'As sure as a gun.'
John Dryden (1631-1700)
A century ago, gunners in the steel navy labored below decks in an environment not much different from that of their oak-and-sail brethren. This gun crew, most likely on board the USS New Hampshire (BB-25) in 1909, is working one of the battleship's dozen 7-inchers. The shell being inserted into the gun's breech weighed 165 pounds.
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