Model of the Breech of a Breech-Loading Gun

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

ObjectNumber: NG-MC-1079

Model of the breech of a breech-loading gun.

The breech is opened at the rear with a round door turning on hinges. Through this door, a metal frame with the bottom of the chamber at its outer end is inserted into the bore. A massive round breech block is inserted straight through the breech, locking the frame in position and at the same time opening the vent at the other end by means of a spring mechanism. The metal frame and breech block are secured in position with wing nuts.

Martin von Wahrendorff first proposed his breech-loading guns to the Dutch Navy in 1841. Following the advice of the Inspector General of Artillery W.H. Sesseler, it was decided to wait for reports from foreign countries, as ordnance of this type had been ordered by France, Prussia, Portugal and the United States. Test results that came from Berlin in 1843, did not remove Sesseler’s doubts about gas tightness, the breeching ring, sighting and the restrictions of the system for heavy ordnance. Von Wahrendorff approached the Dutch Navy again in 1858. In 1860, the model was handed over to the Navy through the Foreign Office.

Scale (estimate) 1:5.

J. Schmoelzl (trans. A.G. Kempers), Nieuwere wapenleer. Handleiding tot de kennis en beoefening der vuurwapens van der tegenwoordige tijd, 2 vols., The Hague 1858-59, pp. 24 ff.; H. van Goens, Handleiding tot de kennis van de zee-artillerie, Rotterdam 1861-65, p. 303, pl. V, fig. 27; J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1079

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of the Breech of a Breech-Loading Gun, Karlberg Palace, c. 1840', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244894