It is an artillery "Safety T". It shows the maximum and minimum QE (Quadrant Elevation - vertical angle of barrel) and DF (DeFlection - horizontal angle of barrel) for each type of round and fuze to be fired at a specific firing point, FP415 in this case, w/an elevation of 305 meters above sea level, when firing charge 4 Green Bag, low angle. As long as your settings are between the max and min QE at the given DFs, your round will land safely in the impact area. If it is greater or less than the given QE or to the right or left of the given DF, you are firing out of safe (out of the established impact area/safety box) and possibly jeopardizing someones life.

direct fire is much simplier. Dan

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direct fire is much simplier. Dan

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Any decent gunner should be able to hit a target they can see. Hitting a target 12+ km from your position that the gunner CAN'T see, now THAT's gunnery

I have shot my share of direct fire out of a 155, and I learned the art from a Korean War vet. Anything over 2000 yards is guess work unless targets are pre-registered.
A good rule of the thumb is to put the barrel in a negative elevation on a charge one or even three green bag. You learn where the round goes off from playing the game. Two thousand yards is charge three territory. The trick is to be good at estimating the climb of the round during flight. If the gun moves an inch during recoil, you get to start using KY windage. Plus you can't see a thing after dark.
Two hundred yards and less is actually easier once you learn the game. I've shot WP with a charge one and one to one and a half secounds on a 565 fuse. First round scares you to death! You get used to it.
Gary

Things do change over time.

Direct Fire

11-32. Direct fire is a special technique that demands a high level of training and requires the howitzer
section to operate as an independent unit. Considerations for the use of direct fire include trajectory, target
type, and ammunition.

11-33. Trajectory characteristics change with respect to range to target and charge fired. To produce the
highest muzzle velocity and a flat trajectory, always use the maximum charge available. Shorter ranges are
the most accurate to engage a target, because the trajectory is flattest. Intermediate ranges provide a
trajectory flat enough to allow direct estimation of range without actually bracketing the target.

ATP 3-09.50
MAY 2016

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I have shot my share of direct fire out of a 155, and I learned the art from a Korean War vet. Anything over 2000 yards is guess work unless targets are pre-registered.
A good rule of the thumb is to put the barrel in a negative elevation on a charge one or even three green bag. You learn where the round goes off from playing the game. Two thousand yards is charge three territory. The trick is to be good at estimating the climb of the round during flight. If the gun moves an inch during recoil, you get to start using KY windage. Plus you can't see a thing after dark.
Two hundred yards and less is actually easier once you learn the game. I've shot WP with a charge one and one to one and a half secounds on a 565 fuse. First round scares you to death! You get used to it.
Gary

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Things do change over time.

Direct Fire

11-32. Direct fire is a special technique that demands a high level of training and requires the howitzer
section to operate as an independent unit. Considerations for the use of direct fire include trajectory, target
type, and ammunition.

11-33. Trajectory characteristics change with respect to range to target and charge fired. To produce the
highest muzzle velocity and a flat trajectory, always use the maximum charge available. Shorter ranges are
the most accurate to engage a target, because the trajectory is flattest. Intermediate ranges provide a
trajectory flat enough to allow direct estimation of range without actually bracketing the target.

ATP 3-09.50
MAY 2016

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Things do change over time.

Direct Fire

11-32. Direct fire is a special technique that demands a high level of training and requires the howitzer
section to operate as an independent unit. Considerations for the use of direct fire include trajectory, target
type, and ammunition.

11-33. Trajectory characteristics change with respect to range to target and charge fired. To produce the
highest muzzle velocity and a flat trajectory, always use the maximum charge available. Shorter ranges are
the most accurate to engage a target, because the trajectory is flattest. Intermediate ranges provide a
trajectory flat enough to allow direct estimation of range without actually bracketing the target.

ATP 3-09.50
MAY 2016

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Well, maybe not so much:

Section II. DIRECT LAYING, GENERAL

29. General

a. Firing by direct laying is a technique that demands special training. The section must operate as an independent unit.

. . .

32. Conduct of fire

b. Ammunition and Fuzes.

. . . When using high explosive shell, charge 7 is used habitually for speed, ease in adjustment, imparting forward motion to fragments, and more effective fuze action.

FM 6-74
March 1954

KL

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direct fire is much simplier. Dan

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Any decent gunner should be able to hit a target they can see. Hitting a target 12+ km from your position that the gunner CAN'T see, now THAT's gunnery

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Really harder than you think. The sight works off aiming stakes posted to the rear normally, while your looking elsewhere. Usually just look thru the bore of the tube, and guess from there! That's why you try to pre-register targets well ahead of time.

My post was in response to Tricky's, . . .