We have run “Can you identify”…articles in past issues, featuring Army, Air Force and Marine Corp weapons, aircraft and vehicles, but finally, here is one for all of our Navy veterans, particularly the older ones.
This weapon system is the 40mm Bofors Quad Mount anti aircraft gun system, commonly known as the “Pom Pom” gun. The gun crew consisted of seven men for twin mounts: the gun captain, a pointer, a trainer, and four loaders. Your editor once served as a loader on one of these aboard USS Winston, AKA-94, an attack cargo vessel and can attest that the weapon could dispense a full clip as fast as it could be loaded, delivering around 80 to 90 rounds per minute. The guns were controlled remotely by Mk-51 gun directors which were located on the Bridge level above, though some were manually aimed early on.
In the age of jet aircraft and anti-ship missiles, this weapon system was obsolete and being phased out of service aboard Navy ships at the time of your editor’s service, but it found other uses in ground installations and aboard aircraft well into Vietnam.