Devenish wrote:
Mark,
Incidentally, where you say 'trucks' I assume you mean the carriages - the trucks were the wheels, although they were referred to as truck carriages, probably to distinguish them from the carronade carriages, which of course were fixed.
Thanks Kester - a bit "loose" with my terminology there!!
I checked out a couple more sources and an interesting picture is coming together here.
I cannot find any evidence as yet that the manufacturers (gunfounders) put any kind of unique serial number on the guns they produced.
I have here a copy of a little book titled
"Gunfounding and Gunfounders." It goes through the process of forming the model/making the mould/the casting process/boring/examination and proof.
At the end of this section it says:
Quote:
If the gun came through these various tests successfully it was passed fit for service and received the final finishing touches. Small flaws, burrs and so forth would be cleaned up and removed by careful chiselling and tapping with a hammer while any relief decoration would be sharpened and made perfect. The final touch could well have been the incising of the founder's name together with the date and place of casting on the base ring if this had not been raised in relief on the model.
I did not see any evidence of a serial number being added either at the casting or finalisation stages.
My next port of call was a facsimile copy of the
"Regulations and Instructions relating to his Majesty's Service at Sea." (I believe now available on
http://www.archive.org)
Under the section for
Gunner/Armourer & Gunsmith it states the following:
Quote:
When the Guns are received on Board, either upon first setting out, or after refitting, he is to take particular Care that they be all put into their proper Carriages to which they are numbered, and place No.1, the foremost Gun on the Larboard Side, on each Deck, and the highest Number the aforemost Gun on the starboard Side; by observing which Rule, all the Guns will fit their Carriages and stand a proper Height from the Sill of the Ports.
N.B. the Guns of every Ship have a Number engraved on them over the Trunnion, and have their proper Carriages marked with the same Number on the Bracket, under or near to the Trunnion. The Guns and Carriages for the Larboard Side of each Deck are numbered and marked on the Larboard Side, and those of the Starboard Side are numbered and marked on the Starboard Side.
So we can be certain that guns were both specific to a ship AND a carriage on that ship.
BUT what is that number engraved over the trunnion. I am assuming it is just an internal number for that specific ship but I may be wrong.
I am definitely keen now to take a look at the 2 Birmingham cannon as soon as the opportunity arises. But there is of course, the strong possibilty that any numbers have become obscured over the years.
If anyone is planning a visit to the Victory in the meantime . . . . . . .
MB