During a visit to the South Australian Maritime Museum (SAMM), I photographed this small cannon on display: -
Following my visit to the SAMM, I published a blog titled “Some Carronades in South Australia” (https://stevereynolds.wixsite.com/website/post/some-carronades-in-south-australia ). I then posted the photos taken at the SAMM on the Big Cannon Project’s Facebook page.
I stated that the photos featured “A carronade at the South Australian Maritime Museum”. I was soon informed by Ruth Rhynas Brown, the Group Expert, “That's not a carronade, it's just a gunnade. Looks like a carronade- same nozzle, but it has trunnions and the proportions of a normal short gun; carronades are shorter and fatter.”
I was able to add Ruth’s comments to my blog article. I then approached the SAMM to suggest that the small cannon on display at the museum was a gunnade rather than a carronade. The museum asked me to do some research on their behalf to determine the difference between a carronade and a gunnade and, if possible, identify the cannon on display at the museum.
According to Bing AI (& Wikipedia), “A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range, anti-ship and anti-crew weapon.”
A similar Bing AI search for a description of a ‘gunnade’ resulted in “I found two different definitions of gunnade. One is that it is a naval artillery piece, variant of the carronade, developed by the British navy circa 1820 CE¹. The other definition is that it is a short 32-pounder gun of 6 feet, introduced in 1814; afterwards termed the shell-gun².”
(1) gunnade - Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gunnade .
(2) What does gunnade mean? - Definitions.net. https://www.definitions.net/definition/gunnade.
Further enquiry resulted in “The main difference between a gunnade and a carronade is that a carronade was much shorter and a third to a quarter of the weight of an equivalent long gun. A 32-pounder carronade weighed less than a ton, but a 32-pounder long gun weighed over 3 tons.”
Bing AI went on to inform me that “carronades were initially found to be very successful, but they eventually disappeared as naval artillery advanced, with the introduction of rifling and consequent change in the shape of the projectile, exploding shells replacing solid shot, and naval engagements being fought at longer ranges.”
To understand just what Ruth Rhynas Brown meant about the gun just being a gunnade rather than a carronade because “it has trunnions”, I enquired of Bing AI just what a trunnion is. I was told that “A trunnion is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development¹. In a cannon, the trunnions are two projections cast just forward of the center of mass of the cannon and fixed to a two-wheeled movable gun carriage. As they allowed the muzzle to be raised and lowered easily, the integral casting of trunnions is seen by military historians as one of the most important advances in early field artillery.”
I then asked Bing AI if carronades have trunnions. The response received was that “Towards the end of the period of use, some carronades were fitted with trunnions to lower their centers of gravity, to create a variant known as the "gunnade". Gunnades, introduced around 1820, are distinct from the earliest carronades, which also featured trunnions.”
It now seemed to me that when a trunnion was fitted to a carronade around 1820 (to lower its centre of gravity), it became a gunnade (although some of the earliest carronades also featured trunnions).
I asked Bing AI “What were the early carronades that had trunnions?” The response was “Only early carronades (1780-c.1795) had trunnions. Later models had 'joints' or lugs underneath¹.”
I later found the following description of trunnions on Wikipedia: -
“A trunnion ….. is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development. ….. In a cannon, the trunnions are two projections cast just forward of the center of mass of the cannon and fixed to a two-wheeled movable gun carriage. As they allowed the muzzle to be raised and lowered easily, the integral casting of trunnions is seen by military historians as one of the most important advances in early field artillery.”
It had now become apparent that there is a complete science to small cannon (just like anchors). According to Wikipedia, “Simplifying gunnery for comparatively untrained merchant seamen in both aiming and reloading was part of the rationale for the (carronade) gun. The replacement of trunnions by a bolt underneath, to connect the gun to the mounting, reduced the width of the carriage enhancing the wide angle of fire. A merchant ship would almost always be running away from an enemy, so a wide angle of fire was much more important than on a warship. A carronade weighed a quarter as much and used a quarter to a third of the gunpowder charge as a long gun firing the same cannonball. The reduced charge allowed carronades to have a shorter length and much lighter weight than long guns. Increasing the size of the bore and ball reduces the required length of barrel. The force acting on the ball is proportional to the square of the diameter, while the mass of the ball rises by the cube, so acceleration is slower; thus, the barrel can be shorter and therefore lighter. Long guns were also much heavier than carronades because they were over-specified to be capable of being double-shotted, whereas it was dangerous to do this in a carronade. A ship could carry more carronades, or carronades of a larger caliber, than long guns, and carronades could be mounted on the upper decks, where heavy long guns could cause the ship to be top-heavy and unstable. Carronades also required a smaller gun crew, which was very important for merchant ships, and they were faster to reload.”
