Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/198



indicated, in the first chapter, the description of ordnance used in the navy in 1840. Cast iron guns, with a smooth bore for throwing spherical projectiles, were then employed. Mounted on wooden carriages, with four low, solid wheels—called trucks—of the same material, they were worked by tackles and wooden handspikes. The recoil on discharge was controlled by a stout piece of rope—called a breeching—which passed through a ring at the rear of the gun, the two ends being secured to the side of the ship. Sufficient slack was allowed, so that on discharge the gun would recoil far enough to bring the muzzle just inside the port, where it was in the most convenient position for entering a fresh charge. The decks of a line-of-battle ship were a fine sight when gun drill was taking place. To fire three rounds at an imaginary passing vessel as she quickly shifted her bearing was an exercise calling forth