USO Canteen FReeper Style....Gunnery Mates....Thank You....June 26,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

USS Bulkeley

The primary job of the Gunnery Division is to maintain and operate all shipboard weapons systems.

Normal day to day tasks include ensuring all weapons systems are functioning properly and prepared for such evolutions as surface and air combat and exercises, as well as ensuring that the weapons are available for any law enforcement need. Gunnery Division is also responsible for providing small arms training to all Boarding Team Members.

Within Gunnery Division there are two different rates...Gunner's Mates (GM) and Fire Control Technicians (FT). Gunner's Mates primarily deal with the actual firing weapons and their associated ordnance while FT's primarily work with radar systems specifically designed for targeting and firing long range weapons.

Chief Gunner's Mate (SW) Virgil Kilpatrick, an instructor at Fleet Combat Training Center (FCTCLANT) Atlantic, has spent the last three years providing Sailors with skills he hoped they would never truly need -- operating and maintaining shipboard weapons systems in war.

Gunner's mates work in almost every kind of Navy environment: ship, shore, in the United States or overseas. Their work and specialties may involve indoor or outdoor situations, clean or dirty work, deck or shop, and any kind of climate or temperature. They work alone or with others, independently or closely supervised. Their work can be both mental and physical.

River Boat Gunnery Mate.......Vietnam

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the campaign against terrorism, training commands like FCTCLANT are at the ground floor of the battle.

Veteran Sailors like Kilpatrick are in classrooms, laboratories and simulators, arming their students with the tools to fight terror.

According to GM1(SW) George Cumings, careless safety procedure can be a gunner's mate's deadliest enemy.

"It is important to take your time and go through all your steps, whether you're operating the gun or performing maintenance," Cumings said. "If you don't, you can get yourself -- and your shipmates -- killed."

Technology has changed the face of naval training during the past two decades. For gunner's mates, computer literacy has become nearly as important as skill with a weapon.

"Gunner's mates do a lot more than just fire guns," said Kilpatrick, a 17-year Navy veteran. "It may not seem like a technical rating, but it is."

Battleship Iowa firing its guns on the starboard side. You can see it shoving the ship sideways thru the water. What power unleashed! For those who don't know about these guns (the 16 inchers) they can fire a shell weighing as much as a VW Beetle 30 miles thru the air with some accuracy. That is awesome! Of course, we no longer have these ships in our naval service. They have all been decommissioned and mothballed or disposed of in some other manner.

What They Do:

The duties performed by GMs include:
operating and maintaining guided missile launching systems, rocket launchers, gun mounts and other ordnance systems and equipment;

training and supervising crews in the use of all types of ordnance equipment, from large caliber guns and missile systems to small arms;

stowing, securing, requisitioning and reclassifying explosives:
operating and maintaining magazine flooding and sprinkling systems;

making mechanical, electrical and electronic casualty analysis using technical publications, circuit diagrams and blueprints;

repairing, maintaining, testing and calibrating ordnance equipment;
servicing hydraulic and pneumatic systems;

repairing, maintaining, testing and calibrating microprocessing equipment;
repairing damaged hydraulic sealing surfaces, mating areas and threads;

performing mechanical wire connections including soldering; operating and maintaining night optical devices;

operating optical scanning and marking devices to label, identify and report explosives' utilization/expenditure.

This 5"/62 caliber gun can be used to defend against ships or planes.

And this big ship has all the latest in weapons technology: Using the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, the ship's crew can launch up to 96 missiles, including Standard surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk surface-to-surface missiles and VLA antisubmarine missiles--64 from the back of the ship or 32 from the front. USS Bulkeley is also equipped with two MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems and a 5"/62 caliber deck-mounted gun, which uses Extended Range Guided Munitions projectiles and looks like a machine gun on steroids. According to one crewman, the 5"/62 is so powerful that once when it was fired from the front of the ship, he could feel his pant legs shaking, even though he was standing at the stern.

