Duties of officers and lower ranks of plutongs and other ranks of artillery specialty in 1903–1907.
Having considered the duties of the senior artillery officer and personnel of observation posts, we move on to the guns.
Plutong Commanders
In 1903, the artillery command structure was, in my opinion, overcomplicated. There were batteries that were perfectly adequate for maintaining materiel in peacetime, but inconvenient for operating guns in combat. Therefore, the ship's artillery was further divided into plutongs, with some plutongs not belonging to any battery. Some plutongs were also grouped together.
In 1907, the organizational structure of the ship's artillery was reduced to the presence of plutongs - this seemed more convenient.
The commander of the 1907 plutongs was appointed by the ship's commander from among the watch officers and officers. Only for plutongs with guns of less than 75 mm caliber were artillery quartermasters allowed to be appointed commanders due to a shortage of officers.
In terms of duties, a plutong commander was a miniature senior artillery officer, responsible for the proper functioning of materiel, personnel training, and artillery command in combat—within the confines of his plutong, of course. The 1907 "Rules" stipulated that the plutong commander's area of responsibility included the materiel—not only the guns, but also the means for supplying shells and charges, as well as the ammunition magazines and the rooms in which all of this was located—both in combat and in peacetime. If several plutongs were located in a single compartment, the senior plutong commander was in charge of that compartment, with the other commanders serving as his subordinates.
The 1903 "Instructions" did not regulate this issue. However, the duties of plutong commanders in combat in 1903 and 1907 were largely the same, but there were some differences.
Thus, in 1903, the plutong commander was required to ensure that the guns were supplied with the type of shells designated by the artillery fire director. The "Instructions" described a dial that provided the corresponding instructions, and even stipulated that the plutong commander must personally (by voice) transmit the data to the ammunition magazines. But in 1907, the "Rules" contained nothing of the sort—the procedure for transmitting information from the command post to the plutongs regarding the type of shells to fire was not described. Furthermore, it stipulated that the plutong commander made the decision on the type of shells to fire independently.
At the same time, it's difficult to imagine that the decision about which shells to fire—armor-piercing or high-explosive—was left to the discretion of the plutongs, especially since this could have resulted in a single target being bombarded with different shells simultaneously. I'm inclined to believe that this issue was poorly formulated in the "Rules," and that in reality, the choice of shells was only granted to the plutong commander when centralized fire control was abandoned and a switch to plutong-based fire control was made.
In 1903, one of the duties of a plutong commander was to indicate to the gunners which part of an enemy ship to aim for. In 1907, perhaps due to the increasing range of artillery engagements, this requirement was no longer enforced.
In 1903, there was a rule that a gun should never have more than two shell holders—apparently to reduce the force of the explosion if these stores were hit by the enemy. In 1907, the "Rules" also set this goal, but less specifically: "Make sure that the ammunition supplied does not accumulate near the gun.".
In 1907, the plutong commander was responsible for sealing watertight doors, hatches, and manholes in the compartment assigned to him. In 1903, this requirement was absent from the "Instructions."
In 1903, the plutong commander was required to ensure that gun crews were not exposed to unnecessary danger: for example, during periods of inactivity of the 75-mm artillery, he was required to take measures to send their crews behind armor protection. In 1907, this requirement was reformulated and required commanders of anti-tornado artillery plutongs, when their crews were removed from combat protection, to organize their timely return to their guns. The reason for this change was that in 1903, guns of different calibers were allowed to be combined into a plutong, meaning the plutong commander had both medium (6-inch) and anti-tornado (75-mm, 47-mm) calibers at his disposal, despite the fact that six-inch guns were usually protected by armor, while anti-tornado caliber guns were not always so. In 1907, the plutong included guns of one caliber, which meant that the plutong commander either had all of his crews behind the armor, or none at all.
In 1903, the plutong commander was required to report all damage and other important events to the command post. In 1907, his duties were limited to reporting only those damages that the plutong commander could not repair himself.
