104 
SPEED IN PIKING WITH GARRISON GUNS. 
The fleet departed in regular order, and steamed round the South of 
the Rock at close range, certainly not at any time at more than fifteen 
knots speed, but the ships were all out of effective range in twenty- 
two minutes. Some guns, with a large arc of fire, were bearing on one 
or other of the ships all the time ; others, which commenced firing as 
soon as their arcs were entered, had only a limited portion of the 
twenty-two minutes to fire in, and had not sufficient time to get off their 
ranging rounds. It is unnecessary to go into details, but the result proved 
the absolute necessity for increased speed in firing Garrison guns, if 
they are to do any good at all ; the great gain in efficiency each gun 
that could fire quicker than another possessed ; the enormous advantage 
of choosing good sites with a large arc of fire ; and the benefit which 
would accrue by the use of ammunition which would admit of ranging 
being completed in two rounds. Again, during the Gibraltar manoeuvres 
of 1896, torpedo boat night attacks were a great feature. It was 
abundantly evident that the chance Q.F. Guns would get, would 
seldom exceed three or four minutes, and would frequently be much 
less. Men trained to slow fire and distant control would do no good 
under such conditions. 
No branch of the Artillery have to deal with such quick targets as 
Coast Artillery. Why then should they have the slowest firing arrange¬ 
ments ? The fastest target on which Field Artillery are likely to 
practice is cavalry in motion, say at 10 to 12 miles an hour, but a ship 
moving at 18 knots or a destroyer at 25, are targets racing at 20 and 28 
English miles, and these will have to be operated upon. The pressing 
necessity for guns, ammunition service, mountings, sights, emplace¬ 
ments and range indicators, which will enable Garrison gunners to very 
materially reduce the time now occupied over each round is clearly 
exhibited when, by chance, a fast target is available. 
A really suitable gun should always be ready for the layer. The time 
that a good layer necessarily spends in obtaining accuracy when a gun 
is well placed and found is very small, and whatever time is well spent 
in ensuring accuracy is not thrown away, but every second in excess of 
this necessary time that is occupied in loading, traversing, elevating, 
predicting and unnecessary ranging, is wasted and causes an enormous 
loss of power and effect. 
Among the principal causes of slow fire are the following :— 
(1) Unsuitably designed emplacements and mountings. 
(2) Unsuitable sights, deflection leaves, and means of giving quadrant 
elevation. 
(3) Dissimilar cartridges and slow supply of ammunition. 
(4) Poor loading, traversing or elevating arrangements. 
(5) Bad or defective communications in respect of command or range- 
indicating arrangements. 
(6) Want of rapid targets at practice during peace. 
(7) Unsuitably trained or unpractised men. 
(8) Want of knowledge of the capabilities of ships. 
(9) And as regards a large portion of the year, one due to nature, 
namely darkness and a want of means of lighting up the area of water 
covered by the guns, and consequent neglect of night work. 
