GMGSA Robert J. Summerhill

Picking up where I left off…… The bet was on. GMGC Morris had thrown
the gauntlet down. The “OLD Man” had made the bet. Now we had to do the
task at hand. We in the gun gang, and FTGC Anderson ( Andy ) and his
FT’s went to work, the gun had to work! We in mount 51 ran dummy after
dummy round through that Damn Gun until we were sure that it should
work….. we hoped. REFTRA was a way off as yet, and the ship wanted to
get that Gunnery ” E “. The Cap’tn put the ship at General Quarters,
Gunnery. The Cooks and BM’s went into the magazine with a look of ” Yea
Right ” I could see it in their eyes. Same old,same old. Damn gun didn’t
work. I was in the OMC ( one man control ) and was on the X17J and the
line to gun plot, CIC, and the Gun Director. FTG3 Bob Miller and ENS
Bill Glass were in the Gun Director, Andy was in gun plot with the
others. CIC gave the Battery Release! order….. Mount 51 surface action
starboard! I put the gun into auto train, and as the gun ” Sync” up,
gave the first ” Check sight clear!”, Bob Miller sang out ” Check sight
on target!”……CIC….Mount 51 20 rounds rapid continuous
fire!….Commence Fire!. The gun loading system came alive. 56 tons of
steel and oil moving so fast as to seem it was coming apart. I looked
down and saw the first round load and fire, BOOM, seems O.K, BOOM,
that’s two, BOOM, I wonder, BOOM, Damn, BOOM
Just maybe, BOOM, come on baby, BOOM,…. about this time I was aware
that Ens. Glass and Bob Miller were counting also, BOOM, thirteen,
BOOM, fourteen, empty steel powder case were slamming into the deck with
a loud ” CLANG ” ,Boom, fifteen, now I could hear the magazine crew
yelling ” GO!,GO!,GO!, BOOM, seventeen, I heard someone shout ” Shoot
you son-of a- bitch, Shoot”, BOOM, nineteen, BOOM, twenty…… CIC….
Mount 51 Cease Fire!… Then I got to say the magic phrase…….. Mount
51, twenty rounds expended, no apparent causalities!!!!!……. Gun
director…….. Mount 51 return to ready air!……… I grabbed the
control yoke and brought her to aim at the bow, with the barrel lever
with the deck…. Mount 51 at ready air! ….. ” This is the Captain
speaking…… Mount 51 well done!” Bravo Zulu to all hands involved! I
droped the tractor seat and climbed down from the OMC and opened the
Mount’s doors. Hey! Summerhill!… police the brass! yelled GMG1
Goeters. I climbed down the ladder to the main deck and watched those
twenty empty powder case roll as the shiped moved through the
ocean……. the FT’s were looking at the radar track of the splashed
rounds,knowing they could do better. We in the gun gang had a gun to
swab out. The salt air was fresh on my face. it was good to be alive
this day. All to soon we’d be in the ‘Nam.
Rob Summerhill