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LONE "1 H13 Sflldii the Napa! Offzcer Wages

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i-IBN the new battle ship Utah, with a full load displacement of 221,003 tons, went into commission ri few weeks ago. an experienced nnvnl oillcer who had been looking her over

' with a proud sense of`patriotic spirit re-

mnrltcd-;--

“Sh,o's the cw-aiu of them all. I'd like to help train

inn' to dglit."

'i‘he hit; ship as she ploughed her way slowly

ii||'tni;;h" the water was in herself an emblem of str-cngtli and a product of all that modern naval de- sliin could make her. Surely she was equipped to give u cood account of herself. In the words of the°naval

\-:;p:-rt watching ber, sho was “ready to be taught how

to iight." \

_lt_ may not have occurred to persons outside of the

navy that it is ns necessary to teach a ship ht?v to act in a battle as it is to teach a pugilist how o act i.u the ring. Yet it is so-emphatically Ro. Even the mighty Utah, with her ten 12-inch 45calibr§ rliies. her heavy Krnpp armor _and hcr complement of 888 |ngt)._,n'ould make n sorry showing against°a very in- ft-rior`siiip if her ofiiccrs and men did not know how to get the best out of ,her during the comparatively short spucc of time when the actual battle is being

fought. ~ , "7 '

This is why she is now being made ready for her

period of training. and also why the Navy Depart- ment attaches such great importance to the naval drills which nrc conducted regularly by competent .won in»»tini'¢r-of-peace. By naval drills one must take into consideration all the diderent phases of "train- ing" that the ships of the United States Navy go through from out-end of the year to theother. Spe- eini consiricrntion might be given to the periods of tin-gel practice. when the ships are taught to shoot atiatight. for--siiootlng straight is indeed the most im- mediate and important oifcnce and defence which a

ship can have. .

lint let it not for a moment be supposed that teach-

ing it ship to shoot straight means merely getting good gunnere and putting them at the big guns. “The nnin behind thegun" has been s navy watchword for many years, but it is not the man behind the gun who is going to be the prime factor i.n nival battles of the future. A battle ship might have a picked crew of the best gunuers available in all the world and yet not make s single hit in a modern naval engagement. ln fact, if the gunners did their work properly the ship would necessarily miss with all the broadside ,_ guns every time the wrong information as to range, &c., worn communicated from the tire control towers

to the gnnnery crews. ~`

¢'i‘he importance of the gunner is accurately to carry out his orders and point the guns as he is instructed to point them. Perfect co-operation between the Dre control tower and the gun pointers would form the ideal shooting ship, as the gunners would he correctly told where to shoot and would shoot as told. But if one or the other‘of these co-ordinate _branches must he sacrliiced it would be better to have mediocre gun- uers and s good tire caan-oi system than good gunners and a system of are control that threw them oi! the

target. , o

Training n modern battle ship to iight, therefore,

consists, among other things, of teaching the oificers in the iire control to spot tho shots on the target' and communicate the range accurately to the gun pointers at the big guns, and in teaching the guns' crews to aiidot “according to instructions" and to shoot as quick- ly. as they can. The rapidity of shots iiretl is, of course, of paramount importance, and in this respect the g||1i;iéney_depends solely upon the crews at the guns. _.tg |5_in..working oirthis problem-that the most ex- pert ordnance 'oiilcers in the navy are devoting_their init' duoriles-.dev by oar. Evorytliins. iimt_mlsl1¢ spoil ,‘iiupr_ovemo,nt in thls_iine is given consideration. The ,luijority of'thls work revolves around the sys- tim of iiro control; which navaiexperts are straining to bring tothe highest point of ediciency. l'.i_‘his tire ¢°|\¢roi system, not only must be eihctive in target practice, but must so stand as to be practical and

effective when hostile shots are comihg its way.

There would be surprise for many if they realized

even a small part of the work which the hhvai ,‘experi.~i 30 through in this process of training a battle ship for nohini battle. ideas are 'constantly exchanged be- twoh those odicers most proiicient inthin line, and the id,” brought out in foreign nsvies are closely scruti- _ind studied. Minnie battles between Atnericsn lll"li0|\lt'ei'g and the best available foreign ships are

' 'giidrsfought under' various conditions in the

;’i.$6f'tbo naval authorities. s ` _ fo, Problembf Military Malts.

sn account of one of these battles, fought the oilees of a naval omcor in Washington ydsk, would illustrate by what esns

attempt to arrive _st _couciu ions,

give sn idea of how modern aval

Tiilhlttle lpgins in this .

