Directions for numbering and detaching 15 men to the service of a light 6 pounder mounted upon a new pattern carriage.
Published / Created:
Great Britain, 1807.
Physical Description:
1 v. (216 p.) : ill. ; 17 cm.
Collection:
Rare Books and Manuscripts
Copyright Status:
Copyright Not Evaluated
Classification:
Archives & Manuscripts
Notes:
The block-trail gun carriage was designed in 1775 by Thomas Desaguliers, chief firemaster at Woolwich Arsenal from 1748 until his death in 1780. It was introduced, in 1777, for the light six pounder and heavy three pounder field artillery under the direction of Marquis Townshend, Master of the Ordnance. William Congreve, Commander of the Royal Military Repository (and father of the rocket inventor), wrote a drill manual for it. The block-trail carriage placed the whole gun's centre of gravity forward and lightened the weight on the trail so that one man could traverse it unaided. This improved the rate of fire and its accuracy as well as giving the equipment far greater maneuverability. Until the end of the eighteenth century the artillery had always struggled to keep up with other arms in the field but the block-trail, by allowing the dispositions illustrated in this manual, finally made this possible. During the Peninsular War most guns were mounted on this new pattern carriage.
Subject Terms:
Congreve, William, 1743-1814. | Desaguliers, Thomas, 1721-1780. | Townshend, George Townshend, Marquis, 1724-1807. | Artillery -- Great Britain -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Artillery drill and tactics -- Great Britain -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Gun-carriages -- Great Britain -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Ordnance -- Great Britain -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.