Then there was this paragraph – “The carronade, like other naval guns, was mounted with ropes to restrain the recoil, but the details of the gun mounting were usually quite different. The carronade was typically mounted on a sliding rather than a wheeled gun carriage, and elevation was achieved with a turnscrew, like field guns, rather than the quoins (wooden wedges) usual for naval guns. In addition, a carronade was usually mounted on a lug underneath the barrel, rather than the usual trunnions to either side. As a result, the carronade had an unusually high centre of gravity. Towards the end of the period of use, some carronades were fitted with trunnions to lower their centres of gravity, to create a variant known as the "gunnade". Gunnades, introduced around 1820, are distinct from the earliest carronades, which also featured trunnions.” (as mentioned above).
This diagram is featured at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carronade : -
1. Breech bolt 2. Aft sight 3. Vent hole 4. Dispart sight 5. First reinforcing ring 6. Barrel 7. Muzzle 8. Second reinforcing ring 9. Azimutal pivot 10. Chock 11. Elevation pivot 12. Wheel 13. Mobile pedestal 14. Carriage 15. Pommel 16. Elevation thread
A diagram of a carronade
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carronade )
I was, however, unable to find a diagram of a gunnade.
Let’s compare the photo of the cannon at the SAMM with those at the Bay Discovery Centre and the Old Gum Tree: -
According to Ruth Rhynas Brown, the cannon at the SAMM has the same nozzle as a carronade, but it has (apart from a trunnion) the proportions of a normal short gun whereas carronades are shorter and fatter.
I had earlier assumed that this cannon thought to be from the Grecian was a carronade, but Ruth Rhynas Brown said, “neither of those are carronades or gunnades, just nice brass cannon”: -
I had also called this cannon from the Star of Greece wreck at Port Willunga a carronade: -
However, Ruth Rhynas Brown said, “It's a gunnade rather than a carronade. And almost certainly not made by the Carron Company. If there are marks they may be under the crown cast on the barrel.”
There is a YouTube video of a US gunnade at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAdlAUG9dnw .
Several people told me that the cannon from HMS Buffalo inside the Bay Discovery Centre is a gunnade. One person suggested that it “Looks like a B P & Co 6 pounder”. It does have the markings “B.P.” and “B.P. & Co” (along with a crown) on it.
It seems that B.P. & Co may be the company Boyd & Peck that was established in Philadelphia in 1790 and was known for producing cannons. There is a photo of a 6-pounder carronade at https://www.shipspottersteve.com/blog/6-pounder-carronade-1800 .
It does seem, however, that B.P. & Co could also be Bailey, Pegg & Co., Ironfounders* who made 6-pounder carronades and 12-pounder GUNADES.
* (Workers in molten ferrous metal.)
There is an image of a 12-pounder ‘gunade’ at https://www.lawranceordnance.com/default/shop/artillery/bailey-pegg-co-12-pdr-gunade-c-1820.html .
According to that web page, “The guns were made circa 1820 by Bailey, Pegg & Co., an iron foundry located at Brierley Hill in London, that was opened in the late 1700s. Bailey, Pegg & Co made guns from small swivel guns for merchant ships and signalling, up to 32 pounders and morters with bores of up to fifteen inches for the Board of Ordnance. The firm had the distinction of never having had a gun fail proving by Woolwich Arsenal. Guns from the foundry were employed extensively during the Crimean War. An old cannon made by the foundry was even employed by the defenders during the Seige of Mafeking.
“The gunade is believed to have developed from the carronade, or in parallel with it. Like the carronade, the gunade was spawned from the requirement for light-weight, easily handled guns with which to arm merchant ships. It differed from the carronade in that it had trunnions, whereas carronade had underloops.
