Gunnery represented a branch within the Imperial Navy's Support Service Branch. Its purpose was to furnish the Imperial Navy with the individuals needed to operate its weaponry.
The Gunnery branch made its debut in the Imperial Sourcebook's second edition, which came out in 1994. In the initial first edition of the sourcebook, published in 1989, the Ordnance branch was tasked with operating the Navy's armaments. However, the second edition shifted this responsibility to the newly established Gunnery branch, while Ordnance took on the role of providing and maintaining the weapons.
- Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition (Initial mention)