COAST ARTILLERY, JOURNAL - Air Defense Artillery

520 THE COAST ARTILLERY JO"CRNAL
any moderately well-trained b:lttery in a relatively short time, provided
intensive drill is possible.
4. The Coast Artillery Board is of the opinion that Par. 2 b, 1st Ind.,
on the report of the experimental target practice; Par. g, 3d Ind., thereon,
and the recommendation, Par. 5, Report of Critique, support the original
recommendations of the Coast Artillery Board in report on Coast Artillery
Board P!oject No. 117.
25. In September, 1925, Project No. 117 was returned to the Coast
Artillery Board by Indorse:mentfrom the Offi~eof the Chief of Coast
Artillery for further study and test. An extract from that Indorsement
is quoted below:
Your remarks contained in the 14th Ind. hereon are concurred in with
minor qualifications as follows:
3. h. It is not believed that there has been sufficient practice by trained
crews under varying conditions to justify the conclusion that a IS-second
relay system is entirely practkal. It is believed that this will have to be
established after further trial.
3. i. It is not believed that the problem of separating the 2-bell and
3-bell data has been satisfactorily solved.
26. The proposed fire control system, including the Coast Artillery
Board Vniversal Deflection Board with interpolator: Range Percentage
Corrector with interpolator, and the latest form of Range
Correction Board, was used by Battery C, 12th Coast Artillery, in its
regular target practice on May 20, 1926. There was no confusion or
difficulty in separating the 2-be11and 3-be11data. There were several
relays during the practice, each being made within fifteen seconds.
Upon one occasion there were two consecutiverelays each made within
fifteen'seconds.
IV.-COXCLDSIO:\"S.
27. The Coast Artillery Board believes that the objects of the development
have been attained, that the proposed fire control system
provideS:-
a. A practicable fire control system in which the delay now occasioned
by a relay would he reduced to a minimum.
b. A prac;:ticablefire control system under which the rate of fire
of'mortars could conform more nearly than at present to the time
necessary to perform the operations of loading and careful laying.
28. The mortar fire control outlined in the above discussion is
practicable. ~'if is flex~b~~- ~riopgb to acconllnodatethe state of training
o( troops. It ~s-a simple modifi.cation,-. or rather extension,' of.the
present.system< y. t}~p.ifiesthe fact of a common doctrine'for ~acoast