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That, “ they said, “ is the most difficult thing in the world to hit. It is so distinct that it looks easy, but the whole thing is an illusion.”I do not understand completely the optics of the situation; but it seems that the skyline creates a kind of mirage, so that it is practically impossible to hit anything at that point, except by accident. The gunner might get what was apparently a perfect sight, yet his shell would go wild. The record of  Dardanos had been little short of marvellous. Up to March 18, the ships had fired at it about  4,000 shells. One turret had been hit by a splinter, which had also scratched the paint, another had been hit and slightly bent in, and another had been hit near the base and a piece about the size of a man’s hand had been knocked out. But not a single gun had been even slightly damaged.

"Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story", (Kessinger Publications), p. 135

 battery. My hosts called my attention to its location;  it was perched on the top of the hill, in full view of the ships, forming itself a part of the skyline. Dardanos was merely five stell turrets, each armed with a gun, approached by a winding trench.

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last updated : 20/02/07

I was much puzzled by the fact that the Allied fleet, despite its large expenditures of ammunution, had not been able to hit this Dardanos emplacement. I naturally thought at first that such a failure indicated poor marksmanship, but my German guides said that this was not the case. All this misfire merely illustrated once more the familiar fact that a rapidly manoeuvring battleship is under a great disadvantage in shooting at a fixed fortification. But there was another point involved in the Dardanos

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