How the Dover Patrol repaired aircraft spotting

Fixed shore stations near Nieuport exposed substantial discrepancies with aircraft reports, and scale-plan tests confirmed that aviators could not reliably estimate distance from altitude. Bacon's revised method had observers memorize the measured positions of recognizable landmarks relative to the line of fire and aiming point instead of judging each splash afresh. Every firing adjustment and aerial report then returned to his office for analysis, discouraging director officers from guessing corrections. Full corrections were applied outside 300 yards in range or 50 yards in direction, with half corrections inside those limits. The feedback exposed errors in both observation and gun laying and produced much better later results. The method made fire control an institutional learning system built around shared reference points, correction rules, and feedback.