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1 · — — — — 2 · · — — — 3 · · · — — 4 · · · · — 5 · · · · · |
6 — · · · · 7 — — · · · 8 — — — · · 9 — — — — · 0 — — — — — |
A space about equal in length to the dash is left between each letter, and a time interval of about three times the duration between each word. This alphabet, once learned, it is evident can be utilized in many ways. Steamers, by means of short and long whistles, can spell out messages to each other; seamen, across a harbour, can communicate by waving their arms; prisoners by opening and shutting their hands. It is also utilised in the light-flashes of the heliograph, in telegraphy again, and in various other directions.
Classes are held at the School of Army Signalling at Aldershot, and from thence the knowledge permeates the Army and the Auxiliary Forces.[[84]] The requirements are steadiness, intelligence, quickness of eye-sight and of action, and the power to spell correctly; and it takes a man from fifteen to twenty days, at five hours drill a day, to learn the alphabet and the proper manipulation of the flags. The standard of efficiency is ten words a minute with the large flag or sixteen with the small. If our readers will take the trouble to count the letters in the first sixteen words in this present sentence they
will find that they are sixty-nine in number, and they will further find, if they take the additional trouble to translate these letters into Morse, that it will take 105 dots and 60 dashes to do it. Our readers will probably then go on to conclude that as it takes one hundred and sixty-five motions of the flag, plus sixty-eight intervals between the letters to signal these sixteen words, a speed of ten words a minute is a very creditable performance either for the sender to work off or for the receiver to read.
Besides the ordinary spelling out of the words, various arbitrary signs are used, thus a continued succession of dots · · · · · · is used to call attention to the fact that a message is going to be sent, and a series of dashes — — — — — — means that it is finished. G means "go on," R is a request to "move more to the right" and L to "shift a little to the left"; B means "use the blue flag," and W "use the white flag," K.Q is "say when you are ready," F.I means that figures are coming, and F.F indicates that the figures are finished. Those who have to receive the message may see that the background behind the transmitter is not quite satisfactory for the due observation of the flags, and they may then flash back H or O, meaning either "higher up" or "lower down," as the case may be, and in case of any misunderstanding, they will signal I.M.I, which means "please repeat," and as soon as all is clear, they will signal R.T, meaning "all right."
As our man-of-war's-men are also instructed in this system of signalling, communication can be established during an expedition between the ships and the troops on shore. The signal for communication is a white pendant with two black X.X on it. Should this special flag not be forthcoming, the X.X — · · — — · · — (see code of letters) is flashed at night or waved by the flag by day, and as soon as the preparative dots · · · · · · have been acknowledged, the message is dispatched. When the message is of a general character, nothing more need be done, but when it is intended for a particular vessel, the communication is preceded by the special sign apportioned to that vessel.
Though the Morse system has its place, as we have seen, in the drill of our blue-jackets, it does not altogether meet naval requirements. A man waving flags on board ship would be a scarcely conspicuous enough object, and intermediate vessels in a squadron would block out all view of him from those farthest off, hence naval communications are ordinarily made by means of flags exhibited from the mast head or other clearly visible position. Instead of one flag being used, our men-of-war have over forty, and these are all conspicuously distinct from each other. The messages are not spelt out, as in land operations, but the flags are used in various combinations, and the meaning of the signal is found by reference to a
code-book. These flags, it is arithmetically evident, can be transposed and grouped in some thousands of different ways, and the code-book contains questions and answers to meet the very varied requirements of naval service, and the special signal hoist for each.
The first real attempt at sea-signalling was made during the reign of Charles II., when a series of signs of the most arbitrary character was devised, consisting for the most part of flags hoisted in various parts of the ship, and altering their significance as their locality was changed. The system was a very cumbrous one, and in 1780 Kempenfeldt, the Commander of the ill-fated Royal George, improved to some extent upon it, but even then the result was not very brilliant. Lord Howe, in 1792, could only make a total of one hundred and eighty-three signals. As yet, however, it had never struck anybody how much simplicity and advantage would be gained by employing numbered or lettered flags, and then using them in the thousands of combinations that such a system rendered possible. It is stated by various authorities—and even authorities have a way of copying from each other—that flags were numbered for the first time about the year 1799, but in the Library of the Royal United Service Institution may be seen "An Essay on Signals, by an Officer of the British Navy," bearing the date 1788.[[85]] The flags were numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, and they are represented in our illustrations by Figs. [287], [288], [289], [290], [291], [292], [293], [294], [295], and [296]. It will be seen that they are all of a very clear and distinct character. When such a number as 444 was required, it would appear to be necessary to have three flags like Fig. [290]—the No. 4 of the series—but to avoid this multiplication of identical flags, a red triangular flag called a decimal, a white triangular called a centenary, and a blue triangular called a millenary, were used, and these were placed as required before the unit to be repeated. By this plan 444 would be expressed by the yellow flag, the No. 4, having below it the red and white pennants. Sometimes these flags really meant numbers, and then the required number was hoisted, plus a yellow swallow-tailed flag. Thus in answer to "How many guns does she carry?" if the response should be fifty, the five and the nought flags, Figs. [290] and [296], plus the swallowtail or cornet, as it is technically called, would be hoisted, while the same five-nought signal, without the cornet, would signify "whole fleet change course four points to starboard."
If we want to find the English equivalent of some German word, we turn to the German-English half of our dictionary, but if we