In 1903, one of the plutong commanders was also the battery commander. He did not interfere with the combat command of his battery's plutongs, but was required to assist their commanders with problems such as removing the wounded, replacing crew members, and ensuring the supply of ammunition, which the plutong commanders could not handle independently, or which required the cooperation of several plutongs. In 1907, the "Rules" did not stipulate the position of battery commander, and accordingly, no requirements were established for them.
In 1903, the "Instructions" required the plutong commander to maintain silence in the compartment—this was necessary for the vocal transmission of instructions. In 1907, the plutong commander no longer had this responsibility.
Otherwise, the duties of a plutong commander in 1903 and 1907 were extremely similar. In combat, he was responsible for:
1. Ensure that the guns precisely carry out all instructions given to them by the command post.
2. If communication with the command post is interrupted, take measures to restore it within your capabilities.
3. In the event of a transition, non-plutong fire - organize the fire of your plutong, essentially performing the functions of the ship's senior artillery officer, but only within the limits of your plutong, of course.
4. Ensure repairs to equipment damaged by combat or other causes. This included both the guns themselves and other equipment, including elevators, lighting, etc.
5. Organize the removal of cartridge cases.
6. Manage the removal of the wounded and the replacement of servants.
7. Ensure fire extinguishing, sealing of holes, and isolation of rooms with holes.
With centralized fire control and in 1903, the plutong commander had to:
1. Check that the sights' front sights are set according to the ship's speed shown on the dials (only for mechanical sights; this was not required for optical sights).
2. Check that the sights are set to the distance indicated by the dials.
3. Independently calculate the rear sight setting using firing tables, unless the size of this correction has been transmitted from the command post via telephone or voice communication.
In 1907, the duties were similar with one exception: since the rear sight adjustment was transmitted centrally, via the appropriate dial, the duties of the plutong commanders included recalculating the transmitted correction for the caliber of the guns of their plutong.
As for controlling the sight installation, there is an interesting nuance here.
The fact is that gun sights for elevation (i.e., the rear sight for traverse) were marked with divisions in tenths of a degree. At the same time, the distance to the enemy was expressed in cable lengths. Accordingly, it was necessary to convert these cable lengths into degrees of elevation.
There were two ways to do this. The most convenient was to use special insertable rails marked with cable lengths instead of fractions of a degree. These rails were intended for live ammunition and training barrels. They were installed directly on the gun, so the sight could be set to the specified distance, rather than using fractions of a degree.
Another method was firing tables. These indicated how many divisions the sight should be set to for each range, how long the projectile would travel to those divisions, the rear sight offsets to eliminate drift, windage corrections, target movement, and so on.
It's quite obvious that the inserted rails had to comply with firing tables, which is why the rail had to indicate the firing table number on which it was based. In 1903, one rail per sight for firing live ammunition was required; by 1907, as can be judged from the context of the "Rules," there were already several such rails, as well as firing tables for different firing conditions.
I can only speculate on how widespread inserted rails were in 1903, how exactly their use was organized, and when they were used and when not. But in any case, it's quite clear that if firing was conducted using inserted rails, the plutong commander checked the sight's alignment with the distance indicated by the dials. If firing was conducted using tables, however, there's some uncertainty. Most likely, the plutong commander determined the elevation angle himself, using the firing tables, communicated it to the gunners, and checked its setting. However, there is information that the gunners could use the firing tables themselves, but this most likely occurred when the plutong commander was incapacitated and there was no one left to replace him.
Assistant to the Plutong Commander
In 1907, a plutong commander was entitled to a deputy in the position of artillery quartermaster. Moreover, if a plutong had more than two guns, there would be one deputy for each pair of guns. In 1903, such a "luxury" was considered unaffordable: the plutong commander appointed his deputy from among the gunners at his disposal.
The duties of the assistant to the plutong commander in 1907 were formulated very briefly: to ensure the precise execution of the orders of the command post and the plutong commander by the crews of the guns assigned to him and to replace the plutong commander in the event of his absence. Since the assistant to the plutong commander in 1903 was the gunner, he performed his assigned duties during combat without being distracted by other duties: his only responsibility in this position was to deputize for the plutong commander.
