Changes

=== British 9-pounder Howitzer===

'''Bronze Gun or Howitzer''', 9-pounder (PL.52)

=== Bronze Tiger Mortar ===

'''Bronze Mortar'''

Indian, probably late 18th century.

The piece is cast in the form of a sitting tiger, the muzzle issuing from open jaws, the surface being modelled and chased to simulate stripes. It appears to be unfinished since the vent is not drilled and the bore has not been cleaned after casting. There is a lifting loop at the front, on the under side.

L 4ft 6in (137.2cm) Cal 9.4in ( 23.9cm) Diam chamber 7.2in (18.3cm)

=== Kurnaul 24-pounder ===

0037a 24-pdr drg

== Guns at the Royal Hospital ==

[http://www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk/home The Royal Hospital] in Chelsea.

===Indian 6-pounder ===

BRONZE GUN, 6-pounder and carriage (PL.42)<br>

=== 17th Century Chinese Guns ===

'''Two Chinese guns''' incorrectly labelled at Chelsea as Sikh and taken at Chillianwalla during the 2nd Sikh war.

The gun is intended for a swivel mounting. The muzzle is in the form of a tiger’s head, the reinforce being decorated with raised diagonal ribs radiating from a central rib possibly simulating a tiger’s stripes. There is a slot at the breech for a back sight now missing, the vent being placed slightly to the right side. The cascable button is formed as a tube, octagonal outside with a square bore, pierced for a transverse pin; it is intended to form a socket for a tail or aiming lever. The chase is engraved with several inscriptions in Arabic script; one is properly engraved to read ‘The wise Almighty’, the others are in the nature of graffiti.

There is a remarkable similarity between this gun and the one photographed above.

The [[Taku Forts]] were defences near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjin#History Tianjin] in northeastern China.

'''An ‘Armstrong’ rifled muzzle loader.''' It was possibly placed in the old fort during the 3rd China War|Boxer Rebellion 1896-1901. Calibre estimated at 7-10 in. British guns of this type were not manufactured until the late 1870s.

The photograph was taken in 1928 by Terence Shields Marshall (b Calcutta 1904) in one of General Gordon’s Taku forts built at the time of the [[Taiping Rebellion]] 1850-64.

This gun at 14ft 4.5 in bore 9.5in cast at Lahore in 1757 and used by Ahmed Shah at Panipat in 1761.

This gun is in the museum at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawlamyine Moulmein], Burma.

'''This smooth-bore cast iron gun''', dated 1826 and bearing the elaborate ‘Crown & P’ mark of George IV, signifying that the gun had passed proof in the Royal Navy yards as fit and ready for service, is of the Blomefield pattern, named after Thomas Blomefield, Inspector of Artillery at Woolwich between 1780 and 1822. It has the characteristic breeching loop above the button, typical of naval guns of this pattern, also carried by Nelson’s VICTORY at Trafalgar. The loop had a heavy duty hawser passed through it, lashing the gun to the ship to prevent too much unpredictable recoil demolishing the mast and occasionally demolishing members of the gun crew as well. Formerly masts were padded at the base using ‘soft substance’ but this was never satisfactory, especially in the case of very heavy cannon.

Below is a drawing and extract from ‘The story of the Gun’ Lt AW Wilson RA first published 1944.

''‘The drawing shows a 32pr. on board the VICTORY. Compare it with any piece of 200 years before and notice the similarity. Elevation was still obtained by means of the quoin or wedge, while the only advance on checking recoil by means of ‘soft substance’ around the mast, seems to be that of anchoring the piece to the ship by a breeching passed through the eye of the cascable. The number in the detachments for these guns was decided by allowing one man for each 500lbs of metal. The 32-pounder weighed 32 cwt (3,584 lbs) and therefore had a crew of seven. It is interesting to consider that were we to use the same system today we should require a detachment of 70 for one of our modern heavy guns.’''