Re: Upperdeck crews
When the first attack came in, the after seacat launchers, on the hangar roof were damaged together with 3 casualties caused by cannon fire.

The Gunners became the heroes of the day. When you think of it, 260 on the ship, but only a couple of dozen actually firing weapons & missiles. One of the killick Gunners was firing a GPMG and followed the aircraft as it passed-overhead. He managed to shoot away one of our whip aerials in his enthusiasm, but hey, most of the bullets were heading in the right direction.

Argonaut claimed a shared hit on a Dagger with HMS Plymouth, and claimed to have downed a mirage and an aermacchi with seacat unaided on day one alone. That said, with literally hundreds of people pointing weapons in the same direction, it's without a doubt that many claimed hits were at least duplicated. The tally on the first day of the landings (21 May) over San Carlos, I remember hearing at the time, was 17 aircraft shot down.

One incident I remember hearing was that the Woo's got rather jumpy after the first raid - completely understandable in my book. What didn't help however was the gunners tap-dancing on the deck of the hangar roof to simulate cannon-fire each time an aircraft passed close-by. Much to their mirth, the flight deck crew could be seen diving for cover...until they "clicked", after which a short, sharp "altercation" ensued.