His fame as "the father of German naval artillery" dates from 1885 when he was appointed chief gunner.

There, in August 1941, he was commissioned a chief marine gunner.

Peters reached the rank of chief gunner's mate before leaving the military.

Smith reached the rank of chief gunner's mate before leaving the Navy.

For a moment, he almost pushed the chief gunner aside.

He tapped the chief gunner lightly on top of his leather helmet.

"I can't see very well, chief gunner," he admitted.

His chief gunner told him it was impossible to bring off the guns in less than 30 hours.

He later achieved the rank of chief gunner.