13 
THE WORLD’S WAR-SHIPS, 
FROM A GUNNER’S POINT OF VIEW. 
BY 
MAJOR W. J. ROBERTSON, R.A, 
First Part—BRITISH, 
It is not much good sending a man to shoot an elephant unless he 
knows where to hit it. Having provided him with a good shooting 
weapon, and taught him how to use it, you must go a step further and 
show him where to aim. 
In coast batteries this is important: the ordinary Garrison gunner is 
usually somewhat ignorant of a ship's mechanism. Ask him where he 
intends laying on the ship that is passing, and you are fairly certain 
of getting the answer, “ behind the funnel, so as to disable the engines." 
Now, he is so far right that this would probably bring up in a round 
turn the ordinary coasting steamer on which he is practising training 
his gun; but in war he will get few chances like this, and as to stop¬ 
ping a cruiser of the Aurora class, he might as well try peppering 
a tiger on its rump with buckshot. 
Probably, when hostilities broke out, the Naval Intelligence Depart¬ 
ment would supply coast batteries with descriptions of the ships likely 
to pass their zone of fire ; but, in many cases, this might arrive too 
late at foreign stations, while it is extremely probable that much of it 
might be unintelligible to a landsman, through lack of nautical terms. 
Thus, “May be easily distinguished by her topgallant forecastle, 
electric light sponsons, and standing rigging secured inboard," conveys 
little to the R.A. mind, let alone such an expression as “knee of 
head." Yet the Navy might truly respond that they could find us 
information, but not brains. The problem is not an easy one, and it 
is difficult to see how it can be entirely got over till Garrison batteries 
have in their midst men who have served a cruise on a sea-going ship. 
One, however, hopeful sign is, that soldiers are always as keen to 
learn about ships, as well as sailors about soldiering, so that a few 
lectures on types of ships and where to hit them will always be listened 
to with interest, and provoke rivalry and emulation in distinguishing 
them. 
1. VOL. XIX. 
