Hull (DD 945) - Naval Cruise Book

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The gun ship then conducts a coordinated illumination exercise used in night shooting. A score of only 84 seems to indicate the crew's energies are flagging. But there is still one exercise to go. Similar to actual situations encountered in Vietnam, it is fondly nicknamed, the John Wayne. y The exercise begins as I-lull charges toward shore, her forward gun firing at the beach. When she has silenced the shore fire, she turns to make her getaway. At that point a mock patrol boat launches an attack on the fleeing ship. With a rapid turn, Hull brings her entire gun battery to bear on the ambusher. Meanwhile, another shore battery opens fire on the ship. Just like John Wayne, at high speed and with guns blazing, Hull must handle all the 'bad guys' and make good her escape. Much of the crew is on deck. They wait, eyes turned anxiously shoreward awaiting the first round. A blast and white smoke. A miss, short in the water. Another blast, short again. There is silence as the ship locks on new bearings. The gun roars again. The spotting officer, Lt. Chris Wode, turns from his binoculars and shoots a thumb skyward -then leans back. Flashing a tired smile, he lets out an audible sigh. Black smoke, a direct hit! The 'Duke' himself might not have done much better. After silencing her first two targets, Hull has knocked off the final shore battery earning a 93 on this exercise, matching her overall tally of 93 for the 24-hour 'shootout.' Hull is qualified in gunfire support exercises with 18 points to spare. Gunnery Liaison Officer Lt. Russ Milheim Qleftj, Assistant Gunnery Li- aison Officer Lt. j.g. J.W. O'Connell, center and Operations Specialist Seaman Bill Carnley make naviga- tional adjustments in Hull's Combat Information Center during a gun ex- ercise. USN PHOTO by JO2 Glenn Jochum

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X I Gunner's Mate 2nd Class James Clark positions a 70-pound round in a gun loader drum located within the magazine of USS Hull. USN PHOTO by JO2 Glenn Jochum away. Although the range has been in operation since the l950's, the 15- day spotting school is only 12 years old. As one of three ranges where Seventh Fleet ships may qualify, Tabones provided spotting services for 40 ships during the last 12 months. We shoot Saturday, Sunday, Christmas, anytime, says Campbell. On the afternoon of August 26, 1981, Hull gets off to a promising start, notching a perfect score in her initial exercise. ln the past, we spent in excess of three days attempting that exercise without scoring. l'll bet there aren't more than five ships that have made perfect scores on it, Boutwell says. The third exercise involves firing 11 rounds into a 400 by 400-yard quadrant from a distance of five.

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P X Chief Gunner's Mate Mike Malady is the gun boss during all phases of gunshoot exercises. USN PHOTO by JO2 Glenn Jochum A gunner s mate takes a breather the smoke clears from Mount 51 USN PHOTO by JO2 Glenn Jochum between rounds in Mount 52 while