omqgr whose opinions carry t Navy Hsgsrtlllt. and who is daily

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S. S. Delaware

Buuid Oo. All rights Nsorvod.) ___ __ _ _ _

working on the “training of battle ships," sits quietly in his library in the evening thinking about sugges- tions he has heard in talks with his brother ofiicers and the problems which on that day have been dis- cussed. ~

‘ The proposal of making a_slight change in the mili- tary masts now aboard American ships has just been up for consideration. Some of"'the oiiicers believe

these masts should be smaller than they are now, and that the American dreadnoughts should have one in- stead of two of the structures. Other odicers are in favor of keeping the masts as they are because of the tremendous advantage they would give American ships in the early action of an engagement. s

Still other authorities are doubtful about the supe-

riority of the American skeleton masts over the Brit- ish tripod masts. They point out that the skeleton masts, upon which the all important fire control sta- tions sre situated, are each 120 feet high and from

30 to 40 feet in diameter at the base, and they argue that they form too large 'a target for the enemy, which

' ...-, ~., , '

,_ _ CH.-uu.o'1‘TE'rowN CANADA sA'rUl<nAv IJECEMBPR .0 mn mm or rm. gg- »-9=,¢,c,'.1:,‘;,\;¢,=y1r,¢g¢§§g,__

1 Hts Maid with Forezyn 50 Mvfrsfersalo Heh: Solve értté "

any Mzlztary Mani; !’.reseo! _

the British Dreadnought Neptune

the

of Which the

T.-ea...-ani-_ .'._. ._.._;_

Salvo. The U. S. S. Delaware Firing a Broadside of All Guns ~

would doubtless direct highly explosive pnojectiies

against them.

All these ideas are in the mind of the naval omcer.

How does he form his own opinion as to the best type of mast for the American ships of the future? He sends-figuratively epealrlnz, of course-one of the late American ships with the skereton masts out to meet one of the latest British ships with the British tripod masts, and pictures what he thinks might hap- pen.

Suppose, he reasons, that the battle ship Utah were

to meet the British battle ship Neptune in the open sea to-m'orrow and the ships were assigned to the cheerful task of destroying each other. .What would he ukeiy to happen?

Both vessels are of about the same normal displace-

n\eni'--20.000 tons-both have ten 12-inch rides and botli have about 21 knots speed.

The powerful Utah steams out in search of her

forinidabie oppinienhwitli her oiilcers and men ready for the fray nnd"ihip cleared for action. In the bas- ket at each masthead are twofspotters. The executive oilicer, chief of the tire controls, is ready to take the most-advantageous posltion'he can iind when the ac- tual battle begins. ' V _ »

Each spotter has_,a telephonespparatus attached to

his hand,‘and by mes_nslof'a`tube will shortlycom-

municnte his signals to-the' gun pointers at'each‘of the ten 121iuch guns, all-onamedian lino ofthe ship. ’.i‘he visual sighting apparatus, the telephone system and the electrical apparatus are all working in tip-top shape. ` The men at tile guns are ready to he that the enemy has been sighted. '

I~inally on the horizon there appears the faintest

lmlit-ation of n'~_trail of smoke. Orders are given to in--rt-asc s|»ecti./ami some of the four hnndrld tons of the vt-est-i's oil is' iinsiied on the coal tofuccomplish this. The trail of »o'noit_c_b_ecoines more distinct. Like a tiny speck ilrst app_o|\rs_the sign of a_ship. ,Word that tho enemy is sighted is flashed like magic io the uilicers and crew. Tho houi' of the supreme test is at

lmnd. " ‘ I 0 _

Larger and larger grows the speck, until it is sur-

rnised that the i\`cptnne is as anxious for the battle as the iitah. She appears' tp becoming head on, ready to shift her poipition when within range and- get the full beneiit her__12-inch broadside. The commander of the Uma likewise minus that nit- position or ins ship with respect to thcciiemy is important. for it the how of his vessel poi`_ toward-the Neptune he can tire only four of his Mich rifles. lic wants to use all ten( He does not coiitiiithe sixteen 5-inch 50-calibre riiios, _ss he believes `tlie.hati.le will be over before

i a

they can be made use of. He fully realises that the big guns are to decide the day.

As the approaching peck is watched from the tire

control tower it assumea.nore and more distinctly the shape of a ship. It is now about nine miles away. As the ship appears to have come within the 15,000-yard range orders are given aboard the American ship to begin the range iinding iire. .-W ith a crashing concussion that shakes thc mighty ship a gun pours forth its volcano of are and an armor piercing shell shoots through the air in the direction of the object nine miles distant. The course of the shot is followed from the tire control tower. It is seen to fall short by about 725 yards.

