Rick
My first time at gunnery practice was in USS Mullaney, a Fletcher class
Destroyer, in 1966. I was first Ensign up as Director Officer in the 5
inch gun control director. Immediately below and just aft of that director
was a 3 inch gun. Ship's crew was exercising the secondary, 3 inch, guns
while we gunnery students were given the main 5 inch battery. Just as I was
about to give the "shoot" order to shoot at the target sled the 3 inch
opened up. I very nearly lost control of my bowels as that 3 inch went off
about 10 feet from my ear with out even knowing that they were going to
shoot. I never did like 3 inch guns from that day on. One of the
Vietnamese ships I was an advisor in had a 3 inch as a main gun. I was
never able to get use to the hard crack of that gun.
Rick Seddon
McIntosh, NM, USA
-----Original Message-----
From: Rickard Parker <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2001 12:16 PM
Subject: Re: TWL auditions?
>> Mind is fogged this morning, probably advanced dissociated sensibility
>but
>> wasn't Leman or Lehman a Sec of Navy years ago.
>
>Lehman I think. I believe it was he and the Commandant of the Marine Corp
>who had a race along the Potomac. The Commandant running along the shore
>and the Secretary in a one-man racing shell. I forgot who won.
>
>
>> And of course Oscar is the man overboard dummy a much abused creature
who
>> normally hides in the bosun locker but is brought out every now and then
>for
>> the amusement of Ensigns. He has drowned more times than not because of
>the
>> general incompetence of those children.
>
>Yep. When a man goes overboard the ship hauls up the letter "O" (Oscar)
>pennet when they look for him. Thus the name for the dummy.
>
>One Coast Guard officer of my acquantaince, a woman, was known in Officer
>Candidate School as Deadeye because of her sharpshooting ability (never
>having fired a gun before she listened to instructions.) When she was on a
>training cruise they threw over a barrel with a radar reflector for
practice
>with the 3 inch gun. "Who'll go first?" the gunnery officer asked.
>"Deadeye!" every said. Forgeting exactly what to do she asked "What do I
>do?" "Get the gun pointed at it and give the order to fire." End of
>practice, there were no more barrels. She got a direct hit and sank the
>thing with the first shot. Of course someone like this gets the desk job
at
>HQ.
>
>Regards,
> Rick Parker
>
>
>
>
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