This week, my wife and I are mostly on holiday in Norway. We started by flying into Bergen, and naturally Bergen Castle was top of the list for a tourist visit. Imagine my pleasure when, on visiting the Roesenkrantz Tower, I found it had a Cannon Loft (I want one of those when I win the lottery), and there, sitting in the centre of the floor, was an 18th century 3 pdr battalion gun.
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| The barrel was made in the 1780s, whilst the carriage is a 19th century replica. From the information panel: barrel weight 100kg, range with canister 350m, range with roundshot 1000m, crew 5. |
Being in a Norwegian museum, I found I was free to handle the gun more or less as I wanted, so I had a go. I found the whole thing surprisingly light to handle. The carriage was well balanced and it was easy to lift and move the gun. Of course, things might have been different on rough ground, but it was interesting to see how I could manoeuvre the gun with one hand. The short video below illustrates the point.
The elevating screw mechanism was in excellent condition and showed just how precise and simple these mechanisms were - a great improvement over the sliding wedge of the early 18th century.
I was also able to find some authentic 18th century uniform items to demonstrate. Being a bit of an expert in this field, I thought readers would find the results valuable.
Or not. Anyway, having a lovely time. More wargaming posts to come once I'm back in good old Blighty.
1 comment:
Envious! 'Nuff said;)
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