Gun Truck
Description
Gun carriage wheel. Circular wood disc – with central circular hole approx. 153-163mm diameter. Straight side – tool marks still visible. Edge chamfered. One side rough and poorly finished – other side smooth and better finished. Weight approx 12kg. Possible government marks on one side.
The naval gun carriage had large ‘trucks’ at the front and small ones at the back. This led to it being known as the ‘truck’ carriage – named after the four small wheels on which it was mounted. The variation in wheel size at the front and back was because a naval gun carriage had to move in two directions - forward to be run up and to fire; and backwards after the gun was fired to allow recoil. Gun trucks were designed to be inefficient, so that friction braked the recoil as rapidly as possible. Because of this, the trucks wore rapidly, and had to be replaced frequently. Gun carriages were made in different sizes, according to the type of gun they were designed for, e.g. 9, 32 or 24-pounders.
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Object Detail
Width: 528mm
Depth: 38mm (1 1/2")