Help Identifying This Naval Gun

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I was sent this picture from someone who made a 3D model of it. I know I've seen it before, but I can't seem to find a clearer version, or one in English:
1692072993350.png
A very similar gun is shown on the Reconstruction of a 16th Century Portuguese Nau:
1692074527757.png
but no mention is made of its size, name or description. This is one reason I thought this would be a good model to start with.

I am trying to determine the approximate size (barrel length, bore, pounds) and get other information to see if it would be a reasonable gun to use on the quarterdeck of the Ragusian Carrack I am building. It has much in common with the guns included with the kit:
1692073117433.png

Searching for Columbrina, I've also found the following similar designs:

A Pocher kit in 1:20 scale:
1692073240416.png
1692073302338.png
I can't make out most of the dimensions, but I believe the OAL is 238 cm (I assume - just under 8'), although it looks more of a land operated gun.

Another photo of a model:
1692073513721.png
From Wikipedia:
1692073596933.png
culverin of the century. XVI cast by Annibale Borgognoni for Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, in 1556
The above picture is also shown on this web site and has the following description:
It is a faithful, life-size copy of the ancient colubrine, weighing over seven tons. The colubrine was cast in 1556 for Duke Ercole according to d'Este, by Annibale Borgognoni, one of the most important builders of artillery pieces of the Estensi. In the National Historical Museum of Artillery of Turin, an engraving of the colubrina is found, found at Villa d'Este in Varese, in 1766, where it is described as the most beautiful artillery manufactured in Italy in the sixteenth century. After the transfer of the court to Modena, in 1597, all the still efficient artillery was brought to that city. The last time, which the Queen officially got to show, was on the occasion of the visit, in Modena, of a French cannon maker. It was a heavy firearm for the period, and was a symbol of the military grandeur of the Este family. It consisted of three parts, all in the shape of a truncated cone, welded together.

It seems unlikely to me that it would have weighed over 7 tons, but if so, it certainly would not have been a naval gun.

In addition, I have found a site with Artillery in the Marine Museum of Portugal with many guns of similar size and shape (I think). Would any of these be likely candidates? In addition to photos of similar gun barrels, they describe typical armament of similar Carrack ships. Worth looking at!

To repeat, I am trying to find a design of gun that might be on this ship (only 2 on the quarterdeck, with 8 heavier guns on the main deck). The first picture of the Colubrina seems promising, but I'd love to hear what y'all think about it.
 
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I was surprised to see that this topic made it to Last Week's Most Popular Topics email, without a single response. My post wasn't about facts, but rather soliciting answers. No one has any? Opinions? References? Translations? Please?
 
Hello,
Looking at the pictures you posted, let me give you this information:
There are 2 types of "culverins": Land and Marine.
If this can help you the french name of this type of early gun is COULEUVRINE.
Google this and you will find substantial information and measurements.
Denis
 
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Hello,

The name colubrine/culverin can have three meanings: 1) a gun of the long-barrelled cannon family of about 28–30 calibres long or more of any calibre (in Germanic languages the synonym for colubrine is schlange/slanga or similar), or 2) the largest cannon in the colubrine family (usually 20–30 lbs; smaller colubrines were referred to as 1/2-colubrine, 1/4-colubrine, falcon, falconet, serpentine etc.), or 3) an English cannon with a calibre of 18 lbs.

Colubrines (gun barrels) may have been mounted on a variety of carriages, but if you are interested in single-axle carriages, here are some examples based on historical sources rather than today's fantasies on the web:


A reconstruction of a carriage based on an archaeological find from the time of the Invincible Armada 1588 (full paper with more details: An Alberghetti bronze minion and carriage from Yarmouth Roads, Isle of Wight by D. Tomalin, J. Cross and D. Motkin [in:] Guns from the Sea. Ship's Armaments in the Age of Discovery. Current Research and New Discoveries in Early Artillery, 1988). Please note that too small gun barrel was mated to this carriage by the archaeologists (see also post #14):


001.jpg



One of the plates from a period work on artillery depicting various types of carriages, including a single-axle one. The upper one is described as for the course guns on galleys, the middle one for bronze (here meaning long-barrelled) guns and the lower one for iron (here meaning short-barrelled) guns. It is about Mediterranean specificity (P. Sardi, L'Artiglieria, Venetia 1621):


19 - wszystkie podstawowe.jpg



Perhaps the best preserved single-axle gun carriage is from the Baltic shipwreck of Swedish man-of-war Solen 1627, even with partly preserved iron fittings. Below some pictures together with my detailed graphic reconstruction (incidentally, the gun tube depicted is a Swedish bronze 3/4 slanga/culverin, ie. 6-pdr, cast about 1600):


W6-1152 - całostronicowy.jpg


22 - w przedniej części.jpg


perspektywa.jpg

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Thanks so much, guys.

