I was a snipe in.....

by RayLee, Monday, August 19, 2024, 08:24 (28 days ago) @ JimT
edited by RayLee, Monday, August 19, 2024, 08:29

In uncle ronnie's yacht club and did not get to play with the guns (small or great) but I often chatted with the gunners & fire controlmen. They in turn graciously supplied me with spent .45 acp cases and rusty 1911 magazines and empty ammo cans up to and including 20x120mm as those were going to be dumped overboard anyway whilst underway.

One sunny day in the mediterranean ('87) the water was calm enough for small arms qualifications & training. There was a great mob mustered on the tiny flight deck....
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaman_SH-2_Seasprite
and I loitered forward of the flight deck in hopes that spent/used goodies would be surreptitiously passed to me.

First up to take on a man sized silhouette at 50' was the Captain and he took a classic slow fire stance with his left hand in its proper back pocket and delivered his five shots into a respectable small group despite the swells and listing. As per regulations at the time watchstanders 1911 magazines were downloaded 5 and security alert teams 6. All (but me) were impressed at the commander's marksmanship and murmoured butt-kissing sounds of approval

Next-up was a short/round deck ape. Suddenly there were three or four times more folk than the area allowed crowding around me under the firefighting foam cannon platform attached to the port side of the helo. hanger. When I asked why the rush of humanity forward of the flight deck the replies were something like this.....

"When BM3 ______ shoots, the only truely safe place is behind the target !"

True, we weren't behind the target by any measure but I got their point.