32-pounder gun

For others, see 32-pounder.
32-pounder guns
32 pdr gun deck on HMS Victory
TypeNaval gun
Service history
Used byGreat Britain
Specifications
Mass1,270 - 3,200 kg
Length5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) – 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Crew9 - 14
Shell weight14.4 kg
Calibre6.3–6.41 in (160–163 mm)
Muzzle velocity~487 m/s[1]

The 32-pounder guns (and the French 30-pounders) were sets of heavy-caliber pieces of artillery mounted on warships in the last century of the Age of sail, during the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was usually the most powerful armament on a warship. The British version fired a 14.4-kilogram projectile at about 487 meters per second, for a muzzle energy of over 1.7 million joules.[2] They were most famous being mounted on HMS Victory of the Royal Navy. Such a powerful gun with a large weight of shot posed serious damage to enemy ships.

  1. ^ Peter Goodwin. "HMS Victory Pocket Manual 1805: Admiral Nelson's Flagship at Trafalgar." Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2018.
  2. ^ Peter Goodwin. "HMS Victory Pocket Manual 1805: Admiral Nelson's Flagship at Trafalgar." Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2018.