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hill, which has no detail suitable for use with a mekometer, and that it can be adjusted on service with no greater difficulty than the setting of a See also:

WATCH (in O. Eng. wcecce, a keeping guard or watching, from wacian, to guard, watch, wacan, to wake)

watch. 3. For See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour See also:

defence, owing to the See also:

long range of See also:

NAVAL

naval guns, and the fast targets which See also:

war-vessels See also:

PRESENT

present, an accurate range-finder is of first importance. This is largely the See also:

case because " ranging " cannot be resorted to in the same manner as in the See also:

field, where the targets are comparatively motionless and the effective ranges are less. Successful See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery practice therefore depends, in a See also:

GREAT

great measure, upon the range-finder. The instrument used in harbour forts is known as the depression range-finder. As its name suggests, it solves a triangle in the See also:

VERTICAL (from Lat. vertex, highest point)

vertical See also:

PLANE

plane, of which the See also:

BASE

base is the height of the instrument above See also:

sea-level. Its See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance resembles some forms of See also:

THEODOLITE

theodolite (fig. 6). A framework, capable of rotating in See also:

AZIMUTH (from the Arabic)

azimuth on a vertical See also:

PIVOT (Fr. pivot; probably connected with Ital. pivolo, peg, pin, diminutive of piva, pipa, pipe)

pivot, is supported on a See also:

PLATE

plate carried by levelling screws, L, L, L.

To the framework are pivoted two arms DC and FE, at C and E respectively. The See also:

ARM (a common Teutonic word; the Indo-European root is ar, to join or fit; cf. the Lat. armus, shoulder, and the plural word arma, weapons, Gr. apphs, joint, and the reduplicated apapilKSV, to join)

arm EF is supported at F by a vertical See also:

SCREW (O.E. scrue, from O. Fr. escroue, mod. ecrou; ultimate origin uncertain; the word, or a similar one, appears in Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Schraube, Dan. skrue, but Skeat, following Diaz, finds the origin in Lat. scrobs, a ditch, hole, particularl

screw H ending in a See also:

DRUM (early forms drome or dromme, a word common to many Teut. languages, cf. Dan. tromme, Ger. Trommel: the word is ultimately the same as " trumpet," and is probably onomatopoeic in origin; it appears late in Eng. about the middle of the 16th century)

drum, upon which, in a See also:

SPIRAL

spiral See also:

scale, the ranges are graduated. See also:

Motion in See also:

ALTITUDE (Lat. altitudo, from altus, high)

altitude is thus given to the See also:

TELESCOPE

telescope. The arm CD is supported by a slider G. This slider is set by a See also:

RACK

rack and pinion to the height above sea-level (represented on a scale of feet on EF) at which the instrument may be used. A telescope AB is suitably fitted in jaws at the See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top of the See also:

FRAME

frame. There are spirit-levels at M and Q for adjusting purposes. The telescope is provided with See also:

CROSS

cross wires which can be illuminated for night use. An azimuth circle X and pointer Y enable the direction of any See also:

VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel to be indicated, the range of which it is desired to know. The instrument rests on a base plate R, to which it is locked by the top-plate O. The observer directs the cross wires of the telescope upon the See also:

WATER

water-line of the See also:

OBJECTIVE, or OBJECT GLASS

objective, by means of the drum I and the azimuth handle P, the top of which just appears in the See also:

DIAGRAM

diagram. The reader watches the arrow on the drum and calls out the ranges as the figures arrive beneath it.

The ranges are communicated to the See also:

OFFICERS

officers at the guns by various devices, which differ according to See also:

LOCAL

local requirements. Position-Finder.—The range-finding instrument known in the See also:

BRITISH

British service as the Position-Finder (invented by See also:

COLONEL (derived either from Lat. column, Fr. colonne, column, or Lat. corona, a crown)

Colonel See also:

WATKIN, SIR EDWARD WILLIAM

Watkin, C.B., R.A.) is practically a large depression range-finder. It posesses, however, certain additional appliances which render it capable of automatically recording, upon an oriented See also:

CHART (from Lat. carta, charta, a map)

chart, the position or course of a vessel. And further, by See also:

electrical means it automatically records to a distant See also:

BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery the range and bearing of the desired objective. The position-finder can therefore, from a concealed and safe position, See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast automatically See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control the See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire of a See also:

GROUP

group of guns, Defence whose detachments need not necessarily see the fnstrn- See also:

target engaged. As the observer follows the objec- ments. tive with the telescope of the instrument the range and bearing is simultaneously shown in the battery on convenient dials. The distance and direction thus communicated are the range and bearing from the guns, not as measured from the range-finder. The correction due to the displacement between See also:

gun and instrument is automatic. In localities where the height does not admit of using the depression See also:

SYSTEM

system, an alternative arrangement is provided, known as the Horizontal Position-Finder. It is open to the objections See also:

COMMON

common to two-man range-finders, and is only employed where See also:

NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity compels its use. Briefly, there are two observing stations at either end of a measured and electrically connected base. One is known as the transmitting and the other the receiving station; the latter contains the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal instrument, which usually is capable of See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent use for See also:

MEDIUM

medium and See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short ranges as a depression instrument.

