Direction for firing in fortress-siege
artillery
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Firing at an artillery deployed behind parapets.
The fire can be made as follows : 1)
Horizontal
fire a) with shell (table 1). Firing at long range, from 4000 m upwards, aiming
directly at the target is permitted, in other cases the gun must be always
masked. The adjustment is carried out on one of the enemy’s guns or on a
point on the edge of the parapet. A hit on the parapet is considered short.
The adjustment is satisfactory, if the ratio between long and short rounds
and between deviations to the right or to the left is between 1/3 and 2/3 of
the rounds fired. The fire for effect is concentrated. b) with shrapnel (table 5). The adjustment is made according with the general
rules, taking care that the mean trajectory passes two probable deviations
above the edge of the parapet and with an average interval of 40 m using a
central chamber shrapnel and at the edge of the parapet and with an interval
average of about 60 m with diaphragm shrapnel. 2)
Plunging
fire : a) with shell (table 4). The departure angle must be about 30° and the
charge is determined according to it (the charge decreases with increasing
angle). The adjustment begins at the intermediate charge and the initial
angle was always 30° : if the first round is long, the elevation changed to
26°, if it is short to 34°. The short bracket is always 1°. The adjustment is
satisfactory, if the long rounds are 1/3 – 2/3, and the ratio between the
deviation to the right and to the left is between 1/3 and 2/3. b) with shrapnel (table 5). Adjustment and fire for effect are made according
with the general rules : the average bursting interval must be about 40 m and
the fuze burning correction not be less than 0.2”. 3)
Jumping
fire (enfilade); a) with shell (table 2). The charge must be such as to allow the shell to
pass over the edge of the cover, having enough force to hit the enemy gun.
The width of the short bracket is 4 probable deviations of the tables. The
initial elevation is taken from the tables according with the distance. The
adjustment is carried out on the closest cover according to the general
rules. After the limits of the short bracket have been confirmed, the target
is shells per battery series by changing the elevation of the battery to half
or full bracket, until through the enfilade about half of the rounds fly over
the cover. b)
with shrapnel (table 5). Determination of the charge, adjustment and fire
for effect are carried out as with shell with the interval of the burst fixed
at about 40 m. Shelling an area. This
method is employed to shell an area where the target is supposed to be,
hoping to hit it with one of the battery series. Being very inaccurate and
very expensive, it must take place only against very important targets. As a
rule it is made with shrapnel, shells are used only when the shrapnel does
not reach the target, the characteristics of the target excludes its use or
the area is not large. To
shell a deep area, after having fired a battery series with elevation and
fuze at the near limit, in the following series they are increased according
to the depth of the area, by half or a whole short bracket, and the fire
continues until the long limit is reached. With shells or plunging fire, the
increase indicated above is halved. At the same time, it is necessary to
change the direction of the gun to move the fire also to the side. Firing on the smoke of a masked artillery.
To adjust on a masked battery two Moller instruments – one close to the
firing battery and the other to the side of the battery – are aimed on the
smoke of one of the enemy firing guns and by taking the value of an
instrument graduation, the elevation is found according with the general
rules, by means of the quantities measured for the deviation of the
projectiles from the target. Depending on the situation, the target may be
shelled with horizontal, plunging or jumping fire with shell or shrapnel. Firing with shell at buildings.
The fire can be made as follows : 1)
With horizontal
fire : stone buildings are destroyed either by methodical shelling or by
breaking up their foundations or protective beams. In the first case, great
final velocity, small angle of incidence and large angles of impact (not less
than 45°) are required. 2)
With plunging
fire : the fire is made according with table 4, except that the angles of departure of 26°, 30°,
34° are replaced by angles of 64°, 60° and 56°. The short bracket is 1°. The
fire is not distributed and everything is conducted as in plunging fire with
angle of departure of 30°. 3)
With jumping fire : the fire is made
according with table 3.