Waldemar, that was extremely helpful. That is one of the things that was so confusing to me: Wikipedia and many sources state the colubrine/culverin shot a much heavier shot than I think could be on the quarterdeck of this ship. The information you give indicates it could also be in the range that I was thinking - 6 to 7 pounds - which makes it a reasonable fit. And yes, it's great to have pictures based on history rather than fantasy.

So I think the original Columbrina I had shown (which the maker of the 3D model called a Falconet in error) is reasonable for this size, perhaps modified with some of the information of actual examples found.

Thank you so much!
 
Thanks so much, guys.

Waldemar, that was extremely helpful. That is one of the things that was so confusing to me: Wikipedia and many sources state the colubrine/culverin shot a much heavier shot than I think could be on the quarterdeck of this ship. The information you give indicates it could also be in the range that I was thinking - 6 to 7 pounds - which makes it a reasonable fit. And yes, it's great to have pictures based on history rather than fantasy.

So I think the original Columbrina I had shown (which the maker of the 3D model called a Falconet in error) is reasonable for this size, perhaps modified with some of the information of actual examples found.

Thank you so much!
Suggest you search this site under ‘block carriage’ or ‘unusual gun carriages’. Some of the comments and diagrams may be of some use.
 
Suggest you search this site under ‘block carriage’ or ‘unusual gun carriages’. Some of the comments and diagrams may be of some use.
Thanks for the suggestion. But searching for "block carriage" (quotes require actual text, apparently) yields only one thread while searching with no quotes gives me every post with "block" and/or "carriage". "unusual gun carriages" resulted in no hits. Is there another way of doing it?
 
Signet, I can see you are a perfeccionist, and I absolutely respect that. I'm not a builder but rather a witness of the builders at this forum, so I have not very much to offer than searching the web for help. The Ragusian Carrack you are building (fabulous work at your thread indeed) is a Croatian ship, so perhaps in order with your (in);)sane obsesive search you can contact the Dubrovnik Maritime Museum and have information from an historic site. Just my two cents.
Julio.

 
Thanks for the suggestion. But searching for "block carriage" (quotes require actual text, apparently) yields only one thread while searching with no quotes gives me every post with "block" and/or "carriage". "unusual gun carriages" resulted in no hits. Is there another way of doing it?
My bad…Try searching under ‘unusual cannon trucks’ or my name, syhobbs for images and comments
 
Signet, I can see you are a perfeccionist, and I absolutely respect that. I'm not a builder but rather a witness of the builders at this forum, so I have not very much to offer than searching the web for help. The Ragusian Carrack you are building (fabulous work at your thread indeed) is a Croatian ship, so perhaps in order with your (in);)sane obsesive search you can contact the Dubrovnik Maritime Museum and have information from an historic site. Just my two cents.
Julio.

Thanks, that's a good thought.
 
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@Signet

To be on the safe side, I would also add that in the first example in post #7, for some reason an inappropriate, too-small gun barrel was mated to this carriage by the archaeologists. In a properly selected gun barrel, its breech (i.e. the rear of gun tube) should rest on the carriage's transom and the thickness of the gun tube should be equal to the distance between the longitudinal brackets. And, while making guns for your model, remember that the horizontal gun barrel trunnions should be always placed roughly at 3/7 of the gun tube length (counting from the base ring at the rear, i.e. excluding breech), as in almost all cases this ensures the correct preporderance of the gun tube, something that was carefully attended to at the time. Other trunnions placement is one of the most blatant errors to be found in today's fantasies.

Good luck! :)

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@Signet

To be on the safe side, I would also add that in the first example in post #7, for some reason an inappropriate, too-small gun barrel was mated to this carriage by the archaeologists. In a properly selected gun barrel, its breech (i.e. the rear of gun tube) should rest on the carriage's transom and the thickness of the gun tube should be equal to the distance between the longitudinal brackets. And, while making guns for your model, remember that the horizontal gun barrel trunnions should be always placed roughly at 3/7 of the gun tube length (counting from the base ring at the rear, i.e. excluding breech), as in almost all cases this ensures the correct preporderance of the gun tube, something that was carefully attended to at the time. Other trunnions placement is one of the most blatant errors to be found in today's fantasies.

Good luck! :)

.​
Thanks for those clarifications.
 
Hallo @Julio A
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
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Thank you so much Uwek!
I'm just a follower of this forum to enjoy the work of so many builders with exceptional talents. Always a joy and a stress relief therapy. Congratulations to all of you!!!
Julio
 
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