Template:POTD/2007-05-20

The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Benfold fires its five-inch 54-caliber MK45 gun during routine training operations off the coast of Southern California. The gun mount features an automatic loader with a capacity of 20 rounds. These can be fired under full automatic control taking a little over a minute to exhaust those rounds at maximum fire rate. For sustained use, a three-man crew can keep the gun supplied with ammunition.

Photo credit: Felix Garza, Jr, U.S. Navy
Archive – More featured pictures...