US Naval Reserve Midshipmens School - Capstan Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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ALVOES .... directors .... dip strips . . pointer fire . . . . matching zero readers . . increasing twist .... Such was Ordnance, as we were exposed to its mysteries. A long, mind-racking struggle with such incomprehensible tat Hrstj terms as the above. The instructors had a sense of humor, They would smile in sly fashion and say: HI know the operation of this instrument seems diflicult but you can readily grasp the principle if you look at Plate V opposite Page 147,73 Pages would flutter as we turned to that plate which would solve the situation. Once there we discovered the reason for the instructor's smile. There would be a drawing of a Rube Goldbergian invention, replete with dozens of valves, cams, wheels and cogs. Understand it? XVell, perhaps not at hrst but the general idea would begin to sink in after diligent application. VVe discovered, to our surprise, that hitting the target entails more than merely peeking through the sights and pulling the trigger. W7e learned that in many Naval battles the target is never seen with the naked eye, yet the target is usually strad- dled with the first salvo and thoroughly perforated with the second. Wle learned what happened when the German battleship Bismarck sunk the mighty Hood, pride of Britain's Navy, with a single well-directed salvo. To landlubbcrs, it has always been mystifying just how Naval vessels, subject to constant pitch and roll, ever manage to hit the targets at all. Wie found out it was all a matter of correcting various angles, then, Lgittin' thar fustest with the mostest shells. 50