It will be seen that the difference between the two systems is, that the first described solves the range triangle in the vertical, and the latter in the horizontal plane. There have been various methods proposed for using the position-finder. The best results are obtained by placing range and bearing dials on the gun-mounting in a position where they can be easily seen by the men elevating and training the gun. The gun is kept directed upon the objective and fired as quickly as it can be loaded. A position-finder can be used for firing mines in a mine field, and See also:

INSTRUMENTS

instruments are issued to the Royal See also:

NAVY

Navy for this purpose. In the See also:

UNITED

United States of See also:

AMERICA

America the See also:

TERM

term " position-finder " is applied to a range-finder which gives direction as well as distance. This is substantially correct, but See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom, in the British service, confines the use of the expression as defined above. 4. Various appliances, not strictly range-finders, are sometimes used to assist in estimating distance. The following examples are not without See also:

INTEREST

interest: Acoustic telemeters, depending upon the velocity of See also:

sound, are obviously unsuited to the requirements of See also:

MODERN

modern warfare. The names of Thouvenin, Redier and Le Boulenge are connected with such instruments—that of the last-named is perhaps the most convenient. It consists of a graduated See also:

glass See also:

TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube filled with liquid, of suitable See also:

DENSITY (Lat. densus, thick)

density, and containing a small See also:

metal traveller.

At the flash of See also:

DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge of a gun or See also:

RIFLE

rifle the instrument is brought to a vertical position, and the traveller starts from zero; at the detonation, it is turned to a horizontal position and the traveller stops at the point on the scale indicating the range. On this principle is the rough method of ascertaining the distance, in yards, of a thunderstorm, viz. multiply the number of seconds elapsing between the See also:

PERCEPTION (from Lat. percipere, to perceive)

perception of the See also:

LIGHTNING

lightning and that of the See also:

THUNDER

thunder by the number of days in the See also:

YEAR

year. See also:

OPTICAL

Optical or See also:

PERSPECTIVE (Lat. peespicere, to see through)

perspective telemeters determine the distance to any point by observing the See also:

SIZE

size of some See also:

OBJECT

object of known dimensions, as seen in a graduated telescope. Porro's telemeter, See also:

ELLIOTT, EBENEZER (1781–1849)

Elliott's Other telescope and Nordenfelt's macrometer illustrate the prin- Tete- ciple. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief defect of the system is that the objects meters. most conveniently observed—men and horses—vary See also:

con- siderably in size, so that the See also:

ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF

assumption of a See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant See also:

DIMENSION (from Lat. dimensio, a measuring)

dimension may be productive of See also:

ERROR (Lat. error, from errare, to wander, to err)

error. On the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent of See also:

EUROPE

Europe the perspective telemeter for military purposes has attracted more See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention than in See also:

England. The See also:

French in their precise terminology See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call such an instrument " Stadia militaire," a term which at once distinguishes it from a " telemttre," and describes its nature. In rapid military sketching, in locating positions upon maps, &c., perspective telemeters find a use. The telescopes issued .to field batteries and to coast forts in See also:

France are provided with a scale in the field of view. By comparing this scale with known heights, such as the See also:

AVERAGE

average height of a man on See also:

FOOT

foot, or the known height of funnels, masts, turrets, &c., of a war-vessel, distance can be estimated with See also:

FAIR

fair accuracy. The " jumelle Souchier," which can be used as an ordinary field-glass, is constructed on the stadia principle. By its means ranges can be estimated within an accuracy of 1o%.

