The next moment voices below rapped out orders. The long slim barrels of the 14-inch guns were trained round and pointed to the right. A crack from a smaller gun and light from a star shell burst over a small patch of sea. I could make out the "enemy." Then came vicious ear-splitting explosions from the 5.25- inch guns. Almost simultaneously came a mighty overpowering woomph woomph" as the great 14- inch guns opened up. My tiny platform was rocked. Shells from the 525's seemed to whistle past within a foot or two. Clouds of smoke and fumes almost choked me.
In the bluish rays of a searchlight white columns of water shot up as the shells straddled the target. Barely had the water fallen back into place than many barrels of multiple pompous spat out more shells.
Later with my head ringing, my eyes smarting I spoke to the gunnery officers. For weeks under his direction the gun crews bad been training hard to make the brand new Prince of Wales one of the Navy's crack gunnery ships and the practice shoot had been most encouraging—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.