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Someday, perhaps the Mistress of Castle Argghhh!...

By The Armorer on March 28, 2004 | | Comments (9)

...will let me bring one of these home!

Now if I could only remember what it was... from the museum at Watervliet Arsenal, where almost all of our cannon tubes are made.

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9 Comments

By Fred Boness on March 28, 2004 1:24 PM
Been there. I don't remember that little cannon. I was at Watervliet Arsenal installing a Kearney and Trecker flexible manufacturing system in the early '90s. It's located in the building across the parking lot from the museum. Neat place. The museum building is itself a museum piece. It's made almost entirely of iron in a kind of early industrial pre fab way. The American poet Steven Vincent Benet lived at the arsenal when his father was commandant. The arsenal is on Highway 155. The local high school football team is called the Cannoneers [insert comment about iron balls]. In a previous life I worked at Ladish in Cudahy, Wisconsin where the forged steel howitzer breech blocks were made. We called them pumpkins. Small world it is when I see a pumpkin turn into a finished breech on one of my systems.
 
By triticale on March 28, 2004 4:07 PM
When you worked at Ladish did you ever use those heavy duty lifting clamps which were like a C-clamp cut from alloy steel plate and had a chain link assembled to them? If so we can do a Kevin Bacon on our previous lives.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 28, 2004 4:57 PM
Now there is an unexpected twist in the thread! I got a pretty good tour of the museum - to include going into the back where they are assembling and restoring some of the original arsenal machinery, hoping to put together a small production line. If I lived there I would help. But then I'd have to live in New York... so, never mind. They have a helluva mortar collection that's not on display, as well as a largish collection of WWI machine guns. I had a good time. Next time I'm in the area, I'll go back!
 
By J.M. Heinrichs on March 28, 2004 7:26 PM
My guess would be a 12lbr similar to the shots I sent you, but this one is mounted in a cradle with dual spring recoil cylinders (cradle trunions are positioned similar to the 12lbr). Would this have been a trials piece from mid/late 1890s? The mount looks to be for a test range firing point. Cheers JMH
 
By Beth Donovan on March 29, 2004 5:56 AM
Sorry, sweetie. We don't have room for that one. Unless you want to build me a 58,000 square foot home - in which case you can fill up half of it with cannons. Leaving me with a lot of space for my toys!
 
By homebru on March 29, 2004 9:34 AM
Ok, John. She said it in front of witnesses. Start digging the new foundations.
 
By Fred Boness on March 29, 2004 2:22 PM
Let's see, 58,000 square feet would be 25 x 2320. That's an indoor cannon range! Go for it!
 
By J.M. Heinrichs on March 29, 2004 2:41 PM
... but it takes up less room than a shoe closet! Cheers JMH
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 30, 2004 7:17 AM
Well John, you scored. She stuck her tongue out at that one!