Somerset Cannon
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The Somerset cannon was a British cannon designed within the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
and manufactured by Armstrong's. Its genesis was the unexpected failure of the Armstrong breech-loading rifles recently developed and installed on
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
ships. The ''Somerset'' was a 6.5 ton calibre smoothbore muzzle-loader, firing a shot. With a charge of of gunpowder, a steel shot could penetrate of armour at . Providing a mounting which could reliably be worked at sea proved difficult for a piece of this size. Traditional truck carriages were inadequate; historical research revealed that a
carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
which was suitable had been suggested by Captain Sir Thomas Hardy (
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
's Flag Captain) many years before. In this system the gun-carriage remained stationary, and the recoil of the gun was absorbed by a system of sliding friction blocks attached to the carriage and to the gun. The gun was issued for service, and was mounted in HM Ships , , and , but its performance was so poor, largely due to difficulties in controlling the gun, that it was withdrawn from service. {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset Cannon Naval guns of the United Kingdom Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom