HMS Neptune Field Gun Team Prepare In Public

Crews stationed at Scotland’s largest Royal Navy base have been showcasing a tradition that stretches back more than a century.

The HMS Neptune field gun team stepped outside Faslane to practice their skills in the centre of Helensburgh.

Petty Officer Writer Andrew Baker is confident that the team's intense training schedule will see them through.

"We start off with six weeks of solid circuit training, twice a day. Following that we receive a gun from Collingwood and we go into twice daily training sessions, usually about five hours a day"

The competition sees teams of 18 run, dismantle, reassemble and fire the gun in the shortest possible time. 

The team from HMS Neptune will be competing for the Brickwoods Trophy against field gun crews from across the country in Portsmouth in June.

Captain Craig Mearns, Commanding Officer of HMS Neptune says its valuable exposure for the crew to practice in front of an audience. 

"Its really important that we do activity within the local community - and that we do things that allow the community to be part of what we do at the naval base"