Gun deck

Gun deck

The term gun deck originally referred to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. However, on many smaller vessels such as frigates and unrated vessels the upper deck, forecastle and quarter deck bore all of the cannons but were not referred to as the gun deck. The completely covered level under the upper deck was, however, still called the gun deck although it had no guns at all. The term "gun deck" is also navy slang for fabricating or falsifying something. It can take on the form of a verb, as in the sentence; "He gun decked the report."

gun-deck(ing) is a term used to convey that one has endangered the safety of the vessel equivalent to pointing the guns at the deck such that when they are fired the obvious catastrophic result will occur.

ee also

*Glossary of nautical terms
*Son of a gun

Gun decking - Refers to the practice of painting the image of cannon ports on the side of one's ship in order to present the appearance of having more guns than a ship actually does, and thereby convincing any adversay that they were outgunned, foregoing engagement.

This term is presently used to indicate the falsification of documentation in order to avoid actually doing the work or make present conditions seem otherwise acceptable.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gun deck — Deck Deck, n. [D. dek. See {Deck}, v.] 1. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. [1913 Webster] Note: The following are the more… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gun deck — Gun Gun (g[u^]n), n. [OE. gonne, gunne; of uncertain origin; cf. Ir., Gael., & LL. gunna, W. gum; possibly (like cannon) fr. L. canna reed, tube; or abbreviated fr. OF. mangonnel, E. mangonel, a machine for hurling stones.] 1. A weapon which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gun deck — noun formerly any deck other than the weather deck having cannons from end to end • Hypernyms: ↑deck * * * noun Etymology: gun (I) + deck : a deck (as the first deck below the weather deck) on old time warships carrying the ship s guns * * *… …   Useful english dictionary

  • gun deck — (formerly, on a warship) any deck, other than the weather deck, having cannons from end to end. [1670 80] * * * …   Universalium

  • gun deck — noun a deck on a ship on which guns are placed. ↘historical the lowest such deck on a ship of the line …   English new terms dictionary

  • gun deck — area on a ship where cannons are kept …   English contemporary dictionary

  • gun-deck — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Deck — Deck, n. [D. dek. See {Deck}, v.] 1. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. [1913 Webster] Note: The following are the more common… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Deck bridge — Deck Deck, n. [D. dek. See {Deck}, v.] 1. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. [1913 Webster] Note: The following are the more… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Deck curb — Deck Deck, n. [D. dek. See {Deck}, v.] 1. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. [1913 Webster] Note: The following are the more… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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