Long, long ago, in the days when I was a tank gunner, we were on a night firing exercise shooting the main gun [105MM, then] at an illuminated target. The idea is that the tank commander picks the right target and directs the gun into the general area using his override controls, then lets the gunner fine-tune the signt picture and nail the target spot-on. Trouble was, this guy couldn't find the light, and seesawed us back-and-forth nearly to the point of seasickness a couple of times.
Anyway, on this target, representing an enemy tank, he finally picked up a light, and screamed at me over the intercome to fire at it. So I did, though it struck me at the time that the main gun, just to my left side, was at a bit more elevation than usual. Oh well, orders is orders; ON THE WAY!....BOOM!
Happily, the target survived, though they figured that the round impacted some 12 miles away. Shortly thereafter, I became the tank commander, and the less-than-picky-about-his-targets buck sergeant became a motor pool NCO. The planet Venus is still up there.
