USS Niagara Live Fire Demonstration

A live fire demonstration at the USS Niagara Museum using a replica of the brig USS Lawrence and authentic cannon shows the devastation caused by cannonballs punching into the ship.

See http://www.brigniagara.org/Fightingsaildeck.htm for more information (videos offline as of 20880406)

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• gunnery
• gun
• cannon
• shrapnel
• splinter
• navy
• ship
• niagara
• 1812
• fighting
• sail
• uss
• lawrence

[ppitm]

The website says that they did this at a range of 2000 yards. 2000 yards? A firing range in a field? *Carronades?* Was that a typo?

[mllaneza]

200 yards would be pushing it for carronades, I'm guessing an extra zero or two snuck in.

[mllaneza]

Check the link for the site I grabbed the video from.

[mllaneza]

Yeah, it's pretty obvious why they painted the gundecks red - those splinters would tear people up. There are honest-to-god *boards* flying around.

[PadreWillie]

After watching this, I'd say the Mythbuster duo is busted.

[LutzDerLurch]

True. However, Their PRey were heavily armed and thick-walled Merchant-Men, and to penetrate those Ships Hulls, the Pirates usualy had some above-average Sized Guns for their Ships. 12 Pounders were a timeless favourite back then.

Anyways, they preferred Hand-to-Hand Combat over lengthy Firefights.

[3ng4n]

@LutzDerLurch Yes indeed. And my point (and the point of the Mythbusters show) was that a typical pirate ship would have been much smaller. I don't really know of any instance where a pirate actually captained a full man-o-war..

[LutzDerLurch]

@3ng4n A late 17th and 18th C. Man-o-War carried something between 6 and 42 Pounders.

[vector6977]

They put the hammocks etc on the top rail on these ships, that's what is on the top. I live in Erie,PA its a great sight to behold when it fires its guns during the 4th of July fireworks show.

[Truthseekerfinder]

Right. And a 6 pounder was a small gun on 2nd rate and 3rd rate ships.

24 pounder long guns were the main cannons from the early 1700s to the 1840s. They could pass through 30 inches of oak at 100 yards.

[Truthseekerfinder]

Agreed! The 32 lb. carronades on the Constitution were only used in situations of 200 yards or less.

[MrDidz]

Very interesting. Its a shame they didn't simulate the hammock stowage behind the bulkheads though. I would have like to see if that made any difference to the volume of splinters.

[ppitm]

Very few seamen died in battle, but it took a tremendous amount of courage/fatalism to spend years in an occupation like that, naval or not.

[mightycowhero]

wow. sailors had more courage back then.