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run on iron plates inlet into the lower frame. The two do, however, have some connection. Three vertical iron plates are mounted between the two main timbers of the frame, running from front to back. A mechanism, known as a compressor, attached to the gun carriage is designed to grip these plates. (Figure 7) The levers on either side of the carriage adjust the amount of pressure applied to the plates.
The purpose of this seemingly complicated mechanism is to control the recoil of the gun. The friction between the plates and the clamp absorbed the recoil energy and limited the backward movement. After firing and reloading, the clamp could be loosened and the carriage run forward, reclamped, and made ready to fire another round. All in all, a very ingenious solution, although not very efficient in practice as the action was rather harsh.
The cannon was obviously up-to-date when it was installed but the world was experiencing an arms race at the time. This was particularly true of coastal defences. Ships had thicker armour plating and bigger and better cannon. They were not only more difficult to sink but they constituted a serious threat to the forts. Coastal artillery had to respond and it too became bigger and better. Breech loading and rifling were introduced to increase the rate of fire and improve the accuracy.
The advance in technology meant that cannon like the one at Taipa Fort soon became obsolete and were usually replaced. Fortunately Taipa was not attacked and Taipa Fort was never tested. Its strategic significance was less important as pirates could be more easily controlled with modern ships, hence there was no pressure to update its defences.
Although similar cannon and mountings were in position in other forts in Macau, the Taipa Fort gun is a lone example left with a barbette mount in its original position. Not only is it a reminder of Macau's past, but it also bears testament to the engineers of the nineteenth century and their never ending quest for better weapons, a quest that continues to this day.
382
run on iron plates inlet into the lower fame. The two do, however, have some connection. Three vertical iron plates are mounted between the two main timbers of the frame, running from front to back. A mechanism, known as a compressor, attached to the gun carriage is designed to grip these plates. (Figure 7) The levers on either side of the carriage adjust the amount of pressure applied to the plates.
The purpose of this seemingly complicated mechanism is to control the recoil of the gun. The friction between the plates and the clamp absorbed the recoil energy and limited the backward movement. After firing and reloading, the clamp could be loosened and the carriage run forward, reclamped, and made ready to fire another round. All in all, a very ingenious solution, although not very efficient in practice as the action was rather harsh.
The cannon was obviously up-to-date when it was installed but the world was experiencing an arms race at the time. This was particularly true of coastal defences. Ships had thicker armour plating and bigger and better cannon. They were not only more difficult to sink but they constituted a serious threat to the forts. Coastal artillery had to respond and it too became bigger and better. Breech loading and rifling were introduced to increase the rate of fire and improve the
accuracy.
The advance in technology meant that cannon like the one at Taipa Fort soon became obsolete and were usually replaced. Fortunately Taipa was not attacked and Taipa Fort was never tested. Its strategic significance was less important as pirates could be more easily controlled with modern ships, hence there was no pressure to update its defences.
Although similar cannon and mountings were in position in other forts in Macau, the Taipa Fort gun is a lone example left with a barbette mount in its original position. Not only is it a reminder of Macau's past, but it also bears testament to the engineers of the nineteenth century and their never ending quest for better weapons, a quest that continues to this day.
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