30-pounder long gun | |
Origin: | France |
Type: | naval gun |
Is Artillery: | yes |
Is Uk: | yes |
Service: | 19th century |
Used By: | French Navy |
Wars: | Invasion of Algiers, Battle of the Tagus, Battle of Veracruz |
Manufacturer: | Factories of Saint-Gervais, Nevers and Ruelle |
Unit Cost: | 1517.5 Francs |
Weight: | 3035kg (6,691lb) |
Length: | 315.8cm (124.3inches) |
Part Length: | 282.9cm (111.4inches) |
Caliber: | 164.7 mm[1] |
The 30-pounder long gun was a large piece of artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of Sail. They were the heaviest component of the unified system standardised on the 30-pounder calibre, replacing both the 36-pounder long guns in their usages, and even some 24-pounders.
Installed on the lower deck of the larger warships from the 1820s, the 30-pounder long gun was the largest caliber used in the late Navy of the Age of the Sail, used on the ships defined by the Commission de Paris. On three-deckers, the middle deck used 30-pounder short guns, and the upper deck used 30-pounder carronades. The flagship Bretagne was an exception to this rule, retaining the older 36-pounder long gun as to maximise the weight of her broadside.
In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, the French Navy undertook a number of reforms, most notably a reform in the artillery system. In contrast with the 1788 system, where large warships armed their main batteries with large 36-pounder long guns and upper deck with smaller long guns using smaller shots, it was decided to standardise on the 30-pound calibre, and deploy a variety of guns of different weights, as not to overload the tops. The differences in weight were obtained by fielding a large 30-pounder long gun, a shorter 30-pounder with a thinner barrel, and a 30-pounder carronade.
This allowed a much simplified handling of ammunition, and significantly increased the broadsides of warships. A first-rank 60-gun frigate of the 1840s thus armed had a heavier broadside than a 74-gun ship of the line of the 1780s.
. Aide-mémoire d'artillerie navale . Jules Joseph Lafay . 1850 . J. Corréard .