When I was away...

[Bob Smith]

Sorry, as I have said before, I spend a lot of time travelling and at the moment I am back off to Cambridge and London. However you might like to see what I was doing last week in Denmark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuWslUzW2P8

Best wishes

Bob Smith

[dan610324]

wow , is that a part of what you actually do for your living or just a fun hobby ??

[RocklockI]

fine work ! do you have anyone to carry your bags for you ? would you like one ?

i've always been curious about the whole 'greek fire' and early incinderary devices .

on a ship those things would surly get into their heads .......how you supposed to stay busy fighting while your ship is burning away ?

[carronader]

you make sure you take theirs..............DOH!

[GGaskill]

Maybe you need to add more fat and/or pitch to your fire pots (and the arrows) so there is something that burns a little slower and longer.

[RocklockI]

maybe a tarred and sulfered slow match and wrapped around .

[Cannoneer]

It's good to hear that your group had success this year in approximating the composition of medieval incendiary devices. The name of the American professor (Kelly De Vries) that appeared in your video, seemed familiar to me, so I searched, and found that he has appeared on many "History Channel" episodes dealing with warfare in the Middle Ages.

[cannonmn]

Bob, very interesting, thanks for posting it!  Thanks also for the info on the French 4-pdr.

[Bob Smith]

Sorry for delay; was away last week and had visitors at the weekend.

In answer to the assorted queries:

It is partly what I do. Most of what I normally get paid for is Museum consulting, conservation and project management, but sometimes I do this sort of thing.

Yes, that was Kelly DeVries from the History Channel. We write books together and have been working our next project over the summer.

Thanks for ideas for the incendiaries. We are trying to stick to what the medieval recipes say and interpreting them can be tricky.

Bob Smith

[cannonmn]

Bob, good to know.  If you ever need help with your consulting, that requires peeking at things in the US National Archives or Library of Congress, I'm not far from those.  I've found a lot of old foreign publications in those places. 

There's one I posted a couple of pages from, perhaps you are familiar with it, an 1880's periodical that had a 3-part series on the History of French Naval Cannons, I think it was maybe 200 pages in all.  It is full of photos and tables.  I suppose you already have photos of everything in the Invalides but the tabular data I've found nowhere else.  I used it identify my French 4-pounder naval gun as a "probable Model 1779 4 pounder, short."

[Bob Smith]

That's an interesting source. Actually I am not sure they have any French iron guns at Les Invalides; most of them are bronze and land patterns. Even the Marine Museum in Paris has few iron guns. Perhaps they are in the ports (or maybe we just captured too many of them).

Bob Smith

[cannonmn]

I'll try to pull up my files with that book and make sure the photos referenced Invalides for the iron gun photos.  It is possible that those were disposed-of at some point after the 1880's article came out, don't know, but if I post one or two of the pix I'm sure you'll recognize whether it is Invalides or not.  The guns are always vertical, muzzle up, in groups of 4 or 5.  There's a circular plate over the muzzle to keep rain out.  They are always lined up against a light colored masonry wall with what appears to be open sky overhead.  Some of the pieces you just don't see elsewhere, like five different types of French iron carronades in a row.

[Cannoneer]

Cannonmn,

This is a photo of a courtyard at the musee, that shows some of the cannons that are displayed vertically along the wall.

BTW; what do you think of this obusier?

[Bob Smith]

My two main memories of that cannon are 1. The Russian graffiti
2. seeing it buried in the snow this January!

Bob Smith

[cannonmn]

BTW; what do you think of this obusier?

That's one of those things I might give a vital part of my anatomy for.