HMS PALLAS 12lb. Cannon by MikeR - FINISHED - 1:16 ( 3/4" to 1 foot )

[MikeR]

I took some time off from working on my model of the Flying Fish and built this model of a 12 pound cannon.  This was something that I have been wanting to build for a long time.  I used cherry for the frames and beams, dogwood for the planking and deck, ebony for the wales, and pink ivory wood for the molding. I made the blocks and gun tools out of ipe.  The gun was turned on my wood lathe starting with 1" brass bar stock.

The Venus class of 36-gun frigates were designed by Thomas Slade, in 1756, the Surveyor of the Navy and former Master Shipwright at Deptford Dockyard. Alongside their smaller cousin, the 32-gun Southampton class, the Venus-class represented an experiment in ship design; fast, medium-sized vessels capable of overhauling smaller craft and singlehandedly engaging enemy cruisers or privateers.^[1] As a further innovation, Slade borrowed from contemporary French ship design by removing the lower deck gun ports and locating the ship's cannons solely on the upper deck. This permitted the carrying of heavier ordinance without the substantial increase in hull size which would otherwise have been required in order to keep the lower gun ports consistently above the waterline.^[2] The lower deck was instead used for additional stores, enabling Venus-class frigates to remain at sea for longer periods without resupply.^[3]

Armament

Pallas' principal armament was 26 iron-cast twelve-pound cannons, located along her upper deck. The guns were constructed with shorter barrels as traditional twelve-pound cannons were too long to fit within the frigate's narrow beam.^[4] Each cannon weighed 28.5 long cwt (3,200 lb or 1,400 kg)^[5] with a gun barrel length of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) compared with their 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) equivalent in larger Royal Navy vessels.^[4]

The twelve-pound cannons were supported by ten six-pounder guns, eight on the quarterdeck and two on the forecastle, each weighing 16.5 long cwt (1,800 lb or 800 kg) with a barrel length of 6 feet (1.8 m).^[2] Taken together, the twelve-pound and six-pound cannons provided a broadside weight of 189 pounds (86 kg).^[6] She was also equipped with twelve ¹⁄₂-pound swivel guns for anti-personnel use.^[5] These swivel guns were mounted in fixed positions on the quarterdeck and forecastle.^[4]

[ccoyle]

Very nice, but a finished model should go in the gallery.

[MikeR]

Chris

It is not quite finished.  I still have to make a couple of buckets,  some block and tackles, and cut a couple of notches in the floor beams.

 

Mike R

[MikeR]

Some close ups of the cannon carriage, powder container and water bucket.

Mike R

[allanyed]

This is absolutely gorgeous and looks like it was a fun break from your Flying Fish model.  The carriage and accoutrements are especially great looking.

 

Cannon patterns came up in another topic lately.  Assuming this is Pallas 1757, she would probably have had Armstrong pattern cannon.  Did all the Armstrong pattern castings have a chase astragal and fillets between the muzzle astragal and the second reinforce ring and a button ring or were some cast without these?  Like you I have been thinking about doing a similar project for a change of pace and was curious about this before taking the plunge for this approximate time period.  I realize the Armstrong Frederick pattern came into use about 1760, but other than the addition of the primer pan, their appearance is very similar on drawings that I have seen that are based on contemporary information.  The sketch below is based on Armstrong pattern drawings in The History of English Sea Ordnance Volume II by Adriana Caruana.

Thanks

Allan

 

[MikeR]

Allan

You asked if all the Armstrong pattern castings have a chase astragal and fillets between the muzzle astragal and the second reinforce ring and a button ring or were some cast without these?  I don't Know. I found this pattern for the barrel on line and I scaled it down from 8 1/2 ft. to 7 1/2 ft. which is the length of the guns on the Pallas.  I will be getting back to my Flying Fish soon.  Summer time is a slow time for modeling,  I will be working outside in the yard and garden.

Mike R

[allanyed]

13 hours ago, MikeR said:

Summer time is a slow time for modeling,

Hi MIke,

Totally understood! Enjoy the outdoors, sounds like you are north and contend with cooler winter weather so enjoy the rest of your summertime.

 

Regarding the cannon, again, your project really looks great.   For the future keep in mind that the specified length of the gun is the length from the muzzle to the breech ring, not the overall length, thus the dimensions I show in the sketch for  7' 6" barrels.  

 

Allan

[MikeR]

Allan

I am from western PA. so our summer temperatures were not to bad and our last few winters have been mild.  Thanks, now I know how to measure barrel length.  I have been thinking of another little project, a carronade,  but I

have not decided on a sliding carriage or one with wheels.

Mike

[allanyed]

5 hours ago, MikeR said:

I have been thinking of another little project, a carronade

Hi Mike,

If you have not already seen them, there are about a dozen contemporary carronade drawings on the RMG Collections website including the two 18 pounders below.  In addition I would be happy to PM what I have redrawn from Caruana in whatever scale you would like.

 

Sorry to go off subject, Western PA is our old stomping grounds.   We will be in Oakmont in October visiting friends and going to the Steeler/Jaguars game.  Black and gold all the way in our family.  I did my graduate work at Pitt and the Admiral is a graduate of IUP to boot.  I still have many fond memories including the great walleye fishing in Pymatuning.  You are in a wonderful part of the country. 

Allan

 

[MikeR]

I had a lot of fun building this model.  This model will be displayed with one of my half complete models when it is done, the HMS Pallas, which is in the back ground of the next few pictures.

 

Mike R