Ka Hoku o Hawaii, Volume XXXV, Number 39, 22 January 1941 — Modern War Whets Skill Of Artillery [ARTICLE]

Modern War Whets Skill Of Artillery

WASHI X 0 T o S "Sioā6rn [ .\arfart po«od a res\l nroMfm -or the &e\ā ,āVtlitery. li; onß.st keep' paee with the fast niovAig forc«fjs to mabe its fir« ettecttve oyer the lieael of its own infantrj T . The problem is be!ngworked^out J at historic Fort SiU, ofeta,—a' pōst; fstablished during the ItnSian ware' e and where Geronimo -was long hēia' captive—where the far-flung range«s" give an opportiinity to *tliē bility and firing power 'of the artitiery. New lands are besng acqu!red over whieh maneuvers may ta*ke plaee ut high speeds arounc| and over the adjacent hills. Whlle n>ore and more } eiuphasls being placed on tnotoWed e^n'lp- 1 nn»nt in i'onneot!on wfth the solu tion of probi«sms lnv6īvtng mecftanized warfare, the «rtlflery reatī»eB that, as in the case of cfttalry, there im 1 some plam whei'e fhe hors£ worfes l>etter than a t!r«ctor, T"or this rea?on, the all arotnd artHleryman has to he a h'on?gman as well as a meehanie. 1 "SkiU is better than luek," is the ;irtillerj- sehooi motto. Extreme Range 12 Mi!es This skill reqūlres great coord!nation heiween infantrj- and artillery, With gans ranging in flre from a !>vv huudred yards to 12 iuiles or more, the artUlery not only has a pmWeu) in hnding its target but is faced aiso wlth Uie danger of hitting its own infautry with a mispiaced shot, especialty in time of rapid advance. To gafn this range it has several adjuncts. One is the artiliery lialson officer who jnoves frlth the foremost infantry trooj>s. He eoordinates the artiilery flre with the re<iuireu»euts of Uie iufantry eomuinuder. }|« retaya his orders back b.v mcssenjrer, uigw«g siguai, teiephone or radio. The range is given hy means of a photographFc map wherever possible, since these maps bring out every detail of terraln and every tandmaric. Other adiuncts include £he observatton plaoe, with whleh eaeh artillery uait is equipped, the sound platoon And the f!ash platoon. Except for its vulnerahillty, Qie obserTation plane is perhaps the most reliaUe. The souud plaloon, as its n&iue ta<tteates, piots the tliue lt takes for sound to t»Vēl to the «iicroplioße« with whieh the platoon is equippe<i. £ach missiie makes ttvree souuds lu bei&g flred, tho shurp report of the the whlue of the projec(lle as it travels through the air *nd the dun thnd of the ftetōnatloh of high «x(riosive whea It reaches iis mark. All three help looate the flrlng battery aud the »ound metbod on days of low visibility aud agalnst hidden or eamoufiagvd Qood Math«matlciani Needed flash platoon ean function only where tlie flasli of the guu aud the sheli explosion eau be seen. It efc«rts these from varyiog positions slmultarieously and works up the poaition an.l aceuraoy of fire hy (a«ng «lie i»ter»ectioti of the obser vatioos. It r<Hiuires, a$ do most ae <»f tl*e fa»t-thiiik-iu« i»«theaiatlctaiis, hut the ftash plat«nn oan estim«te posi tk«* wtthiti a #ew yards. The artiilery seld<vm tries to a»lte a direct htt The e*ploslou of a sh>H will thmw one hits of thrwi£h the air and make life uucerta{n for «s f«r as 150 y*rds. It dMtorali*es tf it dses not destroy : 1» th»t tidnity and ! <H»ens the way f<vr the lnf*mry. 1 The imwi <leadly ad«tion to ar ] tMi«ry fire the WorU \Var i» 1 of ih* in#tantauevHis: f*r»e tVt.mates the pro3tv?lu'' on wlth the e*rth, 1» UMī ' 18 nrtijeetile« dug a«ep t«io the! wiwh hefore e«j\t<Htl&s, Hil» n>>u?t ■ M tw sprs*ytag hlgh hn,>' the «ir snd d»vJng diiiK^v|

■* ■; -■: *\ { only m a ilmlted area. It was ror this reason the armies often preJ slieTls whleh spread* thelr lethral dose flat over the ground. Tbe new sensitive fuses detonate qutcftly but tliey malie flrlnß sonieWhat xaore dani'erous,