USS Bulkeley's MK 41 Vertical Launching System fires a combination of Standard surface-to-air and Tomahawk surface-to-surface missiles.

There's a story about John Paul Jones' chief gunners mate. It was during the gore and thunder of that most historic battle. He was loading and firing cannon and carrying the wounded to the medical officer, cutting away the tangled rigging. And apparently in the midst of that first fight, John Paul Jones went below momentarily and changed into a new uniform. And as he emerged on deck a voice rang out through the smoke and fire -- it was the British captain asking, ``Have you struck your colors?'' And the gunners mate, sweat and blood dripping from his body, turned and saw Jones now in his fresh uniform reply: ``I have not yet begun to fight.'' And the gunners mate said, ``There's always somebody who didn't get the word.''

The challenge is great. Our Navy is meeting a heavier responsibility than we had in the sixties and meeting it with fewer ships. And that means the officers and crew of every vessel must work harder, carry a heavier load, and endure longer, more strenuous cruises.

Men and women on these and other ships are under great stress, handling advanced weapons systems and sophisticated equipment. And that's all the more reason to salute them after setting a new record for aircraft safety last year. Many who served could easily have better paying civilian jobs. Sailors on the carriers are away from their families 70 percent of the time; yet 60 percent of these fine young people reenlist.

In today's Navy, as with the other services, the Reserves are playing an increasingly important role. Who are they? Citizens concerned about the future of this country and determined to do their part. They share their time, energy, and talent to keep America strong, safe, and free.

[Jen]

Good morning gals and guys! I'm not much of a cook, so I can't offer you a lavish breakfast like some of the Canteeners, but I found some muffins in the kitchen that look good. I just made coffee, so help yourself.

[Jen]

Let's just say I like staying worm-free! hehehe

[lodwick]

Fascinating information on St.Barbara.
Thanks so much for your history lessons.

[Jen]

I'm doing OK. Thanks for the prayers, you are so sweet and such a good friend, Sassy. Kneezles too!

[lodwick]

[tomkow6]

Mornin' Jen!
I'd rather have about six eggs, over easy, rasher of bacon, hash browns, hot buttered toast with strawberry preserves, & a couple of gallons of good coffee.

[RaceBannon]

Look like Snow Bunny is selling Kisses!!

I've got a ten spot, will that give me at least a longing glance?...(sigh)...

[larryjohnson]

I just drank a mug of french press coffee. Ready for the gym. I hope you are all well. Lupines are almost 3 feet tall but can't block my view(I'm taller).

[sleavelessinseattle]

Hey...Caffeine is GOOD! The Squeeky Sleavester gets the BADASS bird pictures!!! I'm LIKIN THIS!!!

I've seen an eagle fly right over my head out to a flock of Seagulls fishing over a school of herring and it is like watching a B1 come in low and unstoppable...it knocked those birds off that fishing spot like a brown and white HURRICANE...it was a cloudy day and there was a ray of sunlight right over the battlesite.Really surreal!...Wish I could have taped it for my Freeper friends...I'll talk any of you in to the spot where it happened...A FREE campground with a perennial eagles nest right IN IT. Talk about not needing a wakeup call!!! Eagles only say one thing in the morning...If I see you you are my BREAKFAST!!!

[sleavelessinseattle]

I just drank a mug of french press coffee.

BTW...French press is a GREAT system...Coarse ground coffee Preheated carafe...go fast...GOOD BREW...I first saw one used in "The IPcress File"...Fantastic Cold War Spy flick with Michael Caine as The Irrepressible BABE-magnet spy, "Harry Palmer". GRITTY Brit films...

Spend the extra 5 bucks and get a pound of Arabica Sanini from Starbucks sometime...You won't regret it...BR SS

[tomkow6]

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE
LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her
brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They
always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same
time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of
milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's
lap.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge . . .mostly sweet, with a
few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that
held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the
inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the
fiber, not the joy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the
preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do
while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation
from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller
coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but
nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy
beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes
alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

[SAMWolf]

Man! The Navy had all the really fun guns!

