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Lieste

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Everything posted by Lieste

  1. The maximum range would be found at ~35-42 degrees depending on initial velocity and shot density. However, even with the beds and quoin removed, the carriage won't permit more than ~16 degrees (and this is in practice limited, by portsills to ~9-11 degrees). Earlier guns and their carriages were limited more (the Vasa cannon was capable of being elevated to 3.5 degrees according to notes from the recent test programme), and with some the quoin and beds present later carriages have a lower useful (and controllable) range of elevation as well (probably more than 5 degrees, but I'd have to do some additional calculations to get a figure for this for an example gun to confirm it). But-en-blank/line of metal - i.e. the line of direct pointing will give different ranges according to the (fixed) shape of the gun, the powder charge and windage, and the number and weight of shot. A single shotted 32lb gun pointing at a nominal 2/3 degree might reach 425yds to the muzzle height, and 540 to the water, from a lower battery, with the middling charge, 370yds to muzzle hgt, 485 to the water, with the small charge, 285yds to muzzle hgt, 395yds to the water. Double shot is harder to estimate, but a reasonable guess for the small charge would set the faster shot reaching to 140 yds to muzzle hgt (95 yds for the slow shot) and 245 yds for the fast shot (185 yds slow) to the water. It would be normal to engage at close ranges with reduced charges or even using double shot, and only to drive shot with large charges for distant work Carronades, firing a large shot, with lower velocity, but at a 'steeper' line of metal have similar distances of direct pointing to that of the long gun with distant charge, but have similar velocity, trajectory and penetration performance to the 'top' shot of a reduced charge double shot. This 'high' trajectory tends to make untrained carronade gunners fire rather high over closer distances, and to fall shorter than a similarly pointed gun much sooner at longer distances, but the absolute range of guns and carronades is not as dissimilar as many writers declaim (16 degrees from a carronade of 32lb would reach to 2390 yds, while the distant charge of the 9.5ft gun would require 8 degrees to drive a shot to the same range.
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