Doug's Photoblog
Field Gun Race 2 of 4, or BANG !
Posted by Doug (Burnham-on-Sea, United Kingdom) on 7 August 2012 in Sport & Recreation and Portfolio.
The HMS Seahawk Field Gun Crew (from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall) just at the point of firing their round before the run home.
The tradition of the Royal Navy racing from one end of a course to the other with a gun, limber and ammunition over and through a series of obstacles then firing off a blank round to signify they have finished goes back to the Boar War. Then during the siege of Ladysmith Royal Navy gunners had land guns from HMS Terrible and Powerful to help in the relief of the siege and manhandle the guns over very difficult terrain to support the Army.
This became an annual competition against different commands of the Navy at the Royal Tournament until 1999 when I personally suspect it was stopped because of health and safety. It's now run on a flat course but the guns and limbers are still stripped and reassembled at two checkpoints on the course.
SPOTLIGHT IMAGES AT:
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@Curly: Not quite, fortunate to be positioned at the end of the run
@kiwisa: Not really too much of a bang, they just set off a small charge
@Jules: The safety elf was hiding as the gun was aimed at him
@CElliottUK: What ...
@Anthony Morgan Lambert: Now come on, we all know Navy gunners are the best ... :-))
@Ainsley: Sorry cant hear you, my ears are ringing !!
Canon EOS 500D
1/640 second
F/7.1
ISO 400
75 mm