Gun crew
The number of crews for guns of various calibers was not regulated by either the 1903 "Instructions" or the 1907 "Rules" - they were established by other documents. But the "Rules" stipulated that for 10-12-inch guns there were three gunners per gun, for smaller-caliber guns up to and including 120 mm - two gunners, and for guns of less than 120 mm - one gunner. Here it should be noted that the 4-inch guns of the 1911 model, which armed the famous "Noviks", were, for obvious reasons, not in service in 1907. fleet They weren't members, so the "Rules" didn't apply to them. According to the "Rules," the gun crew (not all of them) had the following positions.
The owner of the weapon. One of the gunners was appointed to this position; he was responsible for:
1. Maintaining the gun and the nearest supply of shells and other material at his disposal in full working order.
2. Familiarization with the equipment of the gun crew.
Gunner. His duties were apparently so obvious that they were not specified in the "Rules"; it was only mentioned that if the gun had two sights, it was supposed to have two gunners, one of whom carried out vertical aiming and fired the shot, and the second - horizontal aiming.
Sight and rear sight installer. His tasks included installing the sight and rear sight:
1. During centralized fire - according to data from dials or other means of transmitting information, while the installer of the sight and rear sight himself observed the dials and, as the distances and rear sight changed, adjusted the sight and rear sight on the gun.
2. During the fire of the pluton, he did the same, receiving instructions about the sight and rear sight from the pluton commander.
3. During gunfire, he did the same, receiving instructions from the gunners.
If the sight and rear sight were installed by the gunners, the job of the sight and rear sight installer was to monitor the dials and inform the gunners of new instructions.
At this point, the esteemed reader might ask: why do we need gunners if someone else is setting the sights and rear sights? But the rear sight itself is just an adjustment.
Typically, the aiming point was the enemy ship's stem at the waterline. If the enemy ship was far away and moving fast, it was quite possible that the shell, having covered the distance separating the warships, would fall astern of the target. This is why the rear sight adjustment was made—to provide a lead. With a rifle, we can aim ahead of the target to achieve a lead, but this is inconvenient when aiming a gun. Therefore, with the same iron sights, the sight and rear sight adjuster would adjust the front sight so that when the gunner aimed at the target's stem, the ship's barrel would aim ahead of the stem, providing the required lead.
Thus, the sight and rear sight installer set the appropriate correction for the rear sight, but aiming the gun at the target's stem was the gunner's job.
As for elevation, if the gun were on land, the gunner would set the sight to the desired value and act as the gunner. But at sea, the gun is constantly moving, requiring the gunner to compensate for pitching and rolling. This was accomplished by aiming the gun so that when the ship, listing to its firing side, came to a stop, the sight would be slightly below the target. Then, when the side began to rise, but had not yet gained much speed, and the gun's aiming line "reached" the base of the target (usually the waterline), the gunner fired.
Lock number. He was appointed from among the gunners, or, if there was a shortage, from among the other gun crews. His duties were not specified in the "Rules."
The "Rules" also stated that gun crews must be trained to be able to replace gunners, sight and rear sight installers, and lock-on operators. At the same time, it was specifically stipulated that "troikas" of a single gun—two gunners and a sight and rear sight installer—must always train together.
Other ship ranks of artillery specialty
We won't dwell on them in detail. In 1907, the "Rules" established the following ranks:
Artillery conductors Their primary task was to maintain the guns in working order and repair battle damage. During combat, they were assigned to different compartments to ensure the fastest possible repairs, but could be called upon to work anywhere on the ship.
Gunsmiths — were subordinate to the artillery conductors, two masters per conductor.
Galvanized conductors — the same duties as those of artillery conductors, but in relation to the electrical part of the artillery, primarily in relation to electrical signaling (dials) and, apparently, telephone communications.
Galvanizer quartermasters - assistant galvanizing conductors.
Galvanizers — unlike all the aforementioned lower ranks, they were assigned to specific control devices and gun turrets or feed.
Thank you for attention!
Information