3D Modeled Naval Guns 1850s~1870s

[wefalck]

Shouldn't there be a wooden (sacrificial) bolster under the rear end? All French carriages from that time I have seen seem to have it and it looks logical, as you don't want to have the angle-irons scraping along the deck.

Somehow, however, this looks to me more like a modern display carriage. Just two sheets of iron don't seem to be stiff enough to take the force of recoil. Normally there would have been an iron frame that is covered on both sides with sheet-iron for cross-stiffening. At least that was the way French and German gun-carriages of the time were constructed.

[JerryTodd]

Nope. They added a caster sort of thing to train the gun, and a different style of elevation mechanism. I think there may have been a wooden bolster, or bumper, forward for when the gun was run up, but the only evidence I have for that is a rotting bit of wood on the front of one of these sitting in a park.
These are definitely NOT "display carriages." BTW: If you look closely at photos of extant carriages, those skids appear to be bronze. as do the trunnion fittings.

Santee

This is basically the same concept of carriage used on the early iron carriage XI inch pivots, of which, here's a survivor

Pivot carriage without the slide

And here's one in-service

Iron carriage XI Dahlgren pivot gun

[JerryTodd]

I contacted the people that manage HMS Warrior about possibly getting drawings or plans of the main deck gun carriages (they had to replicate them from something, right?) They got back to me saying that department was closed down for a while because their systems were hacked.

I found a rough PDF of the 1875 Navy Ordnance & Gunnery Manual, and a little more looking turned up a much better scan which contained this bit of info on the XI Dahlgren on the wrought iron pivot mount.

Page 336

Page 337

I had been working from a very nice drawing I found on Deviant Art, but it turns out at wasn't a real gun, but a movie-prop used in the 1960's 40,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I was wondering how that compressor was supposed to function...

Drawing of the movie-prop IX gun on an iron pivot mount

Movie still with Abe Lincoln gun

I rearranged, replaced, and rebuilt my 3D model of the XI pivot based on the 1875 manual and some photos. I'm working toward an early version of this gun mount. They got a lot of modifications going into the 1880s, dampers, gears, the gun's trunnions got cut off so they wouldn't poke out past the cap squares, etc.

XI Dahlgren on iron pivot

Existing iron pivot without the slide

There was also a drawing of a later version of the "Iron Marsilly" There's some shape problems with my model I need to fix with this new data. I may also make one with the later elevation screw shown in the drawing.
The drawing says it's an 8 inch Dahlgren rifle, which is a 9" smoothbore sleeved and rifled.

Page 327

[JerryTodd]

The XI gun on the iron pivot is getting close to done

XI on iron pivot as of Mar 17

Page 327 of the 1875 manual is a drawing of the wrought iron carriage for, it says, the 8 inch Dahlgren, which is a 9 inch smoothbore sleeved and rifled.

Page 327 of the 1875 manual

It seems the drawing I originally worked from was off a bit in dimensions and shape, so I reworked my model to match the manual.
The carriage shown in the manual is a later modified version with one of the holes in the side plates filled, and a different elevation set-up. I'm making the original version, but I'll probably do the modified version as well.

Redone IX on iron carriage

During the 1870's, Constellation was a training ship and fitted with two pivot guns at enlarged ports on her gun-deck; an XI inch Dahlgren on an iron pivot carriage, and a 100 pd Parrot rifle on a wooden pivot carriage.
She also carried 8 IX inch guns, which I assumed were on Marsilly carriages. I'm still digging to find if maybe they were iron carriages?

Constellations gundeck pivots c.1870s

[JerryTodd]

Mention Dahlgren in a search and you'll get this image, or another of the series

John Dahlgren and one of his 50pdr rifles

It's fits the time frame (1864ish), and I found a drawing from the Archives in Arming the Fleet, so I made it...

Drawing of 50 pdr Dahlgren rifle

50 pounder rifle WIP

It would be "finished" except I'm trying to figure out the extra material in the back of the carriage causing the aft eyebolt to be mounted higher in the photo, compared to what's in the drawing.[/size]

[JerryTodd]

I finished updating the IX on a wrought-iron carriage to the latest data and posted it on Thingiverse.

