How were sailors at open gun positions protected from shell splinters?
Short answerMostly with protective vests and steel helmets, which offered only limited protection compared with an enclosed turret.
NotesSailors serving exposed weapons during a gunfight had little protection. Their equipment amounted mainly to flak-style vests and steel helmets. Those items could reduce some splinter injuries but could not make an open position safe against heavy fragments or blast. The exchange highlights the human cost of mounting weapons where weight, visibility, and firing arcs prevented full enclosure.