TIDEWATER'S
FIVE INCH GUN
photo courtesy Bill Cook, ET2 USS Tidewater 1962-1965
![AD31 had a 3-inch gun on the bow](graphics/gun_fire.jpg)
ow
many times did you see Tidewater's gun firing? Not many,
we'd expect. But every time we made the trip to the Med
there were exercises at sea, and we shot at things. Here
we see the AD31's 5-inch gun firing on the bow. They are
shooting at a drone aircraft being pulled by another plane
about a mile away.
The USS
Tidewater was not considered an offensive ship. Skirmishes
and sea battles were the job of destroyers and cruisers.
But the Tidewater was required to keep our big gun at
the ready in order to maintain its "Warship"
status. When going into port, ships were searched by local
Customs Officials unless they had Warship status. Our
warship designation allowed us the opportunity to decline
permission to foreign customs agents for boarding onto
the ship. Should a ship decline, they would, of course,
be required to leave the port, but at least, by maintaining
this status, they were not boarded by foreign agents.
Naples was
a friendly port, as were all the others that we frequented
(Toulon, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca) and so we were
never asked permission to board by foreign customs.
© 2003, 2011
USS Tidewater AD31 Association
all rights reserved
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