Gun Drill aboard USS Constitution

A video of Gun Drill aboard USS Constitution

Excellent! I hadn't realized the gun was not fully inboard when swabbing and ramming. I wonder how many balls wound up in the drink rather than in the muzzle in the heat of battle. I also see the crewmen actually touching the muzzle while loading and ramming. I doubt he'd be doing that after the gun's been fired a few times.

reb01501 wrote:Excellent! I hadn't realized the gun was not fully inboard when swabbing and ramming. I wonder how many balls wound up in the drink rather than in the muzzle in the heat of battle. I also see the crewmen actually touching the muzzle while loading and ramming. I doubt he'd be doing that after the gun's been fired a few times.

Doesn't look right, does it! Does anyone know if this is/was how it's done in a real live situation?

Yes, I was surprised that in the second section they are not using flexible gun tools, rammer/sponge, and so have to keep the ports open. (And they still seems to be using a paper/flannel cartridge.) It is almost as if the gun drill pre-dates the ship.

If I may chip-in, I have this description written by Peter Goodwin when he was curator of HMS Victory Naval Museum:

"When ordered to "quarters" the ships drummer would beat out a rapid staccato, probably "Hearts Of Oak". Everything was dropped as the men raced to their stations. Those not operating guns formed the chain leading from the magazine to the decks to pass the powder charges. others went to the hold to start passing shot up from their lockers. If it had not already been done when clearing for action, the order "Cast loose your guns" was given and each gun crew unleashed their guns from the stowed position. Tompions, the wooden plugs fitted into the gun muzzles, and aprons were removed, the latter exposing the gunlocks. Gun port lids were opened by the order ""level your guns", after which quoins and beds were inserted under the breech of each of the guns and were adjusted to range the guns point-blank. On receipt of the order "Run out your guns" crews manning the side-tackles hauled their guns into the firing position. No loading was required as all guns were already loaded in a constant state of readiness. The cartridge within the gun was pricked and quill firing tubes were inserted into the vent leaving the gun ready for final priming. The gun's side arms, comprising rammers, sponges and wadhooks were taken down from their overhead racks.
Each gun captain, fussing like a mother over her child, made his final adjustments to the gun. After setting the gunlock to its half-cocked (safe) position, he filled the pan of the gunlock with powder from his powder horn and, after leaving more powder on the vent pan for good measure, removed the tallow cap from the firing tube. Awaiting the final order to fire, he fully cocked the gunlock and called to his guns crew to "make ready", which signalled to his guns crew to position themselves clear of the gun carriage and its trucks to avoid being struck by the gun as it recoiled. By this point the gun captain was standing well behind his gun, with the trigger lanyard ready in hand. On the order to fire he tugged that trigger line and the gun belched its missile towards the enemy. Reacting to its discharge the gun recoiled into the ship, coming to a violent stop as it reached the full extent of the breeching rope that was securing it to the ships side.
The gun captain then gave the order to "sponge out"; the sponger and his assistant inserted the dampened sheep-wool sponge into the guns muzzle and forced it down the bore to dowse any remaining embers left from the charge, while the second gun captain was "stopping" the vent all the while with his thumb to prevent hazardous burning embers from escaping. After scouring the gun the spongers then withdrew the sponge - the vacuum created by virtue of the vent being "thumbed" ensured that any remaining burning debris was extinguished.
On the gun captain's order "load with cartridge" the powderman passed the cartridge to the loader, who then inserted it into the muzzle of the gun. Aided by his assistant he rammed the charge home. The gun captain then checked it by inserting his cartridge pricker down the vent. His next order, "load with shot" was given, and the loader inserted the round shot, which was r4ammed home as before. "Wad the gun" was ordered, and the same loading seguence followed.
With the gun loaded the gun captain then shouted "run out the gun" and, as before, the gun's crew hauled the gun into the firing position. Pushing the cartridge pricker down the vent the second gun captain spiked the cartridge exposing the gunpowder, after which he inserted the new quill firing tube into the vent and removed its tallow cap. The gun captain hyalf-cocked the gunlock, checked the striking edge of the flint, filled the gunlock pan with powder and added a small train of powder to the vent. He fully cocked the gunlock and called his guns crew to "make ready". The breeching rope and side ropes were cleared away from the carriage and its trucks and the crew stood back. When ordered to do so the gun captain fired the gun."

Reading that really brought home to me how complicated the whole routine was, and also how well-trained the gun crews must have been to go through all that almost without thinking and at speed, and all in the heat and fury of battle. From everything Goodwin writes there is no doubt in my mind that, at least in a British man o'war, the gun muzzle was well inside the walls of the ship when the priming and loading sequence was carried-out, and it would have been folly to have done it otherwise, considering that gun-crew hanging out of the gun port, if indeed there would have been enough room to have done so, would have been prime targets for the enemy sharp-shooters.

Interesting to see the US gun crew using the "two-six heave" call, this was peculiar to the Royal Navy, afaik... maybe the American Navy adopted it when they made the decision to model their young Navy on the hugely succesful Royal Navy of the time.

The gun would of been hauled right up the the sidewall when run out, and when fired it would of recoiled back right to the limits of the ropes.

They were being a little conservative in the video.

But there is still not a lot of space, but I agree with Paul-B, hanging out over the gun ports would not of been advised. Not only the battle dangers but just a rolling sea and sudden ship's movements would be hazzardous.