The angle of incidence, on the basis of which the charge is chosen, is
determined as in the enfilade fire, calculating that the trajectory passed at
1/3 of the height of the building, starting from the base (at long range and
with powerful charges even at 1/2), and the average trajectory at 1/3 of the
upper edge of the building. The directive recommends first destroying the
glacis with mine shells and then firing at the walls, if possible with a
sloping trajectory. To
destroy specific targets, the directive prescribes the use of the following
kind of fire : a)
against wire nets, palisades, barricades and other
artificial obstacles : with mine shell horizontal or jumping fire, according
with the position of the obstacle; b) against camps, bivouacs, parks
and other inhabited places : with shell to set fire to them or with shrapnel destroy animate
targets inside them; c) against roads and other means
of communication that could not be observed by the battery : with shrapnel
firing at those points where troops, transports, materials etc. can be expected
to be located, such as railway stations, bridges, passages, descents, road
crossings, ports; d) against kite balloon and
searchlight : accelerated fire at full charge with shrapnel or H.E. shell
with time fuze and great angle of departure. Firing on moving targets.
Against moving targets, especially at more than 1500 m, the directive
prescribes the use of shrapnel. Shell is used only against very fast moving
targets, to react vigorously to a threat or at close range, when there is no
time to set the fuze. There are two different cases : 1)
Adjustment
and fire with shell or percussion shrapnel. a) If the target moves towards
the battery, a bracket of 200-600 m is taken, depending on the speed of
the target’s movement (at pace 200 m or 16 probable deviations, at trot 400 m
or 32 probable deviations, galloping 600 m or 48 probable deviations). At the
small limit of the bracket, the guns open a slow fire that is accelerated as
the target approaches the place where the shells fall. As soon as shells are
perceived to fall close in front of, or behind the target, the guns open a
rapid fire. Then, if the target continues its movement, the guns reduces the
elevation by 200-400 m and repeats the same procedure. b) If the target moves away from
the battery, the procedure is reversed. c) If the target moves perpendicular
to the direction of fire, the fire is made as with non-moving targets. d) If the target moves obliquely
with respect to direction of fire, the fire is made as with moving targets. 2)
Adjustment
with shell and fire with time shrapnel :
Adjustment is carried out as above. Slow fire is made only by one of the
flanking platoons, while the others loaded time shrapnel with bar sight and
fuze 100-300 m less (more) than the small (large) limit of the bracket on the
advancing (receding) target. After a long (short) percussion round, the guns
loaded with shrapnel open a rapid fire. Then, if the target continues its
movement, the percussion platoon retreats (advances) by 200-400 m, the other
platoons by 100-300 m and both repeates the same procedure. If the target
stops, the fire continues with shrapnel, like on troops standing in the open.
With infantry moving jerkily, during the stops, the guns aim at the centre of
the 100-200 m bracket and open a moderate shrapnel fire. When infantry
resumes running, the fire increases in intensity. At close range (800 m with
cavalry, 500 mm with infantry), the guns switches to case shots fire. With
heavy guns, time fire is carried out according with table 6. Night fire. With
electric lighting, the target is taken in the short bracket of 8 probable
deviation firing with shell or percussion shrapnel, then the area is shelled
by shrapnel with fuze set for normal bursts. If the target is dimly lit, the
area is shelled up to a certain depth starting from the limit at which the
short shot closest to the target is obtained or the fire is made according
with the elevation and lateral deviation calculated by day. Fire with quick firing guns.
Fire with 57mm QF guns must be simplified and accelerated as much as possible
in order to fully develop their characteristics. As a rule they must employ
rapid or accelerated fire, fire by salvos is allowed only at great range to
facilitate observations. With
quick firing guns the direction lists the following kind of fire : a)
Against target placed at less than 1500 m, fire is directed by the gun commander or by the
aimer, unless the distance to the forward points has been previously
measured. After the table 8 has
been compiled, every guns fires directly with time shrapnel. The gun
commander observes the effect of the shot and, if necessary, orders the
required corrections.
