not considered that records made with this little gun were fairly comparable with those made with service-rifles of any kind. At this juncture, Lieut. Mulligan was seized with an inspiration and invented an apparatus which, starting with his own guard, be came excessively popular and useful. As this apparatus is very simple, and can be made and used in any ship with little trouble and expense and much profit, I will describe "Mulligan's gun."
It consists of a cylindrical log about four inches in diameter, about 12 feet long. At the exact corresponding position of the sights of a 6-inch and 8-inch gun are slots, into which, when in use, sheet-brass sights, facsimiles in profile to those of our service-rifles, are set when in use. A lock-string is fitted to the rear end: the gun is mounted upon adjustable legs.
With this apparatus the men were taught to sight at a movable disk (moved by another man and governed by signal from the firer). Each man was allowed three shots, and the result, as shown upon a white duck-covered target, soon developed considerable accuracy in sighting. It was noticeable that with nearly all of the sighting the three shots formed a triangle, the length of sides differing greatly, in accordance with the skill of the firer. To each triangle the name of the maker was affixed, and the system grew so popular that the men would ask for the gun when off duty, and eventually it was left standing for them to use when they pleased, and there was hardly an hour in the day that a group would not be found target-shooting for amusement, and the more skilled ones instructing the others. Cards, dominos and checkers were not so popular as Mulligan's gun.