AT FORT KELBURNE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 962, 1 November 1910, Page 2

AT FORT KELBURNE.

PETONE NAVALS AT THE GUNS. The first series of tie 191041 Garrison -J Artillery competition for the New Zea* land Coast Defence Challenge Cup waa : . fired, by the Petone Navals at Fort Kelburne, Ngahauranga, yesterday morning, under unfavourable weather conditions. For the annual company service pracrice the conditions lor the shooting had. been made much more stringent 'this year. The range was longer, and the f time allowance per round cut down from :.. 50 to 40 seconds. The battery commander "., for the series was Captain Bcvan, office* • commanding the Petone Navals, whils :'■'.! the gun. group commanders were Sergt. '■/. W. Hardham, V.C., and Sergeant Knight. ! Captain G. S. Richardson, Chief Instruc- ,' tor of Artillery, and Captain Meikle, ; The range was set at MOO yards, and .'-, ten rounds were fired, the result being an - excellent score of 100 per cent of hits in . i minutes 36 seconds. This time is nearly a : full minute longer than the time re- . cord put up by the gunners the previous year, but is accounted for by the fact ; that the nature of the weather—a ba<t ( light, driving spume, and a choppy sea—! ; I made.the task of picking up the targets . an exceedingly difficult one for the gun*layers. There', was ■ also a tricky ; windy. which told at the long range. •

A Big Gun Target.

In.the above.diagram the two. square* at the base of the Tectangle are the towed! targets, the distance between which repre- 1 eents the -length of-a warship. From the water-line,, vertically, a. certain margin of height is, allowed, according to thei class" of ship; tho targets for the time|being are supposed to represent. A hrtf registered within the,. Tectangie -. would J in actual warfare, strike the vitals of a* 6hip. ■■ i ■ ■ ■■■ .. ' To-morrow morning the second seriesj will bo fired, when, the battery will be commanded by Lieut. Robinson. Friday ' morning's shoot—battle practices-is to ;beJ . something in the nature of an endurance -test for the gunners, the idea underlying the test being that a prolonged duel—fortl v. in progress. The targets wiUl first bo engaged at 7000 yards, then there' will be an interval while. the towing steamer changes her coi.rse for the next practice. During ■ this interval, tie girna will continue to be worked—without am-j munition, on tie score of expense—anca upon the reappearance of the targets at closer, i range, 5000 yards, live shell wilß again be used. This process will be re-4 peated till the. imaginary war vessel haa( approached-to within 2000 yards, "whenJ" presumably, she will be blown sky4igh» ' -