A close up of the photo on the previous page, showing the S-26 entering port in San Diego, approximately 1927-1930. This shows two crewmen using a very long segmented ram rod to clean the bore of the deck gun. The breach is open and the end of the rod can be seen, along with a cleaning swab attached to it. Although this Mk 9 gun was considered a "wet-mount" that could be submerged in salt water without damage, it still required frequent and intensive maintenance, or the corrosive effects of sea water would quickly render it inoperable. This gun had the muzzle end normally closed by a tampion, with the other end having a watertight swinging breech. The fact that they are swabbing the barrel indicates that the boat had recently finished gunnery practice.
