Landships II

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Landships II -> Landships WW1 Forum -> Artillery -> Mystery naval / coastal gun barrel - circa 1915
Post Info TOPIC: Mystery naval / coastal gun barrel - circa 1915
Roger Todd


Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 1393
Date:
Mystery naval / coastal gun barrel - circa 1915
Permalink   

I don't think it's a real gun barrel (odd features such as the chamfered muzzle put me off; and that certainly isn't anything like a real mounting, and it looks far too spindly and weak if it's a temporary platform to be supporting a real gun barrel as something that size would probably weigh at least forty tons), so I suspect it's a dummy gun, probably made of wood, of which both sides built many, before the men have moved a load of branches and brush to semi-conceal it leaving only the muzzle protruding.

You can see a more elaborate French one here:

http://www.fototime.com/B42D7C688A24194/orig.jpg



-- Edited by Roger Todd on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 12:59:43 PM

__________________
drakegoodman


Captain

Status: Offline
Posts: 83
Date:
Permalink   

Roger Todd wrote:

There's no way it's a real gun barrel (and that certainly isn't anything like a real mounting, and it looks far too spindly and weak if it's a temporary platform to be supporting a real gun barrel as something that size would probably weight at least forty tons), so I suspect it's a dummy gun, probably made of wood, of which both sides built many, before the men have moved a load of branches and brush to semi-conceal it leaving only the muzzle protruding.

You can see a more elaborate French one here:

http://www.fototime.com/B42D7C688A24194/orig.jpg



-- Edited by Roger Todd on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 12:57:51 PM

 

Thanks mate - you said what I daren't. I actually thought it was some kind of monument.

That French job you linked to kept popping up as I was trying to make some kind of ID on this thing and roused my suspicions. The thing that threw me off was the fact that so many men are astride the barrel, which made it appear too 'real' to be a mock-up.

Cheers!



-- Edited by drakegoodman on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 01:03:36 PM



-- Edited by drakegoodman on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 01:04:11 PM

__________________
TinCanTadpole


Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 1062
Date:
Permalink   

Another pointer might be the apparent absence of rifling inside the muzzle - any pics of battleship gun muzzles that I've seen show many rifling grooves right inside the muzzle.

 

PS - even if it's fake, I would guess calibre supposedly around 13-14 inches (maybe 34-35cm) and I ask, perhaps it's reinforced concrete? I wouldn't fancy making something that large in wood.


PPS - forgot to say, the uniforms suggest Germany or maybe Austria-Hungary
-- Edited by TinCanTadpole on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 04:32:21 PM



-- Edited by TinCanTadpole on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 04:33:08 PM

__________________
drakegoodman


Captain

Status: Offline
Posts: 83
Date:
Permalink   

G'day Gentlemen,

Can anyone supply a possible country of origin / calibre for this brute? No clues on the back of the card (naturally)

Untitled-Scanned-01 Thanks in advance, Brett

__________________
Roger Todd


Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 1393
Date:
Permalink   

drakegoodman wrote:
The thing that threw me off was the fact that so many men are astride the barrel, which made it appear too 'real' to be a mock-up.

I have to say that that is the one thing that threw me off too* - why make such a rigid barrel for a dummy? Most of these mockups - from what little I can gather on the web - were wood and 'tar-paper' so hardly very robust! But so many other things made me suspicious I couldn't help but plump for it being a dummy - glad I could help!

Fascinating image, by the way, and really good quality - thanks for posting it!

*Which is why I had edited my wording slightly later as I felt my original comment was too dogmatic in its phrasing!



__________________
drakegoodman


Captain

Status: Offline
Posts: 83
Date:
Permalink   

TinCanTadpole wrote:


PPS - forgot to say, the uniforms suggest Germany or maybe Austria-Hungary
-- Edited by TinCanTadpole on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 04:32:21 PM



-- Edited by TinCanTadpole on Tuesday 10th of April 2012 04:33:08 PM

 

100% these fellows are German. Every man astride the barrel is an NCO and judging by their Swedish cuffs, riding breeches, cavalry-style boots and black cap bands; they're from an artillery regiment.

It looks like they've kicked off some Mannschaften from an infantry unit who have hung around to have their picture taken, although the surly bloke at the bottom looks like he's ready to give someone a piece of his mind.



__________________
Pzkpfw-e


Commander in Chief

Status: Offline
Posts: 628
Date:
Permalink   

Looking at the "breech" end, the shape's a little odd for a real gun, polygonal! The support strap doesn't look strong enough to handle a real gun's weight,
I'll guess it's a dummy too.

__________________
drakegoodman


Captain

Status: Offline
Posts: 83
Date:
Permalink   

I should have run a poll on this. Thanks mate.

__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
Landships II -> Landships WW1 Forum -> Artillery -> Mystery naval / coastal gun barrel - circa 1915
Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse 		Powered by ActiveBoard