Ian - sorry I can't comment on the elephant gun - new to me.I remember our forward 4" was a mite touchy.In Gibraltar early 1944, the gunnery crew were giving a 'demo' to local Admiralty bigwigs who hadn't seen a destroyer escort built in the U.S..On command, the gunners loaded a alive shell into the breach; then on the command 'Close breach' closed the breach. That was supposed to be the end of the gunnery demo.but the gun fired! The shell landed in La Linea graveyard in Spain.Local papers next day read `Royal Navy Bombards Graveyard'. On the return journey to the U.K.,through the Bay of Biscay,the 1st. Escort Group met up with a 3 U.boats at night - 2 of them loading up from the 'mother ship'. The searchlight from my ship - the `Gore' - swung around and lit up one of the U boats....same thing happened as in Gib...the gun went off on the command 'Close breach' and the shell hit the U boat in the conning tower. I have photo taken at the time, showing the shell begining to explode on the conning tower.The whole incident was said to be the longest U-boat hunt of the war...36 hopurs of a cat and mouse game before all the U boats weree sunk...sorry to prattle on - Bryan