Cannon Accouterment

[RiverRat]

I may have asked this in MSW 1.0. I don't remember and perhaps didn't record the info thinking I could always go back and look at it......   

 

Where were the necessary cannon operating tools, such as sponge, rammer, worm, handspike, etc., stowed when not being ready-for-use? On the bulwarks at each station, or elsewhere to be fetched for battle stations?

 

See this page, about halfway down, for examples:

http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/consitutiongundeck.htm

 

I don't recall ever seeing these included in a model. I can certainly understand not adding all this detail if they were out in the open!

 

Brian

[mtaylor]

Brian,

On the spar, fore, quarter decks, they were probably stored on the bulwarks.  On a gundeck, from pictures and paintings I've seen, they were stored on overhead beams.  There were hooks for their storage.  As for being on a model, most kits don't have the beams.  Most scratch types, it's tough to add them.  I think they're seldom shown as seeing them is almost impossible.

 

On the other hand, some modelers have put these items around some cannon to indicate the cannon is in use.