MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1025, 14 January 1911, Page 12

MILITARY NOTES.

[Edited By Echelok.]

SELF-RECISTERINC TARGETS.

THE PASSING OF THE MABRTO.

•The "British-Australasian" 0 f De> comber l-iast contains an' interesting' note on a new form of electrical selfregistering target, the invention of Mr. Sydney A. 31. Rose, of Melbourne, who gave a practical demonstration of the device in Loudon recently,' before representatives of the British War Office National Riflo Association, Miniature Rifle Clubs, and a number of' military attaches from" France, Russia,, and Japan. The demonstration, which waa in every way satisfactory, showed conclusively (states the "British-Austral-asian") tho many advantages to be ootamed from this latest' addition to tho appliances for improving marks* manship. \ ... ' Unlike many of its predecessors, it ianot- a sectional target, which not only •necessitates the use of numerous wires,' and, moreover, does not register the actual shot, liufc merely the section hit. On the contrary, only one set of wires lsiicccssary, and tne target can be utilised at any distance ranging from' -o to 2000 yards. It records accurately to a small fraction of an inch the exact course of the bullet, in relation not to the bullVeye in stationary targets, but also in relation to the running man or. deer targets. Not only are the hits and-their position indicat-* eel, but also the misses and .their positions. The apparatus is equally adapted ior runuing or stationary targets,, the. pressing of a button' bringing into! view the stationary target, or remov-| ing it and exposing the running man. •Uus enables the marksman to immediately rectify his aim, and' as the ■ expense is exactly tho same whichever! way the target is used, a considerable] increase of snap shooting is ; t6"be expected. This introduction of a timoJ clement, into club shooting-, seems 'ta< bo the 'one thing needed to make the' practice useful, as all really- useful-' shooting is governed by the time factor*- . Sectional targets have ,-a wire ; for each section, but the Rose uhiversall target has only two line wires and' am earth connection'.' With these two wires' over 200 position indications per squire! inch are given. A sectional .target at! 200 yards range to give equal accuracy! would require 250,000 line "wires and! contracts. _ From this it is obvious that' the how'invention must be less com-' plicated than a sectional target ofi equal accuracy, and to the technical! man it .is really the acme of simplicity,! as, indeed, so many amazing inventions are.

As to how it is done: The function: of the indicator is to reproduce on as suitablo replica target (or dial) at tha-i firing point a copy showing the exact position of tho hit on the object target, and this is done by a small white disc, (representing the bullet hole) on the end! of • a light pointer working behind a. transparent screcn, through which it can easily be seen. The object target is a wide strip of paper wound, off . a suitable roll and rewound on a receiving barrel. On- the model shown one square foot of target was exposed. On.-.the edge of the exposed target, a row of contact fingers is placed like a vertical comb, protected behind an Mmour plate. These .fingers are held out of contact by the paper. When a shot is fired through the. paper,-a button •is pressed,, and the target winds on to the J'i c iiYi n g roller until the hole reaches the row of figu'r«B,Ypna,or more o'f.rwhiph immediately ipr'esses through'" the hole and niakes electrical contact. On completion of . this operation. ,a magnetio clutch immediately releases the:,-driving mechanism, and. the machine, and paper immediately come to a standstill, and the electric pointer behind the. indicating target at the firing point (moved 4 mechanically in synchronism .with the paper) will also have travelled six inches across the back of its target or dial. If the target be struck . eight inches'from the edge of the paper, the pointer will travel eight inches before coming to a standstill, and so on. . This gives the position of the shot from right to loft. Obviously the indicating tairget can be 'mado larger or. smaller than, the object, and geared to travel at a pro-* portionate rate. ,

The vertical position of, the shot is recorded electrically by the vertical comb or row of contact fingers, arranged with a resistance between each. two fingers, so that the higher the finger is.from tho base; tho higher is the resistance in cir< cuit when it makes contact, and the higher will bo the position ,of .the magnetic needle when it comes to rest, tho needle being pulled down more or less, according to' the amount of resistance introduced into the circuit. If a hols be mado in the centre near the top edge of tho target, and the 'button bo pressed, the paper and needle travel sis inches' across, tho mechanism comes to rest, and the needle comes down to. a position corresponding to-the height' of the finger which has passed through the perforation, and through which contact was made. To re-set they*'instrument "the button is again pressed and the paper travels on to another hole (a gauge holo), a scries of these being already punched at xegular intervals in the paper strip, and the needle on the indicator having by this time . travelled across its dial, returns to zero autor matically ready for tho noxt shot. When used as a running target,paper is used on which a suitable figure is printed, and in this case the button is pressed and tho figure fired at whilst tho paper is' in motion. A suitable scenic screen is used which gives the appearance of the man emerging from one cover and running to another, and he must be hit during the limited time ho is exposed. A replica of tho man is printed on the indicator in suitable 'position, and tho records taken in exactly.tho same way as in the stationary target, tho only difference being in one case the paper is still whilst firing, in tho other it is moving. ' .

For' stationary target practice 'a; bull's-eye or Solano card is fixed id front', of tho apparatus and fired, through, the position iiit being accurately indicated on the dial at-toe.firing point-. It will bo obvious ..that, witli any object, bull's-eye or,Solano card ;oi picture, placed in front, of tho cent-re'of the target., and a similar transparent object- fixed in.the centre of the indicator dial, the position.of the shot on ths objoct will be indicated by the pointer.