Not so. Gunnery at sea has always been a dark art, necessitating special training [at Whale Island?] from whence all gunnery officers came in the days when then the gun was important because it was the only means of attack and defence. Even in the Falklands Naval Gunnery Officers went ashore to more accurately direct fire from ships.
Yes gunnery has been a dark art but its not just the officers. It was also the seamen gunners manning the guns: the gun captains, layers, trainers, the loading numbers etc., and the seamen working in the magazines loading shell and propellant into the hoists all working in rough seas under fire. Before automation the firing rate depended upon those men working as a team quickly and efficiently. Today it is all automated and far easier but what happens when you lose power to the ship and still have to fight it? So I wonder how they operate the five inch gun on the ANZACs then? I wasn't in when we had ANZACs and managed to avoid the frigates preferring small ships.
The 5 inch gun MK45 mod 2 ( largest gun in the NZDF) is manned by Weapon Technicans with fire control officer in ops room fires gun with foot pedal. Usually have weapon techs loading rounds on hoist in magazine and one manning the transfer station panel. Range is about 24 km rate of fire is about 20 rounds a minute .Compared to Army light guns got range of about 10 km at 7 rounds a minute.
When it came to AB, I think the "Bodied" part was implied and understood, or have I got this all wrong? Certainly an Ordinary Seaman was abbreviated to "OS" with nothing else implied. David D
In my copy of AP 1081 (RAF Pocket Book, 1937 edition) in Chapter VII (Section 34, Liaison with the Army and Navy) is included a table of relative ranks. Able Seaman and Ordinary Seaman are equated with the Air Forces LAC, AC1, AC2, and the Army's Trooper, Gunner, Sapper, Signalman, Driver, Guardsman, Rifleman, Fusilier and Private. However no abbreviations are included in this table, but it is clear that the term "Able Seaman" was the current correct title at this date. However my bet would be that, had abbreviations been included, then "AB" would have appeared beside Able Seaman. David D
In the "Believe it or not" category, and despite an air force career of twenty-five years,I was a Sea Cadet for three! I joined the RAF because the Navy recruiters were on a 'make and mend' [I.E. at the pub!] and the office was closed, it was raining, I was wet, and the RAF Office next door was open and I was invited in with "Fancy a cuppa son?" by a kindly Flt Sgt, and the rest as they say is history.Since a very early age I was soaked in Navy folk lore and once knew a whole heap of useless information on things Naval.
I know for example, that some of the best one-liners in history come from Royal Naval tradition, and it precedes the air force by a few hundred years which in turn explains why in the battle of service repartee the Navy will always win! To mention just one example:"The Navy has traditions, the RAF merely has habits".
Imagine, if you will, a wide-eyed messenger coming to warn Drake , gesticulating wildly at the Spanish fleet. Drake, with one hand on hip and the other holding a bowling ball, gazes nonchalantly out at the approaching sails from the clifftop bowling green and uttered a sentence with lots of "f's in it. It reads something like this: "Forfooth, methinkf we can fink yon Fpaniardf and ftill finifth our bowlf".
I know for example, that some of the best one-liners in history come from Royal Naval tradition, and it precedes the air force by a few hundred years which in turn explains why in the battle of service repartee the Navy will always win! To mention just one example:"The Navy has traditions, the RAF merely has habits".
I know for example, that some of the best one-liners in history come from Royal Naval tradition, and it precedes the air force by a few hundred years which in turn explains why in the battle of service repartee the Navy will always win! To mention just one example:"The Navy has traditions, the RAF merely has habits".
As an ex member of the Andrew, I can confirm that at the time Dave was referring to (1945), AB Ogilvy would have been Able Seaman Ogilvy. AB was the rank abbreviation for Able Seaman. As Davidd says, the 'Bodied' bit was implied, and not a part of the formal title. AB would only have been used as an abbreviation for Seaman branch ratings.
Circa 1930 the path for Seaman ratings was:
Boy Seaman Ordinary Seaman Able Seaman Leading Seaman Petty Officer Chief Petty Officer
At AB rank, the rating would have specialised into gunnery, torpedo, submarine detection or physical trainer.
