Gunners mate testing

[Percolater]

My Grandpa had to pass a series of tests and flag memorizations to get assigned onboard a Pacific theatre cruiser. His friends who failed stayed in Great Lakes. I have recently inherited all of his memorabilia and am having a wistful exploration of history 82 years ago. Would you be able to pass these couple tests?

 

[actaeon277]

Should be able to

 

[KokomoDave]

My gunner's mate training was much more extensive due to the advent of electronics and computers. We had to successively pass 26 modules in BEE school. It sucked!

 

[spencer rifle]

I hate to admit no, but I'm sure my dad had to pass those to get his GM2 assignment on the 40mm amidships mount on DE400.

 

[radar8756]

FTG's & GM's worked side-by-side / Over-Under ( depending on point of view )

my ship DDG had a Mark 42 5" / 54 127mm gun on the bow

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Should be able to

I thought you were a MM (nuclear). You shoveled atoms into the submarine's engines to make them run? Cross train as GM?

 

[woowoo2]

FTG's & GM's worked side-by-side / Over-Under ( depending on point of view )

my ship DDG had a Mark 42 5" / 54 127mm gun on the bow

View attachment 196920

Adams class?
I was an FT(M).
We would ocasionally help the gun guys troubleshoot electronic issues.

 

[Colt556]

I was an AQ, aviation fire control technician, on A7Es. I wish my testing was that easy. Things were getting pretty technical by the time I went in, 74-76’

 

[Quiet Observer]

Re: question 16.
I was surprised to see that they were still using sperm oil around 1940. It has been illegal to sell for several years.
Whaling was banned worldwide in the late 1990s.
For the benefit of the uninformed and juveniles: it has nothing to do with reproductive function.

"the primary source of sperm oil was the spermaceti organ and the junk (or "melon"), the organs that serve to focus and modulate the animal's vocalizations.[5] A sperm whale's spermaceti organ may contain as much as 1,900 litres (500 US gal) of substance".

Sperm oil - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[radar8756]

Adams class?
I was an FT(M).
We would ocasionally help the gun guys troubleshoot electronic issues.

USS Luce (DLG-7/DDG-38) was a Farragut-class guided missile destroyer

 

[actaeon277]

I thought you were a MM (nuclear). You shoveled atoms into the submarine's engines to make them run? Cross train as GM?

View attachment 196928

Oddly enough, that's a shipmate feeding the hamsters spinning the wheels that actually power the ship.
That's supposed to be classified.

Also, ET-2 (Nuke) SS
And there is some degree of cross training, both submarine wide (hence the SS qual), and within the Nuke discipline (ET, EM, MM).

 

[Kirk Freeman]

ET! I knew that. I had MM stuck in my tiny lizard mind for some reason.

 

[55fairlane]

My recently departed father in law, was the fire control officer on a pocket battleship , from what I understand he sent "a few" enemy (pacific theater) vessels to the bottom of the sea....you had to have perfect stereoscopic vision & be able to do geometry in your head.....he was 17 years when he first to sea & battle....I'm not sure but I do believe he was a braver man then I shall ever be

 

[woowoo2]

USS Luce (DLG-7/DDG-38) was a Farragut-class guided missile destroyer

View attachment 196958

Pretty close to my old boat.
One could go down to gun plot during heavy seas and just listen to the synchros and servos responding.

USS Henry B. Wilson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[actaeon277]

ET! I knew that. I had MM stuck in my tiny lizard mind for some reason.

"Coners" (Non-nukes) on the sub had troubles knowing the difference so..

 

[Squid556]

I had to strike GM. Once I got it, "okay go be a GM now". No schooling whatsoever. But I'd like to think I could guess my way though about half of those questions. Sperm oil one would have got me!

Here's some 30x173 cannon ammunition to keep the thread interesting.

 

[KokomoDave]

What? No school?? We had plenty of guys from the fleet who had to strike at Gunner's Mistakes school with us. I liked 'A' school. Every weekend off so i rode my m/c home on Friday. Back before muster on Monday.

 

[Squid556]

What? No school?? We had plenty of guys from the fleet who had to strike at Gunner's Mistakes school with us. I liked 'A' school. Every weekend off so i rode my m/c home on Friday. Back before muster on Monday.

I’m unsure as to why they never sent me. Maybe it was because it was the Obama days? Maybe they just didn’t like my face, I don’t know.

Didn’t really end up mattering. Being an enthusiast already, I was more skilled with small arms than the other young GMs. The larger equipment and non gun systems that I had to maintenance on all had MRCs so they were somewhat self explanatory. I got by alright. Only thing that really scared me was working on those large magazine sprinklers. Massive valves waiting to trip and flood the space at any moment.

 

[Percolater]

 

[Percolater]

Found a book that looks like inventory logs. Anybody know what those abbreviations stand for? Comm. SS, HC, AGR