“These gunade are of the Blomefield design. Thomas Blomefield, Inspector of Artillery from 1780, introduced a number of improvements to cannon in 1787. These included: a more rounded breech, eliminating the prominent mouldings; changes to the reinforce and strengthening of the chase; and the addition of a ring to the cascable.”
It should be noted that “H.M.S. Buffalo” by Robert Sexton only refers to the 6 cannon onboard the Buffalo as 18-pounder carronades.
This is a drawing of one of the HMS Buffalo cannon from the Old Gum Tree: -
A drawing of one of the HMS Buffalo cannon from the Old Gum Tree
(Source: “H.M.S. Buffalo” by Robert Sexton)
Although some people still thought that it was a carronade, Ruth Rhynas Brown stated, “Definitely a gunnade, not a carronade.”
One person reported, “A National Park guide told me that ….. they were simply referred to as "shorts" as opposed to "longs".”
But we have now moved from ‘gunnade’ to ‘gunade’ it seems.
According to the web page found at https://www.go2gbo.com/threads/early-usage-of-the-term-gunnade.122262/ , “the best coverage of the gunade is in Spencer Tucker's ARMING THE FLEET, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 1989. Pages 128-130 discuss the gunade and contain two figures.
“He reproduces a published drawing of one on a highly unusual naval mounting supposedly provided by the Carron company in 1798.
“Tucker's fig. 61 contains Tucker's drawings of five extant gunades to show a variety of outer forms.
Some excerpts from his book:
"first extant US Navy reference to a gunade occurs in the 1821 inventory...some in the inventory of 1833...eighty gunades...of English manufacture...gunades were phased out of service at the same time as the carronades."
"The position of the trunnions varies...little is known about these guns but it is safe to assume they were made to arm merchantmen...the carronade-derivative pieces were known variously as gunades, gunnades, and insurance guns."
“It seems to me that I have seen more gunades than any other kind of cannon, if I exclude the government museums with their many Civil War field guns. In the US, they seem to occur most frequently in private collections and in small museums or on monuments. I usually see them in bore sizes from two to six-pounder. The three marked ones I have include(d,) two by Bailey and Pegg of London, and one marked "Falkirk" from Scotland.”
Many ‘carronades’ are listed at https://search.freefind.com/find.html?oq=gunade&id=23440942&pageid=r&_charset_=UTF-8&bcd=%C3%B7&scs=1&query=carronade&Find=Search&mode=ALL (Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company). There is even a Carronade Island in WA, named after the two swivel guns found there, mistakenly described at the time (1916) as carronades.
Here are some photos of a cannon being fired at the Cape Borda lighthouse on Kangaroo Island years ago: -
A cannon being fired at the Cape Borda lighthouse on Kangaroo Island
(Taken by Noeleen Reynolds)
Joseph Rider, a ‘Top contributor’ to the Big Cannon Project’s Facebook page stated that it is a Gunnade.
I found this cannon at Fort Glanville: -
A small cannon at Fort Glanville
I found this photo of a small boat cannon online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/82134796@N03/47931931917/in/photostream/ : -
A small boat cannon taken by Charles Sturt on his 1829-1830 expedition
It is believed to have been taken by Captain Charles Sturt on his 1829-1830 voyage up and down the River Murray. It had been given to a Wentworth sheep station owner by 1853 when Sturt completed his expedition.
The same small boat cannon from Charles Sturt’s 1829-1830 expedition
Picture: Supplied by the Royal Geographical Society of SA
As for the identification of the small cannon on display in the South Australian Maritime Museum, let’s look at it again. According to Ruth Rhynas Brown from the Big Cannon Project, it is a gunnade (or gunade). Although it has the same nozzle as a carronade, it has the proportions of a normal short gun and trunnions. Carronades are shorter and fatter than this, and don’t have trunnions.
Gunnades are longer and thinner than Carronades, and have trunnions. During a different conversation, Ruth told me, “The fact there are trunnions indicate gunnade rather than carronade.”
The above plaque for the Cannon display in the SAMM may need to be altered to read something like: -
Gunnade mid-19th century
This small cannon is a gunnade, a version of carronade. It served as ……… (deleting any further references to ‘carronade’
i.e. “HMS Buffalo ….. carried six gunnades (small cannon) on its deck”.
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