Author Topic: The Artillery of British India (Read 1403 times)

Cannoneer · « **on:** February 17, 2011, 07:28:07 PM »

"This article describes some famous artillery pieces with connections to the era of the British in India. The information and images have been provided by Elizabeth Hancox, FIBIS member and acknowledged expert on guns."

There are many cannons here that I have already seen, but there are also a few that I haven't laid eyes on before. These Indian artillery pieces never cease to amaze me, they've got to be amongst the most elaborately decorated barrels and carriages in history.

http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=Historic_Guns_of_British_India

dan610324 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2011, 10:09:56 PM »

WOW

cant say much more

Bob Smith · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2011, 12:34:55 AM »

Nice collection, although the lady has misconstrued the cannon by Splinter at the old Rotunda which was cast in Einkhuizen and presumably taken to the East by the Dutch East India Company. It is a lovely piece, though.

Bob Smith

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2011, 03:13:26 AM »

Hmmmm.

War-time production vs. peace-time Army.

Works of ART. Never to be beaten into plowshares!

partsproduction · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2011, 11:12:26 AM »

I wonder how they got the deep engraving in the first picture, that's one small place in the universe with a great deal of human labor bestowed in it.

Cannoneer · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2011, 12:23:11 PM »

partsproduction,
That's not engraving on the barrel, that's the precision of the mould that was used in casting that bronze cannon. The surface of the barrel might have been worked on with tools (it's called chasing the metal) after it was cast, but it is not engraved.

dan610324 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2011, 12:55:53 PM »

most probably just some minor adjustments after the casting
they are made with the lost wax method so they can be cast with very detailed patterns and decorations

Double D · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2011, 02:07:19 PM »

Gary, can do that --piece of cake for him....

Zulu · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2011, 04:15:46 PM »

Quote from: Double D on February 18, 2011, 02:07:19 PM

Gary, can do that --piece of cake for him....

Where is Gary? Is he hiding out?
Zulu

dan610324 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2011, 05:56:43 PM »

of course he can
but it will take a while to sit with a scalpel and carve every piece of that pattern in wax and solder it in place on the barrel
I guess that they had a wooden mold and made every one of the pieces that form the pattern first before they attached them to the wax original .
but it must have taken months to do it for several people
back then the labor was cheap , but it was an extreme cannon at that time also .

willdj79 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2011, 09:07:52 PM »

not only it is a work of art, but they leave it out in the weather.. What a shame

Cannoneer · « **Reply #11 on:** February 19, 2011, 10:52:37 AM »

Unfortunately, I think that the vast majority of countries in the world today, including our own and Britain, just don’t possess the means to house all of their historic bronze artillery pieces indoors. The Museum of Artillery, Engineers, and Signal Troops in St. Petersburg, Russia has a fantastic artillery collection, and outdoors along the building’s walls and in the courtyard are what appear to be hundreds of ornate bronze cannon and mortars; some are mounted on carriages and pedestals, but many are placed right next to each other in rows on the ground. Someday, if one of us ever gets there, it would be interesting to find out just how many pieces are stored outside.

Victor3 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 19, 2011, 11:05:07 PM »

That one with all the raised relief was obviously made for a specific purpose.

"Late for duty again I see. You know that fancy gun we have out back? Take this case of Q-tips and a can of Brasso......."

Cannoneer · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2011, 05:16:57 AM »

Hey, stranger!

I think I may have read somewhere that the Maharajah actually had his war elephants trained to act as pressure washers to clean that huge dust catcher; and one of the rewards used in training them was to allow them to use that big bore back scratcher on their itchy rumps after they’d completed the task.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2011, 06:09:38 AM »

Quote from: Boom J on February 20, 2011, 05:16:57 AM

Hey, stranger! I think I may have read somewhere that the Maharajah actually had his war elephants trained to act as pressure washers to clean that huge dust catcher; and one of the rewards used in training them was to allow them to use that big bore back scratcher on their itchy rumps after they’d completed the task.

Whether true or not, it's well worth repeating!

Cannoneer · « **Reply #15 on:** February 22, 2011, 07:06:42 PM »

Tim,
Just in case there are any really innocent souls out there, I guess I should confess that I made the whole elephant trunk spraying story up; but I'll tell you, the more I think about it, the more plausible that story becomes.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2011, 12:54:23 AM »

Quote from: Boom J on February 22, 2011, 07:06:42 PM

Tim,
Just in case there are any really innocent souls out there, I guess I should confess that I made the whole elephant trunk spraying story up; but I'll tell you, the more I think about it, the more plausible that story becomes.

Confession is good for the soul. BUT it would be a great shot in a Disney version of something from Kipling.

RocklockI · « **Reply #17 on:** February 23, 2011, 05:45:23 AM »

Wow! ..... if I made one it would need dolphins

.

Honestly I dont think it would be too hard IF you could come up with the right patterns to copy .

Time is all it takes .

Gary

dan610324 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 23, 2011, 08:13:50 AM »

yeah , but lots and lots of it

Cannoneer · « **Reply #19 on:** February 23, 2011, 09:10:24 AM »

Dan,
If that barrel were to be attempted today, would the modern foundry probably use vacuum casting to achieve that depth in the relief, and intricate detail of the design? I've seen videos of the vacuum casting process, but always on a small scale (usually jewelry); could they even use it to cast something this large?

dan610324 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2011, 10:34:50 AM »

yeah there are some foudries that got hughe vacuum equipment , but not many .
but you can get a very very good result with just traditional casting
if you do everything correct you could see details small as a hair
so its absolutely NOT needed to produce a casting like that
if its a deep relif or not doesnt matter, the bronze fill the mold any way .
just look at garys barrel with achantus decorations

Zulu · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:25:58 PM »

FDC,
Are you out there? We know you as someone who wants to cast a bronze carronade like the one I made a wooden copy of. I would very much like to hear what you have to say about this subject.
Zulu

Cannoneer · « **Reply #22 on:** March 11, 2011, 03:19:33 PM »

I've been waiting for the public library system here to get a hold of this book (open link) for me, and they finally came through. For anyone that has a further interest in Indian artillery, it is a good read and it contains some fine illustrations. BTW, this book has an introductory note written by none other than Bob Smith (reply #2).

http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDK189/

Indian Gun at Fort Nelson, Fareham, UK photo by Ft. Nelson staff

dan610324 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 12, 2011, 09:27:52 AM »

extreeeeeem and beautiful
but I still think the one in the background is more beautiful

Cannoneer · « **Reply #24 on:** March 12, 2011, 08:35:55 PM »

I'm in accord with your judgement on this one, Dan; concerning aesthetics, sometimes less is more.

dan610324 · « **Reply #25 on:** March 12, 2011, 08:52:04 PM »

and more can be way toooooo much