It’s time the Navy re-instated the Fieldgun Race - who needs ships?
If it’s the race where they move the elements of a gun, being limber, wheels, barrel etc, over obstructions on pulleys on a wire on sheerlegs, I’m all for it.
I think the first time I saw that was in an early to mid-1970s broadcast of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Although not much use for the current 5 inch gun turrets on our ships. 
Why was it terminated?
What’s next?
Crufts? Chelsea Flower Show?
Cuts in defence spending. Something which happens with alarming frequency in the UK.
We also cut defence spending down here, presumably to spend the savings on highly paid public servants who decide that defence spending should be cut so that more money can be spent on highly paid public servants who decide to build landing ships that won’t fit into the mother ships, which doesn’t matter because the mother ships are rusting and inoperable anyway.
None of this matters greatly because much of the surplus money in the defence budget is spent badly, after gruding payments to the troops etc who actually do the work in defence.
I expect that if the awfully expensive gun race hadn’t been cut the UK would have been rendered defenceless.
You’ll probably find it comes back, they’ll sell off all the SP guns and have blokes pulling guns instead!
I’m told they’re using melted down Ark Royal parts to mint a Libya campaign medal.
The gun race was so much more than a mere race. It was about maintaininng a synergy which makes units and forces effective: standards of preparedness, leadership, tradition, unit pride and much more - all of those things which are alien to civil servants and politicians.
A practical use of rugby teams, and very good for training too.
Don’t give them ideas! Pre-season training is bad enough as it is! :shock:
Hmmmm
Melchett: “Recommendation for the Harrow Governors: Heavy machine guns for
fullbacks.” Bright idea, Blackadder.
A somewhat extreme notion.
Few of the no-necks in rugby teams, at least down here, have even heard of the wheel, let alone know how to work one.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
I think that if it was made clear that learning to use such complex technology would enable them to move much more beer, they would rise to the occasion. That, and ropes look much like vines, so they might find that to be familiar. (At least for the SRU) 