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

Page 26 text:

MM • m ■.-..■ MmMmm ■. ' .■;. .:• ' ■■■ ' ■■ NAVIGATI ON Head of Department of Navigation: Commander G. R. MARVELL, U. S. N. INSTRUCTORS: Lieutenant Commander E. B. FENNER, U. S. N. Lieutenant Commander F. J. HORNE, U. S. N. Lieutenant Commander C. P. SNYDER, U. S. N. Lieutenant LEWIS COXE, U. S. N. Lieutenant J. C. TOWNSEND, U. S. N. Lieutenant W. W. SMYTH, U. S. N. Lieutenant P. P. BASSET, U. S. N. Lieutenant C. C. SOULE, Jr., U. S. N. Lieutenant A. K. SHOUP, U. S. N. 20

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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

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THE DEPARTMENT OF NAVIGA- TION. AVIGATION, like astronomy and some other kindred subjects connected with the Sun, Moo n and Stars, has an infinite sense of mystery about it for those who never have had to navigate anything more than a raft or a ferryboat. This subject, once learned, is absurdly simple, and it gets to be interest- ing when you try to dope out how a man, in an open boat on the Pacific could find his position and get back home. Commander G. R. Mauveli. Gone are the days when we used to sit and gaze fondly at the moon ; now we wonder why it was ever made — must have been put there just as a nuisance to first class navigators. Witness the tortures of this creature: First classman at Nav. P-work, between snatches at his hair and yanks at his collar, attempting to find declination of the moon. Takes out some hours, minutes and seconds and then multiplies hourly difference to 15 decimal places. No, he should have taken minute difference — rubs it out. Tries again, and multiplies to only 12 places this time. Ob, ! He has the Right Ascension instead of the declination — rubs it out again. He ' s getting mad ! Now it ' s correct by contracted multiplication to 17 places — wait a minute! Ye gods! He has taken it out for December 14th and this is December 16th ! One gasping sigh and he expires.