Étienne listened to the Captain’s speech about the ship, its position in the navy and its [i]sea trials[/i]. He was interested in getting underway and quick to respond with a professional, “Aye, Captain!” When she was complete. He noted the rest of the crew appeared to be young and green. He hoped that would not be too much of a problem. It is not that he disliked working with younger sailors, he knew they required training just as anyone of their age would, it was just that he knew there was always a certain level of arrogance accompanying youth. He could forgo that. Hopefully, they shared his professionalism.

When the Captain dismissed the crew, he strode to the number one gun to check it out. The turret was located on the prow, allowing the gunner to engage targets to the front, both 45 degrees below the attitude of the ship and thirty degrees above the attitude of the ship without hitting the structure of the balloon, that kept them aloft. The turret could traverse a full 360 degrees when level, but he knew not to fire into the deck of the boat. That would be very bad. Étienne left his sea bag outside the turret, opening the tight hatch to view the interior. 

On the left side of the breech, he found the gunner’s seat and weapons controls. The seat was equipped with a five-point harness, keeping the gunner strapped in, due to the depression and elevation levels of the weapon. The cannon was equipped with a hyrdo-pneumatic automatic loader that kept a constant supply of rounds fed from below deck into the chamber of the weapon. It operated on a series of gears and chains. The standard munition was a 47mm x 360mmR 3.3 pound shell. The QF 3-pounder [i]Dubois[/i] could fire twenty rounds per minute, or one round ever three seconds. Its muzzle velocity was at 785 meters per second, firing High Explosive (HE) Ammunition. It also had Armor Piercing (AP) ammunition available when needed. The effective range of the QF-3 was just over 1800 meters but could reach targets out to 5100 meters. The weapon had a telescopic sighting system allowing the gunner to find targets out to its maximum range.

Étienne was pleased with the weapon system and was familiar with its use from a previous assignment. He felt comfortable enough to head below deck and stow his gear. He was happy with this assignment even if some of the crew were young and inexperienced.