COMMENDED Essay, 1895, 377 
The Fire Commander can be further required to frame a proper 
message for each Battery Commander in the time allowed him for iden- 
tification, and his work may be tested by sending these messages in 
their proper order to officers in another room representing the several 
Battery Commanders concerned, and requiring them each to show, on 
his own chart, the square towards which he would turn his depression 
range-finder or his gun of direction in order to pick up the vessel re- 
ferred to in the Fire Commander’s message. In each case the umpire 
(always noting the expenditure of time) will be able to say where the 
ship ought actually to be at the moment in question, and its relative 
position to the other vessels of the fleet and from this he can decide 
whether any mistake or confusion of objectives will have occurred, and 
be able to show whether the Fire Commander has done his work satis- 
factorily or otherwise. 
_ _ An almost endless variety of exercises of this nature may be easily 
devised for the benefit of those holding postsin any chain of command 
from the Fire Commander to the Gun Group Commander, not even for- 
getting the humble but necessary dial numbers. In many instances, 
especially in the case of non-resident units, working models of the 
Forts and their appliances will be found of immense use for instruction. 
If kept under lock and key when not required for instruction there 
could be scarcely any objection to their employment. Drawings and 
photographs too, though in a less degree will be found beneficial. 
Concerning practice, there area good many erroneous ideas in the 
air. On the one hand gun practice is expected to do for us what it 
can never do, and on the other hand, its true uses are scarcely under- 
stood. Some officers are under the impression that practice can be 
conducted so as to really show what takes place in actual warfare, but 
this is not the case. Garrison Artillery practice is, it is true, incom- 
parably nearer the real thing than is that of the Field Artillery, because 
the Garrison Artillery alone employs moving targets bearing compari- 
son in size, speed, &c., to the vessels of war, and alone is obliged to do 
without those misleading aids to accuracy of fire with a knowledge of 
the practice ground, and of the approximate distances of the targets, 
invariably furnishes to those practising over land ranges. Neverthe- 
less, although Garrison Artillery practice may embrace some of the 
important features of actual service, it can never be carried out under 
true service conditions, on account of the many precautions for safety 
which must be observed, even in the lcast frequented waters. 
The real value of gun practice is, first, that it accustoms the gun de- 
tachments, to actual fire, with its attendent conditions of noise and 
smoke. Next that it is an exercise for the officers, and a test for the 
accuracy and uniformity of the work done by the Gunnery Specialists. 
Thirdly, that it affords a useful opportunity of trying the mountings, 
and all the appliances connected with the guns made use of. 
Now as the first of these uses, nothing particular need be said, but 
for the rest, we must remember that the most careful notes are needed 
to be taken, moment by moment, if full value is to be got out of the 
ammunition expended. From this point of view all practice except 
just enough of the elementary sort to accustom the detachments to 
Gun practice. 
