Alston Hamilton. Ballistics. Part I

Fort Monroe, Virginia: Coast Artillery School Press, 1908. — 130 p.Prepared for the Department of Artillery and Gun Defense.I. Fundamental hypotheses. The trajectory in vacuo. Comparison with trajectories in air. Ballistic ratios. Rigidity of the trajectory. Limits of application. Examples.II. The ballistic coefficient and motion in air. Nature of the ballistic coefficient. Factors entering it. Exercises.III. The use of table II, artillery circular M. The principal ballistic functions for direct fire. Interpolation. Exercises.IV. The computation of range tables. Range-table or normal conditions. Abnormal conditions. Illustrative example. Exercises.V. Range corrections. Classification. Method of computation. Illustrative examples. Interpolation by differences. Exercises.VI. Deflection corrections. Cross-wind. Drift. Exercises. Perforation. K.C. armor. Formulas and tables. Exercises.VII. High angle fire. Data. Reduction of data to range-table conditions, by use of range-correction formulas. Principles governing the establishment of zones. Finding maximum range by differences. Exercises. Applications to 12" mortar, 1046 pound projectile. Trial shots with heavy mortars, and range corrections in mortar fire.VIII. The computation of mortar range tables. Perforations in deck armor. Drift. Wind deflection. Exercises.IX. Gunnery. Range scales. Position finding service, general description. Practice. Calibration. Accuracy. Exercises.Appendix I. The atmospheric density factor delta/delta. Derivation of formula. The altitude factor: derivation of formula. Appendix II. The wind factor. Derivation of formula.
Appendix III. Interpolation by differences. Method of differences, as applied to interpolation of any number of intermediate values. Use of differences in detecting errors of calculation or observation. Illustrative examples.
Applications: I. To the calculation of range tables. II. To the calculation of range corrections. Tables. Exercises.
Appendix IV. The wind-deflection function. Calculation and tabulation. Tables.
Appendix V. Related charges for mortars. Application to 12" mortar.
Appendix VI. The reducing factor, and the necessity for its use.
Appendix VII. Curvature of the earth.
Appendix VIII. High angle fire. Range corrections. Tables of high angle fire ratios. Reducing factor, in absence of firings. Elevation of maximum range. Computation of time of flight with V, phi, X observed.
Appendix IX. Drift.