700 signing
The form 700 would normally be signed by the Captain, irrespective of rank, when the crew arrived at the dispersal ready to get to their posts. The Chiefy would have it with him and would go over the various points with the Skipper before handing it to him to sign and officially "take over"the aircraft. I might just mention that most pilots encouraged members of the ground crew to come up with them at every possible opportunity , such as air tests. It was by no means uncommon for " Stowaways" to actually be on board on an "Op" although they must have been stark, raving mad to do so . I always believed in taking parachute packers up and personally selecting their chutes at random.
By the way wasn't Captain Nemo the Skipper of the Sub (Nautilus ?), in Jules Verne's "20,00 leagues under the sea ?"