0t-dardanelles gun--update

Asquith and Panhard99 have detailed posts regarding the Dardanelles cannon--cast in 1464--around 10 years following fall of Constantinople by Ottoman Turk military engineers

this weapon belongs to class referred to as bombards

it appears to be only recognized bombard cast in two sections united by screw thread

thread dimensions I list here are derived estimate--26 inch od --- crest to crest pitch 2.6 inch--- 25 inch thread segment
uniting the blind breech 9 ton half with the 9 ton projectile containing chase

what is new in this post is footage from Turkey incorporating casting and dynamic features of this innovative conflict implement

Dardanelles Gun - YouTube

It fired stone balls and I seem to remember reading that the last time it was fired was in 1807, oddly enough against the British fleet. I say oddly because it was given to Queen Victoria by the then Sultan - I'm not sure when but perhaps in the 1880s. I first saw it on Tower Green but since then I believe it's been moved to the artillery display at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

I've wondered if the square notches on each end of the tubes were for some sort of giant spanner to screw the two parts together. The Turkish video doesn't show that but I suspect it would have been impossible to thread the two parts together otherwise. I am curious as to how the threads were made. If they were cast in place they may have used sand and oil to lap the threads...it would have been immensely tedious but with unlimited manpower it may have been possible.

Also, the walls of the tube aren't all that thick but it would have used what is called "serpentine powder" - raw gunpowder made by simply combining charcoal and potassium nitrate. It isn't very powerful so the pressures would have been modest given the volume. A great deal of scientific effort went into improving gunpowder but it wasn't really perfected until the middle or end of the 18th century.

I think the square notches are formed by a series of cylinders cast between the adjacent shoulders. In the picture, you can see a space beneath each cylinder which would allow a straight prybar with a tapered end to be inserted so that it would not slip out of the pocket when torque is applied. The shape reminds me of the "lantern pinions" used in American low-priced mid-19th century brass clocks. Not that the gun would ever be mated to a gear.

Dardanelles Gun - Wikipedia

Gun - The Great Turkish Bombard (1464) - Royal Armouries collections Picture from the Royal Armouries:


The Royal Armouries page has 31 images of the gun. I think several show the gun as it was displayed in Turkey, probably here, where they still have a bunch of guns around the castle:
Military Museum and Cimenlik Castle in Canakkale | Turkish Archaeological News Or maybe the old pictures show the gun at the Tower of London.

Larry

L Vanice said:

I think the square notches are formed by a series of cylinders cast between the adjacent shoulders. In the picture, you can see a space beneath each cylinder which would allow a straight prybar with a tapered end to be inserted so that it would not slip out of the pocket when torque is applied. The shape reminds me of the "lantern pinions" used in American low-priced mid-19th century brass clocks. Not that the gun would ever be mated to a gear.

Larry

Click to expand...

I think you must be right about that and I confess I didn't notice that there was a space there. It's been a long time since I last saw it...

I listened to most of a video, but while the views were fine, I could barely understand the audio, and it almost disappears several times during the video. Didn't get much from it, ,but may try again when I can turn it up louder.

JST said:

I listened to most of a video, but while the views were fine, I could barely understand the audio, and it almost disappears several times during the video. Didn't get much from it, ,but may try again when I can turn it up louder.

Click to expand...

I turned off the sound and just skimmed the pictures. The computer imaging was interesting.

Larry