IX inch Dahlgren on Iron Marsilly carriage

Then I dabbled on the XV inch Dahlgren until it was done and posted as well. I'm not making a mount for this gun, but leaving it to whomever downloads it to fill that need. I did model a hole for the elevation screw, a touch-hole, and a slotted hammer lobe on the breech (I need to look up some of the nomenclature again).

XV Dahlgren tube

Finally, I "finished" the XI Dahlgren on the wrought-iron pivot carriage and slide. I may have to comer back to this one, but it's got all I can give it for now.
As it's one of the guns in my Guns of Constellation project, it's the one I actually need to print, though my first try at this failed because of a hole in the FEP and resin leakage to clean up.

XI inch on iron pivot

3D model of XI on iron pivot

Here's the best shot of the real thing I can find to compare to...

Barefoot sailor and an XI Dahlgren on an iron pivot

[JerryTodd]

I finally got around to printing my own copy of the XI inch Dahlgren on the iron pivot carriage which I need for my collection of Guns Constellation Carried
Part of the elevation screw didn't print, otherwise it came out pretty well

1:36 scale XI Dahlgren on iron pivot

I was a little surprised at the size difference between the IX and the XI

XI & IX Dahlgrens

[/size]

[wefalck]

Having built something like that from scratch using traditional methods (if photoetching and laser-cutting can be already considered 'traditional'), this 3D-printed example seems to provide a considerable gain in time (and perhaps quality), particularly when one needs more than one specimen.

[JerryTodd]

If you're doing a ship with some 28ish IX inch Dahlgrens on Marsilly carriages; that would be a project all by itself.

I just wish I could wrap my brain around Blender so I could model the filigree carvings on the ship's bow. I have an eye for that stuff, good enough to see how awful my hand is at it.

Constellations head carvings

[wefalck]

I did something like this in 2D for my laser-cutter and then build the sculpting with white glue and acrylic paint.

You could do it also in 2D as thinnish element for the printer and then build up the volume in the 'traditional' way - that is, if you want to duck the challenge with Blender.

[JerryTodd]

The other gun-deck pivot on Constellation in the 1870s was a 100# Parrot Rifle on a wooden pivot carriage

100# Parrot

XI Dahlgren & 100# Parrot

[JerryTodd]

Someone building a 1:100 model of the French steam-frigate L'Orenoque was looking for guns to replace the kit's white-metal "things."
Technically, this gun was produced in 1842 and falls out of the range of this thread, but it was in-use through the 1850's, so I'm posting it here.

The tube was easy enough as I found scale drawings of it that all agreed, and I used what was in the book Arming the Fleet since I have it to scan.
The carriage I originally started making was based on a portion of the model's plans I was sent.

Tube drawing from Arming the Fleet

Gun drawings from portion of model plans

I didn't care for the carriage, it was too tall, so I scaled it down to match my 32# and 8 inch shell-guns carriages, and it still felt wrong.

with the carriage from the model plans

Someone pointed me to a French reference, that had another lower carriage for this gun, that was lower, and seemed more stable.
Aide-m�moire d'artillerie navale : imprim� avec autorisation du ministre de la Marine et des colonies

LaFay plate 17

I was happy with the carriage, but LaFay didn't show how elevation was handled. The model plan had a coin on a block, also not shown in the LaFay drawing of that carriage (plate 7). LaFay did have a drawing of a coin, separate from any gun plate, so I put that on a block as in the model drawing.

3D model of French 22cm shell-gun

I loaded the gun into the slicer and scaled it from 1:36 to 1:100 and printed 7 of them. It took three tries, but using fatter supports on the last try did the trick.

1:100 scale 3D prints

[/size]

[JerryTodd]

After completing the gun for l'Orenoque, I went back to complete the taller carriage based on LaFay's plate #7

LaFay plate #7

Plate 7 based gun 3D model

Both guns side-by-side

Both models are available on Thingiverse

[JerryTodd]

The printed guns for L'Orenoque arrived safely at their destination

Two of 7 guns printed for a 1:100 scale modle of the French steam frigate L'Orenoque, sitting where they will live.

See how that other, taller carriage wouldn't have fit?

Overview of the ship in progress and the guns with their barrels painted Feb 22, 2026