‘ THREE QUEER BIRDS.

HE trumpetcr bird is the rsgpicker of the woods and swamps of Guiana, where he is always Iii work at ins tra_5_ig, with ins stomach for a puck

and his bill for a-hook.- He performs a most useful but most extraordinary service, devourllw 11 Perfect multitude of snakes, frogs, scorplolls. SDIGGPS. lllfifds and .the like creatures. But-this terrible bird can be made perfectly tame. r onxnie Guiana plantations ne may be seen fre- teruizing with the chickens, ducks and turkfid. IC* conxpanying them in their. walks, dcfelldlllg 012111 from their cneinies, separniin$ ‘l“l\`0ll9FS Wm' strokes or an mn, suetainmt- the v0uns"i11‘11 the reebieana waking the echoes it-an his trumpet While he brings home his iiocks at night.

The trumpeter is as handsonieas he 'is useful. Noble

and haughty in hisaspect, he raises himself ull 011 Ui-‘i long, yellow gnitercd lege and seams! £0 BUY- "1 “lil UW trumpeter,'the scourge of the i'¢Pi-U*-‘S and the i>l'°' tector of the iiocks." O

In Southern Africa there is another STU” "X101"

miaator or reptiles, me mate eater or secretary bird- s magnificent creature that attacks the iflvitosi SCF- pents, nutking a shield of his wiu8fi HUG li SW°l“l °f his beak. The name of “secretary bird" is dt-riveti from the plumes projecting bwkwurd from _its head, which look like quill pens carried behind one s ear.

in soma America, in the my nf~lzhb°\'1w0d,0f iii"-

trumpeters home, there lives t-he Knmichtur ltamlki. which wears a_sharp horn pr0i0CtlllK fi‘0i“ ii! f0\`@|‘$`“‘| and n murdemus spur upon each ef its wings. “ith these three weapons the serpents that ho attacks are powerless against him and H2 'Milly but i0 *leath-

The gqqremry bird, the Ksmichl and the irninpeter

form it valiant ami useful trio. The irunipeicr has two merits above the othors~the ease with which he can be domesticated and itil. 1111191001 ffiléllf- °

The nqtivog have n gm-isg that he htm swallowed

.a comet. whether pmmk-asuiim or war mnkinr, iw

mis me gh- with his frnmpst calls, and at the sound of his voice of ima the reptiles tue to aisht

1. ,`_ 1 f

e 5 . ‘:"'j.___ . ‘

Firing a amanda.

_ I

“mkan

“15,225l" is shouted through the tube in the tower

to the ten gunnery crews. The range was thought to be 14,500 yards, and the shot is 725 yards short.

Another terrliicconcussion announces the second

shot. This is just a little to the right, and strikes the water two hundred yards over the ship's stem.

"15,%l” is the immediate signal, while hurried

orders are telephoned below to change the train of the guns so that the slight mistake in angie will be corrected. The third shot sends up a splash almost where the thick armor of the ship meets the water. The range is found. Orders for broadside tiring all the given range are flashed below.

In instantaneous response to the signal the ten

12-inch rities pour forth a saivo of ten shots. Three of them hit t.he water short of the Neptune, two others are to the right and several just seein to skim over the deck. One is a hit, as shown by the miniature bali of tire which appears to___t.he observers toward the Fmo°w§Tmm_ There is doubt about another shot, which seems to disappear somewhere near the after turret.

In twenty-tivo seconds' time from the iirst snlvo

another is on its way. There is no response from the i\`cptnne. it looks as if the enemy were completely, taken ol gnnrd by the fact that the American ship opened are at 15,000 yards. Nine thousand yards is siipposeti to be thelbattle range. The British vessel had orders to begin ii:ing~at that range. She is coni- iug closer full steam.

The second salvo from the American ship is seen

to do more damage than the first. Geysers of water are spouting up about the ship, while some of the siwts at-cm to have fallen in a muse into the after turret oi’ the Neptune. Almost before the effect of the shots can be seen the next salvo from the Utnh is on

its way. The shots are falling true and presumably with it-rrldc effect. The dre control system is working

like a t-hum. ___

l Mast Appears Frail.

i-`rn|n high up on the skeleton must the spotters can

.we the effects, and the delicate mechanism and visual :tppnrnius are working splentlitlly. It is seen that the llrltish iirc control elution which is dirt-<-ting the iiring is on the fruii mast: of the ship. it is known to be ar- nmrtd, but the mast appears so frail as to fall if it is hii, although ii. is realized that hitting the mast is

diiiicnlt.

