Navy Gun Crew

Navy Gun Crew, first published in 1944, is a firsthand look at a U.S. Navy gun crew assigned to a merchant marine 'Liberty ship' in the Atlantic during World War II. The Navy assigned a small gun crew to each merchant ship to provide protection against German U-boats and aircraft. In addition, one member of the crew was a signalman who could send and receive messages via signal flags and blinking light (radio use was limited to prevent the enemy from pinpointing the ship's location). Navy Gun Crew examines the crew's training, dockside duties, life at sea, encounters with submarines and aircraft, and a severe Atlantic storm. Although brief (the original book was 111 pages), it provides insight into a little-known yet vital part of the wartime effort to keep supplies flowing from the United States to Great Britain. Included are 27 pages of illustrations by Nils Hogner. Author Lt. John Childs (1910-2009) served in the U.S. Naval Reserve as head of a gun crew, followed by a long and successful finance career on Wall Street.