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GETTING THE RANGE OF
AN ENEMY WARSHIP
By WILLIAM NELSON TAFT
Y
OU may fire when you are
ready, Gridley!"
This phrase, used by the
late Admiral George Dewey
in signaling the commencement
of the Battle of Manila Bay in May,
1898, will doubtless go down in history
along with the other slogans of our national
heroes; but the Commander of an
American Fleet today would probably
find it too cumbersome and time-wasting.
With his binoculars to his eyes, the
American Admiral of today would snap
into the telephone receiver immediately
in front of him the terse command:
"Commence Firing!" and the signal
would be instantly transmitted by wireless
to the other vessels of the Fleet. A
moment later the 14-inch guns would
belch forth their tons of projectiles at
intervals of half a minute.
When it is remembered that, according
376
to the best naval opinion available at this
time, in a duel between two battleships
of the first line, one of them ought to be
out of commission within five minutes
after the first shot is fired, it will be seen
that even the second or two consumed in
using Dewey's command, in place of the
more laconic one now in vogue, might
have a serious effect upon the outcome
of the battle.
The aim of the Navy is two-fold:
Efficiency and—more efficiency. Therefore
every superfluous word and every
unnecessary movement is eliminated as
far as possible. Not only seconds, but
fractions of seconds, count in modern
naval warfare and the officers and men
are continually drilled in the art of lopping
off fifths of a second in all operations
connected with the handling of the
big guns.
When it is considered that the modern
battleship is expected to go into action