The Victory's bronze armament.

[Cannoneer]

I occasionally check to see if there's any new info on the conservation of the Victory's recovered guns, and the progress (if any) of further recovery attempts. This information is not new, I've read about the court decision quite a while ago, but I found the news video interesting.

http://www.scubanews.com/node/70

[cannonmn]

You'd never suspect from reading that article, that 3 of the big bronze guns from that wreck went into a private collection, would you? Not mine, unfortunately. Maybe I can get some pix.

[Cannoneer]

You'd never suspect from reading that article, that 3 of the big bronze guns from that wreck went into a private collection, would you? Not mine, unfortunately. Maybe I can get some pix.

Having some knowledge of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., and their method of operation, allows me to read the article (and watch the vid) with perhaps a deeper understanding than others. As a matter of fact, my suspicions would be more aroused if some artifacts from one of their “dives” didn’t end up on the market; this outfit works for profit, not the Smithsonian.

On the video you can see the dexterity of the RC arms securing straps on one of the guns.

[cannonmn]

OOOps I made a booboo, what happens when yer brain gits this old an' starts ter rot!  My friend doesn't have any cannons from VICTORY, but he got some from HMS LONDON which is of course not connected to the other wreck, and was in much different legal waters.  Pix and an  article are supposed to be coming my way, but there is probably stuff on the web too, if you have time to look, I don't at the moment.

[Cannoneer]

I think we had a thread about the London's guns. I know that we had one about the illegal recovery of guns from the HMS London, and the arrest of some folks in Kent, England.

I only know of two guns (42-pdr & 12-pdr) that have so far been recovered from the HMS Victory wreck by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., and those are now possessions of "The National Museum of the Royal Navy", but Odyssey also claims that at least two, and possibly up to six guns have been removed from the site by looters, so it's altogether possible that there are cannon from the Victory being bought and sold.

[Cannoneer]

Amending info in the previous post, it's only definite that one cannon has been removed illegaly from the HMS Victory site. A Dutch vessel usually engaged in recovering lost cargos, anchors and metals from wrecks, illegally salvaged the bronze cannon from the wreck. The salvage company removed the 24-pounder bronze gun using a camera-equipped hydraulic grab bucket. The gun was embargoed in Holland, and is now in the hands of Dutch Heritage. The UK Ministry of Defence has claimed the cannon as state property.