Broadside-Carriage for the Heavy and Light 8-cm. Guns.
This carriage is of the simplest construction. It consists of two plate-iron brackets connected and braced by through-bolts. It is mounted on two trucks forward, and a single broad wooden rear chock. For the light gun, breeching-holes are made in the forward part of the carriage, the ends of the breeching shackling to bolts in the ship’s side; for the heavy gun, the ends of the breeching shackle to the brackets, the bight being shackled under the centre of the port. These carriages are provided with breast-pieces for training, a training handspike, and tackles for running out and in. The light gun is provided with the ordinary elevating-screw, but the heavy one has a rack, pinion, and hand-wheel for rapid and extreme elevating. The pinion is held by a compressing lever. The trucks are of cast-iron with brass journals.
Broadside-Carriage for 8-cm. Boat-Gun.
Broadside-Carriage for 12-cm. and 15-cm. Guns.
This carriage consists of two plate-iron brackets, a forward transom, and two bottom plates. The trunnion-holes, as in all other carriages, are broadened by brass journal-plates. It rests on two cast-iron trucks forward, and in rear on a rear chock. A swivel roller is fixed in the middle of this chock with a forked attachment, by which a trail handspike may be shipped at an angle of about 45°. Heaving down on this handspike lifts the rear of the carriage on the roller, and the lateral movement permitted to the handspike enables the carriage to be steered out. Bolted to the forward transom is a fork which, projecting forwards, forms a pivoting point. In running out it is necessary to run the end of this fork (which has jaws for the purpose) against the bolt provided for it to pivot about. The rear chock is of plate-iron with a brass shoe.
The recoil is governed by what is called the Brookwell apparatus. This consists of a drum with a friction-band controlled by a lever at the left side. Turns of a breeching are wrapped around the drum, the ends being fast to it, and the bight shackling to the pivot-bolt in the centre of the port. In running out, cranks ship on the ends of the axle, and the breeching is in this manner wound on the drum by heaving down the brake, the friction-band is tightened on the periphery of the drum, thus easing the recoil. The power of the cranks is not sufficient to enable the gun to be run out by this arrangement, and side tackles have to be used. A reserve breeching is also kept rove, through breeching-holes in the forward part of the brackets.
Brookwell Broadside-Carriage.
The ordinary elevating-screw is used, working in a screw-box through the rear transom.