Watch Culdrose crew take apart, reassemble and fire field gun in just over one minute
Almost 200 local schoolchildren got to watch the Seahawk Field Gun crew in action
Last updated 24th Jun 2022
170 schoolchildren have come together to watch a centuries-old tradition demonstrated by the Seahawk Field Gun crew from Cornwall's RNAS Culdrose.
The tradition, first starting in 1899, involves a team of 18 men and women charging with a field gun by taking it to pieces, putting it back together and firing it as fast as possible.
The idea helps Seahawk crew in other areas of the Navy, focusing on physical activity, team work, commitment and discipline, with crews training twice a day.
Spokeswoman Kelly Gooch, said: "The drill is all about speed, endurance, getting along the track quick. Building and dissembling kit against the time. There are penalties involved but it's really important that the crew work together.
"It gets them to work as a team which is what we do as the whole of the military. Even the parts where they're not technical, it requires speed. We have about 14 or 15 people new to field gun this year.
"The last one we did was 2019, it's really nice to get some new members in and introduce it to them.
"The training starts with circuits then track based training. Number 1 trainer Matty Nichols has come in to train the crew and get them up to this standard".
The Seahawk crew is new after no training during the pandemic, joining together to train before the field gun finals at HMS Collingwood in Hampshire next month.
Among those watching was daughter of Lucy Morris, who is part of the Seahawk Field Gun crew.
Her daughter, aged 9 from Nansloe school, said: "I know that you have to be quite strong to do it and she was the only girl actually doing it. I was just thinking of how much work she's put in to it".
To read more about where the idea of the field gun competitions started, you can visit the Royal Navy website.