Aug 30, 1941
Btry.
E-94th
Dear Pauline-
Our
battery finally went to the firing range. We have been going everyday for a
week, we still have one more day for firing, which is rapid firing in the
kneeling position. There are four positions that we fire from. Prone, sitting, standing and kneeling. The first few days we
had preliminary firing and now we are firing for a record. The set up for the
firing is as follows: one day you fire,
then coach the next man, next day you keep score, and next day work in the
pits, by pushing the target up into view and lowering it when the fire ceases. You
also patch the holes and signal the scorekeeper by sending up disks that tell
the value of the shots.
There are
two men to a target and 40 targets to a range. The distance is 200 yards and
the bulls eye is 10 inches in diameter. The bulls eye is a white disk or 5 points. The red disk 4
points, black and white 3, black 2, and a miss is a red flag waved once across
the target. To qualify for Marksman out
of 200 points is 134. For Sharpshooter 168 and Expert 178.
One man in our battery got 177. If I get 40 points Monday I still can make
Marksman. I did alright on slow fire but fell down on the rapid. On rapid fire
you get 10 bullets 5 to a clip and 60 seconds to fire them. A bullet travels 40
yards in ½ of a second. There have not been any fatal casualties. They are very
strict in regards to safety precautions. The muzzle must point in the air at
all times and the bolt of the rifle must remain open. On the firing line you
load and lock by pushing the safety lock over to the right. We use a .30 caliber Springfield rifle and .30-ML Ball ammunition. If
this rifle is not held right when firing it kicks and you’re liable to get a
sore shoulder and a swollen or split lip. Here are a few tips Frank or Luke can
use when they go deer hunting or if they stop in a shooting gallery. This is
for a standing position- Face target. Then do half right face. Spread legs 1 to 2 ft apart. Body erect and balanced. Left elbow under rifle,
butt high on shoulder. Right elbow height of shoulder. Cheek firmly pressed
against stock with eye as close to rear sight without straining neck muscles. Front
sight just touches bottom edge of bulls eye. Here is
the most important part:
Breathe
while aiming– After sights are lined up on the bulls
eye, draw in a little more than ordinary breath and let out a little and hold
the remainder while aiming and squeezing the trigger. Squeeze trigger with the
1st or 2nd joint of index finger. Squeeze with such a steady
increase of pressure that you do not know just when
the rifle will go off. If sight wanders off, hold pressure on trigger and
reassure pressure when sights are lined up again. By doing this you won’t
flinch. Otherwise you will have anticipated the shock and explosion when the
rifle goes off and your shot will go wild.
Saturday we had a parade review, of the
2nd and 3rd battalion and we were complimented by our new
camp commander Major General Fredrick H. Smith. After his speech our battery
had pictures taken.
After the
firing range session is over we got some bayonet practice and search- bight
drill twice a week at night. This bight is 60 inches in diameter, with a 8,000,000 candle power beam that can be seen 200 miles
away. At 20 miles you can read a newspaper and if you direct its beam towards
the shrubbery it will burn it up in a short time. You can also get a bad case
of sunburn.
The horns
on the sound locator are so sensitive it can detect the sound of a plane motor
12 miles away. The bight is operated by remote control by a control station
operator. The Power plant furnishes and carries the main power to the
searchlight, the distant electric control system, and the rotary converter. Rotary
converter is a motor generator, operates (78 volts
That means
extra money after a while and extra headaches. The one good thing about it is
you don’t have to do kitchen work or other dirty detail work. There has been
several others made commander and after awhile they will sort them out and keep
the best ones.
Well
whatever happens it don’t worry me none cause I know just as much about the
power plant, light, control station and sound locater as the next one so none
of them can kid me. I won’t be able to go home yet cause
our battery office issued only 34 furloughs to the men and they picked them out
of a hat to see who would go. If they modify that 28 year age bill I’ll be out
soon and I’ll drop around and see you all.
How come
Mary broke out in a buying spree, taking interest in the home, is she planning on
getting married or something? Well so-long Kid I’ll see you when the bill goes
through.
Your bro. Pete