Rijkswerf Amsterdam

Model of a Breech-Loading Gun

Amsterdam, Essen, 1863

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

ObjectNumber: NG-MC-1146


Entry

Wooden model of the barrel of a 1-pounder breech-loading gun.

The barrel is painted black and is very smooth, with only one reinforcement, trunnions and vent are indicated. The breech is replaced by a breech-loading system. The breech block can be moved horizontally to the left far enough to disclose the chamber; it is of a slightly tapered form, jamming in the closed position. In both the closed and open positions it is secured by a peg with a spring that comes through the breech from above. The breech block has a handle at the back. The entrance to the chamber is lined with a brass ring, making it smaller than the calibre of the gun.

Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) patented his breech-loading system in the Netherlands on 19 July 1863. On 21 October 1863, Krupp sent four drawings of this breech-loading system to the Department of the Navy. Based on these drawings this model was made of a 1-pounder brass gun, which was to be rifled and modified to accept the Krupp breech-loading system. Rifled 1-pounders were introduced in 1864 for colonial service, as field artillery and boat guns.

Scale 1:2.


Literature

J.H. Haakman, Handboek over de zee-artillerie voor konstabels en matrozen-kanonniers, 4 vols., Nieuwediep, 1871-72, vol. 2, p. 16; J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1146; G. Doorman, Het Nederlandsch octrooiwezen en de techniek der 19de eeuw, The Hague 1947, p. 446, no. 3612; W.G.M.H. Canisius, ‘De ontwikkeling van scheepsgeschut bij de Nederlandse marine in 1780-1880’, Erfgoed van Industrie en Techniek 2 (1993), no. 2, pp. 43-62, no. 3, pp. 80-87, p. 85


Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Rijkswerf Amsterdam, Model of a Breech-Loading Gun, Amsterdam, 1863', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244959

(accessed 2 August 2025 05:01:15).