Salvo after snivo is sending forth its destructive

missiles from the Utah when there comes the echo of it thunderou-t roar from the Neptune, followed by splashes of wntcr to the right and loft and in front of the Utah. The enemy has opened tire. liliiilil lll`i8bf flashes indicate that rt snivo of~<-ight shots is on its way. The after turret guns are silent. 'i`iil.~i confirms the suspicions of the Aint-riean oi‘iict~r.~4 that they have been smashed out of 1-nttiniisslf-1| before the ship was ready io shoot them ni. all.

The range is now to the 1-ncn1y‘.~: liking. for thc mia-

slles are striking nearer home, althonrh the snivos do noi. come with the short intervals of the American salvos. The British hroadsidcs come at nearly a min- ute epert, giving the Utaifs guns, tiring every twenty- two seconds, two shots to ons. _ __

i i

___ .The H. lVL_S,Neprune

A shell lodges in the end belt armor of the Utah and

explodes, shattering the part of the deck near it. An- other shell hits smidships. One of the turret bases is slizhtly drmlarred, but the ma_im»iiy or the in-ana shells are 1'ulling far beyond the ship. The Iii-itien seem to be purposely aiming high. There is a terrinc explosion in the after skeleton mast which shutters the tubes and sprays the decks fore and aft. Another cs-

v" plosion in the skeleton mont nndcr the tire control

Station, then another. The enemy." is tiring purposely at the targets prcsentorl by the skeleton structures. The shells explode on the sllglitost coiitatft.

The duel of shot and shell is now on, in earnest.

Saivos pass one another in transit and the damage which is being wrought aboard the British dread- nought reminds oiilccrs of the .shooting at the Snn Marcos by the battle ship Delaware earlier in the ear Another turret aboard the British ship is ai

y . . -

ilenced. The ten American turreis are still blazing

away full blast. 0

It is evident that the onriy action is all in favor of

the American ship. The theory that it is the iirst bio\v

that counts Ln modern naval warfare is being borne

out, for the British ship, with her shorter battle range, never really had an npportiinily of meeting the Utah on even terms, two of her rurrcts being out of commission within it few minutes after the first shots from the American drendnought had been tired.

The British appear to be directing high explosive

shells against the skeleton masts, but although the basketliko structure is ripped away in many plat-cs the masts do not fall. A chance shot from thc Amer- ican ship has meanwhile hit one leg in the tripod mast aboard the Neptune and the whole system has come

v’ down. ' '

The height of the American skeleton masts has en-

abled the Utah io deliver very decisive blows :it the longest ranges so far possible to gnu tire. ilut now. as the ships have drawn closer, there is serious dan,'_-or of the fire control .station nt the nmstlienti lim-nniimz untenahle. The high explosive sliolis, purpo~=cl_v di- rected agninst the large busketlike targets. are br-gin~_ ning to cause terrific havoc. The electrical nppnratns and delicate visual uppztrniiis are becoming ttft'cctoti by the hostile fire, :ind it is feared that tho hi-_'li struc- tures muy at lust be brought down and po.~as|bl_v linin-

per the operation of the turret guns.

As the advantages which these mnsis ;::\ve ni the

Carly stage oi' the battle bt-gin to wane tin- pr¢-p.'\ra- tions for conducting; the rcnniindt-r oi’ the intitlc froth a lower ui'in01'otl`.<tziiion are hurrit-tlly made. 'i`lu~ Germans tlircct :iii their fire control from an armo|'\~d station below. The possibility of bein: olili,-_'wi to fol- low these tactics nliottrd the .'\inerican ship has ai-

reudy been taken into consitlcrniion.

But the skeleton masts, even when ailuntloned, will

contiue to form t:ii'gz-is for the high explosive sliclla of the enemy. Projuctiles that otherwise would lnive passed harmless-l_.‘ by the ship will explode when they strike the structure. The American otiiccr.-, now that the usefulness 1 ' the must-_s is zone, wmiiti like noth-

ing better than to throw them into tho son.

