We have been running our very special Photo Of The Day series for years, sharing great photos from around the world and the world of firearms. Sometimes the selected pictures involve a lot of action and shooting, sometimes there’s another reason behind the choice. Today we’re looking at a .50 caliber machine gun spitting out lead, brass and gunpowder of the Philippine Sea. The man behind the trigger is Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Freda and they’re aboard the USS Frank Cable during a training exercise.

The USS Frank Cable was designed as a submarine tender and is armed with two 40mm AA guns and four 25mm Mk 38 AA guns. The ship is named after Frank Cable, who was an electrical engineer and trial commander aboard USS Holland (SS-1). He was an early pioneer in submarine development and piloted the first United States Navy submarine.

Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kaitlyn Eads. Facts about the ship from Wikipedia.