c. 1778
Carronade Model
Wooden model of a ship’s carronade made by Carron Ironworks
My Story
“I was dreamt up by a chap called Robert Melville and then the idea was developed by a team of experts at the Carron Ironworks. Mr. Melville was known as the inventor of the ‘Smasher and Lesser Carronades for solid, ship, shell and Carcase shot’. That’s me, the real size version of me. First used against French ships in 1779.
I fired large shot at close range, ideal for the navy and left a messy hole through the side of a ship, resulting in a larger rupture and dangerous splinters flying though the air. The first gun to be fired by Nelson’s flag ship at the Battle of Trafalgar was a 64-pounder. Aimed at the stern of a French ship it demolished much of the structure as well as killing many of the crew. I was used to defend the Alamo, Texas in 1836. In the Company’s 223 years existence, armaments were an important and lucrative product line.”
“I was dreamt up by a chap called Robert Melville and then the idea was developed by a team of experts at the Carron Ironworks. Mr. Melville was known as the inventor of the ‘Smasher and Lesser Carronades for solid, ship, shell and Carcase shot’. That’s me, the real size version of me. First used against French ships in 1779.
I fired large shot at close range, ideal for the navy and left a messy hole through the side of a ship, resulting in a larger rupture and dangerous splinters flying though the air. The first gun to be fired by Nelson’s flag ship at the Battle of Trafalgar was a 64-pounder. Aimed at the stern of a French ship it demolished much of the structure as well as killing many of the crew. I was used to defend the Alamo, Texas in 1836. In the Company’s 223 years existence, armaments were an important and lucrative product line.”
