|
|
|
| Home
/ History
/ Portland
and Weymouth / Dorset's Coastal Defences |
| |
| Guns and Cannons |
| |
| Source: Various (please see
Site Credits) |
Click any picture to enlarge
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| The
Great Guns and Cannons of the Coastal Fortresses of the19th
Century |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Old cannons still in use on the Nothe
in the 1890s |
|
|
The
period opened with coastal batteries being armed with cannons
similar to those used by Nelson at Trafalgar. These were loaded
at the front or muzzle, had smooth barrels and fired round shot
over a range of not much more than a mile. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Because these old
cannons were muzzle loaded the ball had to be loose enough to
push easily down the barrel. This meant that, when the gun was
fired the cannon ball bounced from side to side as it came out.
With the introduction of rifling the ball was changed into a
shel1 and devices were invented to make this fit tightly to
the sides of the barrel and make the shell spin in flight. At
the same time a new more powerful explosive, cordite, was introduced.
This, combined with advances in the production of steel, enabled
guns to be made that could fire much further, with greater accuracy.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Gun with screw breech on slide and carriage
in casemate, at Crownhill Fort |
|
|
 |
| 68 pounder on slide and carriage in
open embrasure |
|
|
 |
| Disappearing gun, Crownhill Fort.
This type of gun dropped flat on firing to allow crew
to load in safety. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| 32 pounder smooth bore cannon, late
19th century. Wrapped cartridge and ball, top left |
|
|
Nelson's cannons were
aimed by pointing the gun by hand and stopped from running too
far back (recoil) with ropes. The next stage was to put the
gun and its carriage on a slide up which it could recoil and
the slide could be mechanically turned, within limits, to aim
the gun. With the introduction of loading the gun from the back
(breech) and hydraulic systems to stop the recoil, guns could
be pivoted from the centre and so turn right through 360 degrees
to be aimed. Thus the number of guns required to defend the
harbour was greatly reduced. The Breakwater Fort at Portland
was designed in 1859 for tiers of Nelson style cannons. When
it was eventually completed in 1875 it mounted massive 12.5
inch bore rifled muzzle loading cannons on slides and carriages.
These were replaced at the turn of the century with two 6 inch
rifled breech loaders on pivoted mountings |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| 6 inch BL gun |
|
|
 |
| 6 pounder quick firer |
|
|
 |
| 12.5 inch RML |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| Balls, shells and windage |
|
|
 |
| 7in RML |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| TOP |
| |
|
|
 |
© Copyright 2003 · Cyberport Project Ltd · All Rights Reserved · Site design by CoDesign |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