[sleavelessinseattle]

Hmm...Think I need another Quad...Your name is a homonym for a protein that triggers the immune response...Antigen...Not sure how we switched to parasites...Glad you're FREE of annelids, Though!!! BR SS

ps. dig this crazy bird action AJ!!!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS DELAWARE (BB-28)

Delaware class
Lenght: 518'9"
Beam: 85'3"
Displacement: 20,380
Draft: 27'4"
Complement: 933
Armament: 10 12", 14 5", 2 21" torpedo tubes.
Commissioned on 4 April 1910
Sold for scrap on 5 February 1929

The USS Delaware (BB-28) was launched 6 February 1909 by Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Mrs. A. P. Cahall, niece of the Governor of Delaware; and commissioned 4 April 1910, Captain C. A. Gove in command.

After visiting Wilmington, Del., from 3 to 9 October 1910, to receive a gift of a silver service from the state, Delaware sailed from Hampton Roads 1 November with the First Division, Atlantic Fleet, to visit Weymouth, England, and Cherbourg, France, and after battle practice at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returned to Norfolk 18 January 1911. She departed 31 January to carry the remains of Chilean Minister Cruz to Valparaiso, sailing by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Punta Arenas, Chile. Returning to New York 5 May, she sailed 4 June for Portsmouth, England, where from 19 to 28 June she took part in the fleet review accompanying the coronation of King George V.

In her operations with the Fleet from 1912 to 1917, Delaware joined in exercises, drills, and torpedo practice at Rockport and Provincetown, Mass.; engaged in special experimental firing and target practice at Lynnhaven Roads; trained in Cuban waters participating in fleet exercises; and provided summer training for midshipmen. She passed before President Taft and the Secretary of the Navy in the Naval Review of 14 October 1912 and the next year visited Villefranche, France, while on a cruise with battleships Wyoming (BB-32) and Utah (BB-31). In 1914 and again in 1916 she cruised off Vera Cruz to protect American lives and property during the political disturbances in Mexico.

With the outbreak of World War I in Europe, Delaware returned to Hampton Roads from winter maneuvers in the Caribbean to train armed guard crews and engineers, as well as join in exercises to ready the Fleet for war. On 25 November 1917 she sailed from Lynnhaven Roads with Division 9, bound for Scapa Flow, Scotland. After battling bad weather in the North Atlantic, she joined the 6th Battle Squadron, British Grand Fleet 14 December for exercises to coordinate the operations of the Allied force.

The 6th Battle Squadron got underway 6 February 1918 with an escort of eight British destroyers to convoy a large group of merchant ships to Norway. Cruising off Stavanger 2 days later, Delaware was attacked twice by a submarine, but each time skillful handling enabled the battleship to evade the torpedoes. The squadron returned to its home base at Scapa Flow, 10 February. Delaware participated in two more convoy voyages in March and April, then sailed with the Grand Fleet on 24 April to reinforce the 2d Battle Cruiser Squadron which was on convoy duty and expected contact with the enemy. Only the vessels of the advance screen made any contact, and the chance for action faded.

From 30 June to 2 July 1918 the 6th Battle Squadron, with a division of British destroyers as escort, went to sea to screen American ships laying the North Sea mine barrage. On 22 July George V. inspected the ships of the Grand Fleet at Rosyth, Scotland, and 8 days later, after being relieved by Arkansas (BB-33), Delaware sailed for Hampton Roads, arriving 12 August.

Delaware remained at York River until 12 November 1918, then sailed to Boston Navy Yard for an overhaul. On 11 March 1919 she joined the Fleet in Cuban waters for exercises. Returning to New York 14 April she continued to operate in division, squadron and fleet maneuvers, and participated in the Presidential Fleet Review at Hampton Roads 28 April 1921. She made two midshipmen practice cruises, one to Colon, Martinique, and other ports in the Caribbean, and to Halifax, Nova Scotia between 5 June and 31 August 1922; and a second to Europe, visiting Copenhagen, Greenock, Cadix, and Gibraltar between 9 July and 29 August 1928.

