Target Practice of Atlantic Fleet, U.S. Navy (1912)
A great fleet of battleships, grim and gray, silently sailing along at the rate of fifteen knots an hour. Suddenly these great engines of war become alive; the big guns that look so cold belch forth a terrific fire that sends enormous shells weighing about a thousand pounds, singing on their way. Their course is directed toward a dot-like object far on the horizon not visible to the naked eye. This dot is a small target six miles away, being towed by a steamer at the rate of six knots per hour. Cameras placed on the towing steamer and on the fleet show every detail of practice in superb photography from the firing of the guns to the striking of the shells. The huge missiles hit the water within a few feet of the target, or, after piercing the target itself, and bury their fury in the deep, sending geyser-like sprays high in the air. Another spectacular scene, obtained only after camera and operator were lashed to the turret of the twelve-inch guns, shows a close view of them in action. Pictures taken aboard the bullet-riddled derelict the U.S.S. San Marcos, formerly the U.S.S. Texas, of Spanish-American War fame, used now for preliminary practice, show the result of well-trained men behind the guns. There are many other scenes, all of intense interest, showing the maneuvering of the fleet and action aboard ship as if it were an actual naval engagement.
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