The interval of the bursts is considered good at 40-150 m with a burst
height of 2-8 m. To accelerate the fire, the crew prepares previously 10
shrapnel set at the distance corresponding to the point where the target is
expected to pass and give the elevation with the bar sight of the elevating
gear. As the target approaches 500 m, the gun switches to the most
accelerated fire with case shot. b)
Against target placed at more than 1500 m or when the distance to the forward points
has not been previously measured, fire is directed by the battery commander.
The fire for adjustment is carried out with shell. The target is taken in the
200 m bracket, which is reduced up to 100 m without repeating the limits, and
the time fire for effect is switched to the centre of the short bracket. c)
Firing
with shell against moving
targets, when the enemy has entered the effective area, the battery
commander orders “Alt!” and opens fire reducing the last elevation by 100-300
m according with the speed at which the target is moving. If the target moves
obliquely to the direction of the fire, the elevation is reduced by
50-100-200 m and the lateral adjustments mechanism is increased in the side
of the movement of the target, according with its speed. If the target moves
perpendicular to the direction of the fire, adjustment and fire for effect
are carried out as on a non-moving target. d)
Firing
with time shrapnel against moving
targets, to speed up the firing, the table 8 reports only the lateral
deviation and the combustion of the fuze. The fire for adjustment is carried
out with shell. The target is taken in the 200-400-600 m bracket, then at the
small limit of the bracket the combustion of the fuze is set for normal
bursts. At first, the guns carries out a slow shrapnel fire, which is
gradually accelerated as the target enters the effective area. Then the
battery commander orders “Alt!” and the last elevation is reduced by 200-400
m as above. If the target periodically appears and disappears, the commander
can order to open rapid fire with a set number of rounds. e)
Fire with case shot is carried out by
setting the sight at 400-500 m and aiming at the top of the target. It is
carried out at maximum speed and continues, if the target advances, up to the
last stop, and, if it retreats, until it has left the effective area. Fire with a group of batteries.
The group consists of 2-4 batteries, possibly with guns of the same type and
calibre. Every battery commander chooses the projectile and directed the
adjustment and the fire for effect of his battery, the head of the group
intervenes only when difficulties are encountered, an error is identified,
the target must be changed or fire must be accelerated, stopped or switched. Once
the adjustment is complete, the battery commander informs the head of the
group of the elevation found and in during firing, when he finds a difference
with the data of the firing table, communicates the fuze for normal bursts.
The head of the group writes down all his own observations and those of the
lateral observers and if he finds any errors, he promptly communicates them
to the relative battery. If
possibly, the head of the group must see all the terrain over which the
group’s batteries can fire, otherwise, some observation posts must be placed
between the batteries and the head of the group. When
some batteries are assigned a common target, the head of the group decides
whether the fire must be conducted per battery or simultaneously by the whole
group : a)
in the first case each battery fires independently; b)
in the second case the concentrated fire gives good
results in a short time, if the observations of the various batteries are
distinguished, using guns of different types (for horizontal/jumping fire) or
calibres, different projectiles (shell/shrapnel) or fuzes (percussion/time),
different rate of fire (by gun/by salvos). If
the group includes two batteries of the same calibre firing at the same
target, it is advisable to assign one to carry out the adjustment with shell
and the other to establish the corresponding fuze. However even if the
observation is difficult, accelerated and simultaneous fire must never be
renounced in order not to give the enemy the possibility of hitting the
individual batteries, which has opened fire one after other. The
head of the group can indicate the distance and the direction from the start
of the fire. If the group includes four batteries, with good conditions the
target can be taken in the bracket of 2 salvos, then the batteries can start
firing independently. The battery commander can open fire on his own
initiative against suddenly appearing targets for which a fast and strong
action is required, informing the head of the group as soon as possible. |