Delaware entered Norfolk Navy Yard 30 August 1928, and her crew was transferred to Colorado (BB-45), a newly commissioned battleship assigned to replace Delaware in the Fleet. Moving to Boston Navy Yard in September, she was stripped of warlike equipment and decommissioned 10 November 1928. Delaware was sold 5 February 1929 and scrapped in accordance with the Washington Treaty on the limitation of armaments.

[aomagrat]

Big guns in action!

[SAMWolf]

United States of America
16"/50 (40.6 cm) Mark 7

This weapon could only be described as the best battleship gun ever put into service. Originally intended to fire the relatively light 2,240 pound (1,016.0 kg) Mark 5 armor piercing shell, this was upped to the 2,700 pound (1,224.7 kg) Mark 8 before these ships were laid down. This heavier projectile made these guns nearly the equal in terms of penetration power to the 46 cm (18.1") guns of the Japanese Yamato class battleships yet they weighed less than three-quarters as much.

The Iowa class battleships are the sole survivors of the battleship era that can still be placed into service. As modernized in the 1980s, each turret carries a DR-810 radar that measures the muzzle velocity of each gun which makes it easier to predict the velocity of succeeding shots. Together with the Mark 160 FCS and better propellant consistency, these guns now have unparalleled accuracy. For example, during test shoots off Crete in 1987, fifteen shells were fired from 34,000 yards (31,900 m), five from the right gun of each turret. The pattern size was 220 yards (200 m), 0.64% of the total range. 14 out of the 15 landed within 250 yards (230 m) of the center of the pattern and 8 were within 150 yards (140 m). Shell-to-shell dispersion was 123 yards (112 m), 0.36% of total range.

The Mark 8 AP shell is capable of penetrating nearly 30 feet (9 m) of concrete, depending upon the range and obliquity. The Mark 13 HC shell can create a crater 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep (15 x 6 m). During USS New Jersey's (BB-62) Vietnam deployment, a single HC round landing in the jungle could create a helicopter landing zone 200 yards (180 m) in diameter and defoliate trees for 300 yards (270 m) beyond that.

A persistent anecdote is that the Iowa class suffered from alignment problems until after the Battle of Leyte Gulf. William Jurens, a noted expert on US naval weaponry, together with Iowa crewmembers and the staff at NSWC Dahlgren, performed a search of the official records for detailed data on this specific problem and could find nothing in the files suggesting that the alignments were in any way out of the ordinary. Mr. Jurens' suspicion is that there may have been an oblique reference to an alignment problem in some document that was taken out of context; perhaps they were waiting for parts.

The weapon is constructed of liner, A tube, jacket, three hoops, two locking rings, tube and liner locking ring, yoke ring and screw box liner. Some components were autofretted. As typical of USN weapons, the bore was chromium plated. The Welin breech block opens downwards and is hydraulically operated.

Designation:        16"/50 (40.6 cm) Mark 7
Ship Class Used On: Iowa (BB-61) and Montana (BB-67)Classes
Date Of Design:     1939
Date In Service:    1943
Gun Weight:         267,904 lbs.(121,519.2 kg)(including breech)
                    239,156 lbs.(108,479.3 kg)(without breech)
Gun Length:         oa 816 in (20.726 m) (breech face to muzzle)
Bore Length:        800 in (20.320 m)
Number Of Grooves:  96
Twist:              RH 1/25
Length Of Rifling:  682.86 in (17.344 m)
Chamber Volume:     27,000 in3 (442.5 dm3)
Rate Of Fire:       2 rounds per minute 

Source: http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNUS_16-50_mk7.htm

[SassyMom]

Thanks for the poem!

LET'S ROLL!!!