Artillery observer

Description[edit]

Because artillery is an indirect fire weapon system, the guns are rarely in line-of-sight of their target, often located miles away.^[2] The observer serves as the eyes of the guns, by sending target locations and if necessary corrections to the fall of shot, usually by radio. Equipment used in the observer role ranges from binoculars to laser rangefinders to unmanned aerial vehicles. When attached to a special forces unit, an artillery observer is often tasked with coordinating fire from long-range artillery guns against high-value targets such as enemy headquarters. This is in contrast to an artillery observer's typical work with field/line artillery, which works in support of its own combat group. Such patrols may also form into 'stay behind' parties which deliberately hide in special observation hides as the main force fights a withdrawal.


Broadly, there are two very different approaches to artillery observation. Either the observer has command authority and orders fire, including the type and amount of ammunition to be fired, to batteries. Or the observer requests fire from an artillery headquarters at some level, which decides if fire will be provided, by which batteries, and the type and amount of ammunition to be provided. The first is characterized by the British, the second by the United States. In World War II both Germany and the Soviet Union tended towards the British method. In the British system, the observer sends a fire order to their own and any other batteries authorized to them, and may request fire from additional batteries. Each battery command post converts the fire orders into firing data for its own guns. Until post-World War II the observer would usually order actual firing data to the guns of their own troop, this was enabled by the use of calibrating sights on the guns.


In the U.S. system, the observer sends a request for fire, usually to their battalion or battery Fire Direction Center (FDC). The FDC then decides how much fire to permit and may request additional fire from a higher artillery headquarters. FDC(s) convert the observer's target information into firing data for the battery's weapons. The equivalent of an artillery observer for close air support is a forward air controller, while for the equivalent for naval gunfire support is a spotter. For general fire support, the position is known as a fire support specialist (FiSTer) or simply an observer.