Predicted fire
Encyclopedia
Predicted fire is a tactical technique for the use of artillery
, enabling it to fire for effect
without alerting the enemy with ranging shots or a lengthy preliminary bombardment. The guns are laid using detailed calculations and surveys to achieve accurate fire from the first round.
. Gun laying
is based on calculations of the range and azimuth of the target relative to the gun position, without the need for ranging shots (or adjusting) or even observation of the target. Ranging shots take time, and alert the enemy both to the presence and position of the guns, and to the likelihood of an attack. Predicted fire enables enemy artillery, strongpoints or troop concentrations to be struck without warning, often shortly before a friendly attack so as to leave no time for recovery, or engagement of targets hidden from observation by friendly forces. It can be used to plan any type of fire, including concentrations or the creeping barrages
commonly used in World War I
.
Predicted fire was developed during World War I and became the main method of using field artillery
until the present day. The first battle in which the fireplan consisted entirely of predicted fire was the Battle of Cambrai
in 1917, in which the British guns were moved into pre-surveyed positions at the last moment, achieving complete tactical surprise when they commenced firing.
Predicted fire requires precise surveying of the gun position and accurate maps. Ideally all firing batteries will have been surveyed onto a common survey grid. Accurate shooting needs complicated calculations including such factors as the elevation of the target and firing position, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, gun barrel wear and even propellant batch and temperature.
The opposite of prediction is reduction, the process of calculating a target's map co-ordinates for a target registered by firing.
to compute a firing solution.
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, enabling it to fire for effect
Fire for effect
Fire for effect is a military term.According to NATO doctrine:* 1. Fire which is delivered after the mean point of impact or burst is within the desired distance of the target or adjusting/ranging point.* 2...
without alerting the enemy with ranging shots or a lengthy preliminary bombardment. The guns are laid using detailed calculations and surveys to achieve accurate fire from the first round.
Field artillery
Predicted fire aims to achieve tactical surprise when the target is to be engaged by indirect fireIndirect fire
Indirect fire means aiming and firing a projectile in a high trajectory without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire...
. Gun laying
Gun laying
Gun laying is the process of aiming an artillery piece, such as a gun, howitzer or mortar on land or at sea against surface or air targets. It may be laying for direct fire, where the gun is aimed similarly to a rifle, or indirect fire, where firing data is calculated and applied to the sights...
is based on calculations of the range and azimuth of the target relative to the gun position, without the need for ranging shots (or adjusting) or even observation of the target. Ranging shots take time, and alert the enemy both to the presence and position of the guns, and to the likelihood of an attack. Predicted fire enables enemy artillery, strongpoints or troop concentrations to be struck without warning, often shortly before a friendly attack so as to leave no time for recovery, or engagement of targets hidden from observation by friendly forces. It can be used to plan any type of fire, including concentrations or the creeping barrages
Barrage (artillery)
A barrage is a line or barrier of exploding artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated aiming of a large number of guns firing continuously. Its purpose is to deny or hamper enemy passage through the line of the barrage, to attack a linear position such as a line of trenches or to neutralize...
commonly used in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Predicted fire was developed during World War I and became the main method of using field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
until the present day. The first battle in which the fireplan consisted entirely of predicted fire was the Battle of Cambrai
Battle of Cambrai
The Battle of Cambrai was a British campaign of the First World War. Cambrai, in the Nord département , was a key supply point for the German Siegfried Stellung and the nearby Bourlon Ridge would be an excellent gain from which to threaten the rear of the German line to the north...
in 1917, in which the British guns were moved into pre-surveyed positions at the last moment, achieving complete tactical surprise when they commenced firing.
Predicted fire requires precise surveying of the gun position and accurate maps. Ideally all firing batteries will have been surveyed onto a common survey grid. Accurate shooting needs complicated calculations including such factors as the elevation of the target and firing position, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, gun barrel wear and even propellant batch and temperature.
The opposite of prediction is reduction, the process of calculating a target's map co-ordinates for a target registered by firing.
AAA
Predicted fire is also used by anti-aircraft guns, using a device called a predictor or directorDirector (military)
A director, also called an auxiliary predictor, is a mechanical or electronic computer that continuously calculates trigonometric firing solutions for use against a moving target, and transmits targeting data to direct the weapon firing crew....
to compute a firing solution.