United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY. Head of Department of Ordnance and Gunnery: Commander LOUIS M. NULTON, U. S. N. INSTRUCTORS: Lieut. Commander R. I. CURTIN, U. S. N. Lieutenant W. R. VAN AUKEN, U. S. N. Lieutenant M. K. METCALF. U. S. N. Lieutenant L. C. FARLEY, U. S. N. Lieutenant W. S. McCLINTIC, U. S. N. Lieutenant E. R. SHIPP, U. S. N. Lieutenant I. F. DORTCH, U. S. N. Lieutenant HUGH BROWN, U. S. N. Lieutenant (J. G.) I. C. KIDD, U. S. N. Chief Gunner JAS. DONALD, U. S. N. Chief Gunner J. J. MURRAY, U. S. N. Sword Master A. J. CORBESIER Ass ' t Sword Master GEORGE HEINTZ, Jr. Ass ' t Sword Master L. FOURNON Ass ' t Sword Master A. BARTOLI 18

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THE DEPARTMENT OF SEAMANSHIP HIS is the one department, above all, which should be characteristic of the work at the Naval Academy. Although we no longer sail and reef and wear our line-of-battle ships, we must know our seamanship just so long as we are going to travel about on the water. Here we learn the names of all parts of our big ships and their uses ; how to handle these ships in heavy seas and tideways ; to anchor them and dock them ; to sail and row cutters and small boats, and to watch with no small amount of interest the working out of naval policies all over the world. Commander B. F. Hutchison Midshipmen shall especially familiarize themselves with Chapters II, III, IV, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXXII and XLI of these reg- ulations. (Navy Regs.) There is not a single thing really indispensable to a man-of-war ' s man, whether he be officer or man, which cannot be learned on board ship. A navy that is familiar with the sea in many aspects and in many parts of the world will have acquired no small part of the knowledge which is in- dispensable in war; and every one of every rank in the naval service should feel that he belongs to a service which has no reason for its existence but real preparation for war, and consequent ability to defeat the enemy when hostil- ities arise. Sea work is by far the most important part of the work; familiarity with it can be attained by prolonged service in blue water, and it cannot be obtained in any other way.

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3| i fcKy iSSM THE DEPARTMENT OF ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY OR the past two years this department has been improving with such strides and bounds as we see only in a Western city that grows in a night. Not only does it now instruct the midshipman in the matter-of-course drill regs. and gun mechanisms, but it gives him the first ideas and teaches him the rudiments of the wonderful system of fire control and spotting now used in our Navy. By means of a complete set of apparatus — and appa- ratus, by the way, that will work — he is taught how to find ranges, aim guns, and put his shells where the target is ; that is the only sort of ordnance really worth knowing. Commander L. M. Nulton Sample of hot air on torpedoes : The position holder is an arm or cam, which, by being thrown from its vertical position to its horizontal position, holds the inner ring, firmly centers the gyro, and allows the teeth of the impulse sector to mesh with the pinion of the gyro. As soon as the gyro is centered and the vertical rock shaft is centered in the end of the gyro, the position holder is dropped, and the spring may be wound. This is done by means of a mechanical arrangement, with the trigger, so that the rings may be turned, and the steering engine do its work. For the rest of us, who do not like to write as well as this man does, we usually say mechanical arrangement, and be done with it! Torpedoes are bad enough, but when it comes to Exterior Ballistics ! Look at this : Substituting after integration, the result is as follows : A2 [8-9677668] 2 2 -[2.4923277] lo g 2+1051.999 19