Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Merv Hopkins, was stationed on Rottnest when the main gun was first test fired. He was given the job of standing behind the gun to see if he could observe the shell in flight. Even though the shell moves very fast if you are looking along the line of flight you may see it as it receeds into the distance.
They had a target out to sea and there are two arcs that will reach the target. They first fired on the high ark and everything went well. Then they fired at the same target on the low arc and when the gun went off Merv told me that it felt as if the island was breaking up.
Turns out that the low arc went through a sand hill and the shell penetrating the hill shook the ground - even on the far side of the gun where Merv was standing. Measurements were made and notes were taken not to fire below a certain elevation.

Merv was a lovely man. He was in the Accommodation and Works branch of HQ 5 MD. He started WWII as a Major in AW branch and when he was demobilised he went to work for the Commonwealth Employment Service but within a year his old position was advertised and he applied and got it as a civilian. He worked for 47 years in the same job and loved it. There was very little about army property in WA that he didn't know and he loved telling stories like that one.