The Aiming Circle instrument allows an artillery crew to have an indirect method for aiming the Howitzer. This is essential because these crews are often firing at targets that are far away or not visible, so accuracy depends on precise geometry rather than line-of-sight aiming.
The aiming circle is set up at a surveyed position near the artillery piece. It’s carefully leveled and oriented to a known reference direction, often using grid coordinates, a surveyed azimuth, or astronomical observations. Once oriented, it acts like a very precise compass combined with a telescope.
Using the instrument, the operator can measure exact horizontal angles (azimuths). The crew places aiming posts (visible markers) in line with the desired firing direction as determined by fire control data. The aiming circle ensures those posts are positioned at the correct angle relative to the reference direction.
The howitzer crew then aligns the weapon’s sighting system with those aiming posts. Because the posts were positioned using the precise angular measurements from the aiming circle, aligning the gun to them effectively points the howitzer in the correct direction.
In short, the aiming circle:
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