SOME NOTES ON NAVAL GUN-DRILL AND PRACTICE. 
617 
rounds, I thought the laying all too high until I found that their rule 
is to lay at the top of the flag, because the barrel itself is often invisible 
in a sea-way. 
The front faces of tangent-scale deflection leaves being marked in 
knots instead of minutes, which were placed on the back of the leaf 
and used for wind correction only, appeared a useful arrangement, and 
if introduced for Coast Defence would assist a Fire Commander or 
Group Officer in correcting for speed, and simplify his calculations. In 
firing at a ship steaming in the opposite direction to their own, the 
sum of the combined speeds is put on the leaf, if at a ship steaming in 
the same direction, the difference. 
The Navy have three methods of fighting their guns 
1. By Independent Fire, when each No. 1 loads, aims, and fires 
his own gun; using his discretion and firing, when his 
sights are on, a given number of rounds or as ordered. 
2. Director Firing for broadsides, when the objective is not 
visible, from smoke or other causes, from the gun-deck. 
The guns are trained to a stop on the racers, which is so 
placed that they converge at a point on the bow, beam or 
quarter, 800 yards from the ship, which elevation is given 
each gun by graduated scale. 
The officer at the director on the bridge, or in the conning 
tower, brings the guns into bearing by the helm, and fires 
his broadside electrically when the cross wires in his 
director telescope are on the objective. 
3. Broadside Firing by directing gun, either electrically or using 
friction tubes. 
In this method the guns are trained on the objective, which 
is indicated, approximately, as bearing on the bow, beam, 
or quarter, and which can be seen over the sights. The 
directing gun estimates its range and passes it on to the 
others, who keep trained on the objective. As the No. 1 
of directing gun sees his sights coming on he presses the 
firing key which fires the broadside, the other guns having 
connected up their electric tubes, which are in circuit with 
his firing battery. 
If friction tubes are used, the Officer of Quarters gives the 
word to fire when the No. 1 of directing gun lowers his 
hand, which he raises as a signal that his sights are com¬ 
ing on. 
A gun is invariably loaded and run out under orders from its own 
gun-captain, unless expressly ordered to the contrary. 
There appears to be no officer told off for duties similar to our 
Group Officers. 
The firing, ranging and service of the gun is left entirely in the 
hands of its gun-captain, who is a specially trained man, drawing extra 
pay, and permanently appointed to a particular gun, with a guids crew 
under him but for that duty only. He is in no sense their administra¬ 
tive No. 1. 
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