Gun Drills
Gun and fire control drills were held daily to keep all hands in practice. These drills were discontinued while in the war zone. Actual conditions were simulated as much as possible at all drills.
Gun Watches
When not in the war zone two guns forward (one on each side) and two guns aft, were manned by a crew of six men at all times, with a man at the telephones of each of the guns off watch. The men off watch had to remain in the vicinity of their quarters ready for instant call.
While in the zone all guns were manned by a crew of six men with six men standing by in reserve. The guns were kept loaded, both in and out of the zone, with powder and shell—ready for instant firing by inserting a primer.
Lookouts
Good lookouts are absolutely essential to a ship’s safety. They have one of the most important positions on the ship. On their alertness depends the discovery of any submarine or suspicious object in his arc of lookout and the immediate and accurate reporting of it to the fire control officer, so that the guns may be brought into action in the quickest possible time against the enemy.
There were twelve lookout stations on this vessel—six on each side—so arranged that each lookout had an arc of thirty degrees to keep under close observation. Of course there were additional lookouts on watch at all times, such as the gun crews, control officers, signalmen and officers-of-the-deck. Each tried to be the first to spot a hostile periscope.