SPEED IN FIRING WITH GARRISON GUNS. 103 
A gnn which only fires, say once in four minutes, though it may 
possess great striking energy, needs every bit as much ranging as a gun 
firing one shot per minute before it can be made at all certain of bring¬ 
ing that energy into useful service. Starting with each gun loaded, 
and allowing four shots to be necessary for ranging (not by any means 
an excessive number with ordinary cartridges), before hits begin to be 
obtained with certainty, the powerful gun takes sixteen minutes before 
it can commence to use its energy by striking, while the lighter but 
quicker gun, will, by that time, have poured in twelve effective shots. 
Presumably the total foot-tons of energy expended on the target ship by 
the lighter gun would largely exceed that of the heavier gun, and 
there is a far greater chance of some vital part of the ship being 
reached, or of guns and men being put out of action, even if more or 
less accidentally, by the projectiles of the lighter gun. 
From some time-narratives of actual practice from 9*2" and 6" B.L. 
guns at moving targets, worked by men well up in their drill, though 
with limited experience of practice, and striking an average of the 
speed in firing attained at this ordinary practice, which includes all 
delays in service, whether occasioned by slow mountings, indifferent 
means of obtaining ranges, poor communication, and casual stoppages 
from defective gear or wrong usage, but omitting delays due to peace 
conditions, such as foul range, the relative time-average per round 
bears about the following proportion :— 
6" B.L. High Site, Yavasseur . 2 
6" B.L. Moderate Site, Barbette. 3 
9*2" B.L. „ „ . 5 
The figures represent a little more than minutes. There is no reason 
to suppose that on actual service the guns would be fired quicker, at 
any rate until they had been a considerable time in action, but no 
doubt had the practice been competitive it would have reached for a 
limited time a much higher average. I have, unfortunately, to compare 
the results with competitive practice. 
The Admiral Commanding the Mediterranean Fleet has kindly given 
me averages of Prize firing of Ships armed with similar guns, as 
follows :— 
6" B.L. 6*8 Rounds in 6 minutes. 
9-2" B.L. 10 „ 12 
Now, here is a speed for Garrison Artillery to work up to, and, as it 
is to be hoped that R.A. competitive practice will soon be carried out 
from 6" B.L. guns, we may be able to obtain a fairer direct comparison 
with practice from Naval mountings and emplacements, and mountings 
designed for the use of Garrison Artillery. 
But a short time ago a fleet was at anchor close under the guns of 
Gibraltar. It was known to be about to start, and 9-2" and 6" B.L. guns 
were manned. Their rates of firing were assumed to be the ordinary 
average of each individual gun, and, also based on practice experience, 
it was assumed that four rounds at least would be wasted in ranging, 
getting rid of the error of the day, powder and corrections, before the 
guns commenced to hit with certainty ; but that after that every shell 
hit. This, of course, is not quite true ; some shells would, in practice, 
hit in ranging, but on the other hand some would miss afterwards. 