A stand or See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest, however, is necessary for See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good results. See also:

General Percin of the French See also:

army has shown, in an interesting pamphlet, that a piece of See also:

wood or card cut to a known fraction of the distance between the See also:

eye and the end of the thumb, when the arm is fully extended, can be used to estimate distances. Thus it is easy to find a See also:

penny in good See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of which the thickness is -th See also:

PART

part of the arm-length in a man of average height. Provided with such a See also:

coin an observer finds its rim to exactly See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover a distant man 6 ft. (or 2 yds. high). The range therefore is 400X2 =Soo yds. Similarly, if the man's height appeared to be but See also:

HALF

half the thickness of the. coin the range would be 4 X400 =1600 yds. With a little practice the eye estimates the proportion between the object of known height and the stadia used. General Percin gives many useful applications of this See also:

SIMPLE

simple See also:

DEVICE

device. Various range-finders have been produced in countries outside the British Isles which, as they are the outcome of similar necessity and required for identical purposes, naturally resemble, more or less, the instruments already described. Field artillery officers of all countries usually claim their gun to be their best range-finder. This may be another way of saying that a durable, one-man range-finder, capable of instantaneously finding modern artillery ranges with accuracy, has yet to be invented.

In France the " telemetre Goutier " for field artillery, a two-man instrument, corresponds with the Watkin mekometer. The " See also:

Gautier," used by the See also:

ITALIAN

Italian field artillery, is a one-man instrument, but requires a measured base-line. The " Aubry " telemeter, used by some of the See also:

RUSSIAN

Russian batteries in See also:

MANCHURIA

Manchuria, is very portable, but requires a measured base-line, and a slide See also:

RULE

rule to find the range. In the French and Russian See also:

INFANTRY

infantry the " prismetelemktre," the invention of Colonel Souchier, is used. It is small, very light, and can be carried in the same manner as field-glasses. French See also:

machine guns are ranged by the " telemetre instantane," an instrument of the See also:

BARR

Barr and See also:

STROUD

Stroud type, with an See also:

ALUMINIUM (symbol Al; atomic weight 27.0)

aluminium base 1 See also:

METRE ((terpuc?, sc. rFxvf, from Gr. Or poi', measure)

metre in length. For See also:

WORK

work in the field the modern tendency abroad is to follow Barr and Stroud. In See also:

Germany, See also:

HAHN, AUGUST (1792–1863)

Hahn, Goerz and Zeiss have produced handy and fairly light short base range-finders, in outward appearance more or less similar to Marindin's instrument. The Zeiss range-finder, however, depends on the stereoscopic principle. It is open to the objection that best results can only be obtained with it by persons who are capable of seeing stereoscopically, and also, in individuals possessing this particular See also:

GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift (a comparatively small proportion of the human See also:

RACE

race), stereoscopic See also:

VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

vision may vary in See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power from See also:

day to day. Nevertheless the Zeiss range-finder has found favour in many countries, notably as the infantry range-finder in See also:

Italy. For naval and harbour defence purposes the Barr and Stroud range-finder is very largely used throughout the See also:

WORLD

world.

In Italy a Barr and Stroud instrument, with the large base of 5 metres, was in 1908 under trial for coast artillery. Of the depression range-finder type in France, " le telemetre Deve " is used at all heights of about 70 ft. and upwards. See also:

Brazil possesses, in the invention of See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain See also:

MARIO, GIUSEPPE, COUNT OF CANDIA (1810-1883)

Mario Netto, an excellent range-finder. It is supplied to the harbour defences of that See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. It is accurate, handy, easily transported and re-erected where required, and is not affected by the concussion of heavy gun-fire. The See also:

German coast range-finder of Hahn closely resembles the earlier Watkin instruments. In Italy the See also:

AMICI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1786-1863)

Amici instrument is being replaced by the Braccialine. The latter inventor has also supplied his country with a horizontal base instrument. After extended competitive trials in the U.S.A. the See also:

Lewis depression range-finder has been found See also:

SUPERIOR

superior to others presented to the Range-Finding See also:

COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

Committee, and is recommended for See also:

ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption. It is a neat, workmanlike instrument, and gave an average mean error of 24 yds. in the ranges recorded during the trials. The maximum range was 12,000 yds. and the height of base 1352 ft. The details of position-finders abroad, as in the British service, are confidential, and but little is published of the " telemetre See also:

PAR (Lat. par, equal)

par recoupement " of the French coast batteries, or the " telegoniometro Sollier " of Italy.

In the United States, B. A. See also:

Fiske has ingeniously adapted the principle of the See also:

WHEATSTONE, SIR CHARLES (1802–1875)

Wheatstone See also:

BRIDGE

bridge in the construction of the position-finder which bears his name. See de Marre, Instruments pour la mesure de distances (See also:

Paris, 188o) ; Abridgments of Specifications, Class 97, Patent See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

Office, See also:

LONDON

London; Handbooks and Instructions for Range-Finder, published by the British War Office; Barr and Stroud, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 30th See also:

Jan. 1896; Zeiss pamphlet by Carl Zeiss of See also:

JENA

Jena, which gives a candid statement of the difficulty attending the stereoscopic principle, &c. (F. M.

End of Article: SUN

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