LA Macready won the award as part of the Royal Navy’s annual Peregrine Trophy competition.
The Peregrine aims to promote high professional standards in naval photography.
As a photographer, LA Macready is technically part of the Fleet Air Arm, better known for providing the Royal Navy’s air force.
The Navy started employing photographers around 90 years ago to monitor the accuracy of naval gun fire and to analyse ballistics data.
Handing LA Macready his award at a ceremony in Portsmouth naval base yesterday, the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, said: "Without the photographic branch, the Royal Navy would not have such high visibility, and this is a really powerful image."
LA Macready’s picture, as well as all the others that picked up awards in the competition, will be on display at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s Action Stations attraction.
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