THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
189 
Ordinary method of obtaining the Range. 
The battery is supposed to have 6 guns, of which. Nos. 1 and 3 have 
one pair of range-finders, Nos. 4 and 6 being provided with another pair; 
it is advancing in line at a walk, and the officer commanding wishes 
to come into action. 
He places himself between 3 and 4 guns, and guides them into a good 
position, he then gives the word— 
“ Range on the hedge, near the top of the hill. Halt! Action.’’— 
Nos. 3, 4, 2 and 5 guns are unlimbered; No. 2 is placed so that it will 
be in front of the line from 3 to 1; No. 1 and 6 guns are not unlimbered. 
The sergeant of No. 3 chooses any point that he thinks remarkable in the 
hedge, say a poplar tree, and lays on it with his ordinary sights; when 
his gun is laid very roughly in the direction of the object, he shouts 
out “Forward;” this word should be given within 5 or 10 seconds of the 
command ‘"Halt,” and a sharp sergeant will often ha^e. his gun 
sufficiently well laid (or rather brought into line) to be able to give 
this signal before the trail touches the ground. 
The sergeant of No. 3 gun then continues to lay his gun, with the 
ordinary sights, and finally finishes the laying with the telescopic sight 
of the angle-finder. He then runs to No. 1 gun, and lays that gun 
upon the same point, and then returns to his own piece. 
Immediately on No. 3 gun being unlimbered, a man takes out the 
tape and runs with it to the other (No. 1) gun; he should see that the 
man with the roller gets the true distance between the guns, he then 
winds up the tape and replaces it. 
A third man at No. 3 takes out the angle-finder, places it in its \/ s, 
and directs the short telescope on the white face of the other angle- 
finder. When he sees that the sergeant of No. 3 gun has finished laying 
No. 1 gun, he gives the word “ read.” He sees that the tens are correctly 
read; he then waits until he sees the short telescope of No. 1 gun has 
been pointed at No. 3 gun, a'nd then replaces the angle-finder in the 
box. 
The sergeant of No. 1 gun has kept his gun limbered, and a 
good deal—say 15 yards—in rear of where he expects it will be 
placed ; he runs out and takes up a good position for his gun, 
selecting a place where he can get a good view of the hedge 
on which the range is to be taken, and also keeping himself square 
with the wheels of No. 3, that is, so that these two wheels appear 
as one. 
On the word “ Forward,” No. 1 gun advances and is unlimbered 
when its axle-tree reaches the sergeant, who then lays his gun, resigning 
his place promptly to the sergeant of No. 3 when he comes up; he subse¬ 
quently sees that the roller is worked right. 
The angle-finder is similarly treated to that of No. 3 gun, but, in 
addition, a man uses the calculating roller, and calls out the range. 
A fourth man, both at No. 3 gun and No. 1, reads the number given 
by the index. In calling out this number the man at the pivot gun must 
look at the roller gunner; he must satisfy himself that the roller gunner 
has distinctly heard this number, and must not consider he has done 
his work because he has merely cried out the number. 
