First of all, this Barbette Carriage contest for the Krupp howitzer is interesting, but should be extended to all types of artillery which used any type of barbette carriage, to make it fair to all members who choose to enter. We will not be, as all our time until next Christmas is already spoken for.
The calendar contest should absolutely NOT favor one cannon over any other. It should be perfectly fair to all participants, and if I know these moderators at all, it will be exactly that! Nuff said.
I admit to being perplexed at Double D's statement above, maybe he will tell us what he means by it if the opportunity to do so presents itself. The following is an accumulation of facts about seacoast artillery carriages, their terminology and uses that we have picked up here and there in the last 8 years.
There is such a thing known as a Barbette Platform. It is used primarily for positioning siege and even field guns so that they may fire over a fort wall or parapet. This type of platform is basically a thick, highly stacked, box of timbers or earth or, more rarely, masonry, upon which to place a cannon. The Seacoast Barbette Carriage elevates the tube sufficiently to fire over a parapet without the use of high, Barbette Platforms.
For 50 years from 1840 to 1890 almost all of the world’s heavy seacoast guns were placed upon 3 basic types of carriages. These were the lower profile Casemate Carriage designed to be placed within fortress walls in chambers called Casemates, the Front-Pintle Barbette Carriage and the Center-Pintle Barbette Carriage which were of a higher profile, designed to allow the gun to fire over walls or parapets. These carriages were made of wood or iron. All these types of carriages were similar in design having an upper carriage that recoiled on a two rail or three rail Chassis. It was the Chassis which pivoted left and right to aim the gun.
The Front-Pintle Barbette Carriage pivoted at the front of the chassis. This allowed the gun to fire through embrasures with just the gun’s muzzle outside the protective earthwork or masonry wall, allowing the gun and crew more protection from enemy fire. The big advantage of the Center-Pintle Barbette Carriage was that it allowed a full 360 degree traverse, giving the gun or battery much more opportunity to engage enemy forces wherever they were. The heaviest seacoast guns in the American inventory during those years, the 15 and 20 Inch Rodmans were ALL mounted on Barbette Carriages of both types.
The Krupp 14” seacoast guns of the 1860s and 70s were mounted on Seacoast, Iron, Front-Pintle, Barbette Carriages, using a high-profile Chassis and Upper Carriage to allow the howitzer to fire over walls or parapets. Water Battery guns the world over typically used Barbette Carriages which afforded guns and gun crews maximum protection from the maelstrom of shells hurled by naval fleets.
Regards,
Tracy and Mike