Meanwhile high explosive and armor pit-r<»in;: pro-

jectiies arc doing their tcrriilc dainagc nl»m't|'tl t-neil ship, tearing first a huge gap in one ve.s.vl>i. then cn- dangering the vltols of the other. in a fow minutes all will be over and one of the ships will he u hein- less mass. g

Which is the vessel destined to become a sci'apln»np

for the bottom of the sen? Is site the .\'cpinnt- or the Utah? Has the tremendous :ul\'ni-,t:i;;»» of the ilr.~it' blow and the effective tire oi’ the American ship in-en too great for the Neptune to on-i't-orne, or luis tint British vessel iinnliy siictrocrlcii in ini‘ni:»_u tin- iltit- -in her favor? The American olilt-or condnt-ting the iii--ti. reticai battle does not ici. it proccr-d that tar. ii.- is only interested in the tcciniiczil pimhlcins- in\~t»!\.~li. Hia mind has dwelt long enough on the cifct t~ of the iiring to solve several important problems to his own

satisfaction.

First, hc has reinforced his opinion that tho :nl-

\'nni:ig0s of the skeleton masts :ire of prltne im po\'tunce, especially in the early pnrt of tin- imiite_

and that this advantage is too great to .-amiii.-1-_

Scronti, he has found that the iripofi n\:i~t of lin-

eneiny, although a smaller iztrgi-t, int- a in-tit-r ~-li iw.- of coming down, as it chance shot tii.<=pl.n-int: nm- it--,- puts out oi? coinnilssion lin: entire tire rt»ni|'ol .~_v.~|i~n|,

Consequently ho is against ni»;tn¢lt»nii\'.: the |niiii:|r,v

masts und nguinsi the t|tl\'tn:liio.~t of lilo ilrlilsh .-_v~4~

tem.

Large Target for the Enemy. 0

But there has heen one plmst- of tin- lmiiit- whit-li

has pa1'ti<'uiai'ly in|pi'cs>‘:<t><i him and |n~o\‘i~lt-tl tw-<-nn 1'-‘|- tliouirht. it is the fruqnf-nt-y with \\hi<'ii iiiv _.<!.i-it-inn structures have iicon iili I»_\' |ii;_'liI_\' t-xpln.~i\'- ini-.tile shells. He tinds, ln- nln.~i lulnilt, that tht- mn-x~ i'.»rnt n

large tni';,'et for iliv cm-|n_\".- _<.:nns_

"Coultit\`t Liicsc tn:t.~'i.~ la: .sniztllt-V. tln.n;:h not lov.-.~i‘.

iiild _\'i:l |.‘,'i\'»; iiiti :ld'.':till;t;_'t\s \\'l|it-ii \\'t~ lin lini \\ i~!; in lo.~n>'."‘ lic rt-n.~‘|\n.-. “\\'~nlti ii noi in- |...\sil»i»- to l|.:~.t- ii frallr~r .\iirtn'itii'c :uni time not sn l~u:»ii_\' ‘nil l»_\ :lp- enemy? 1.~i it. iic¢~i‘:1.~ni'_\ to lane l\\'t» oi’ ilw~<» in \~.~.

or would it pt-rl\:\p.- ho l>t~tl<-r io intro only ont-':"

With one nnisi, he i'c1\.~'on.~', the initial n»l\':i|li;t~.;v -»l

the iirst blow :it long rniige \\'t-niti siill im tilt-rv. :li tl yet thc target would ho lint hnli' the size. ’l'l|\- .»ii:~»r following the tht-orctlt-ni lnttilt- is tit~t~pi_\' iiiit-r.-~it-ti in the po.~t.~'ibiiitit‘.~' of ;_';\inin»; :tn :ni\'a|iii;|ut\ i»_v lin". nz:

one lust:-uni oi' two oi' ilu- .slieiot-in i`n:\~t.~..

But he i°cnii7.t-.~4 tiitii |n-\'intp»' i1i-jmi-,'\nt~nt |n:|_‘.' not

This idea oi’ ont- nnt.~i in~*c:iil oi' iwu ..~ now coin-

lunntiim: serious roii.<id<~\‘nil'»\\ l»_v tn'tln.\nf~»- t-xpt-in and oilltrcrs who intvv to do wliii u||\\i»<'l°_\' lzt lin- n:\\'_\. 'i‘ilei'c is n |v\‘ono\\ii<-oil opinion on tin- 1-‘irt of shun, officers in favor of the plan. lt \\-iii la- i`\ivt‘n~|~¢1i_<. cuss:-d, und if the in-,lt ln‘aii|~' in iin~ .~t-|'\-it»t- i.\\'tn- it it will he adopted. if it be ntioptmi it will rt--init from the quiet hui ciicciivc brain work of iinitt- with \mr.<~ it n imsinesn to teach the American tit-t~a\lu.»a__,~:|t1 how to iight. __ ,_ _

in ___.____?_.___, ' ;-Y r=mu~-~l-

__ _____,__._ __*_,,_ g_.l....... _./,