There's a few resources on-line that I'm sure you'll find useful; The Texas Historical Committee website on La Belle (http://www.thc.state.tx.us/lasalle/lasbelle.html) has links to Smithsonian magazine article on the shipwreck that includes an image of one of the guns mounted on a carriage; the carriage is similar to an 18th century carriage also shown at http://www.abc.se/~m10354/bld/cannon.htm next to a photo of one of La Belle's guns. I've never seen mention of different types of guns on La Belle; I do seem to recall that they were cast from bronze, and were all four-pounders, but I could be mistaken on that. If they were all the same, they were most likely all mounted the same. Perhaps the Texas Historical Commission at [log in to unmask] would be able to answer this question. The dolphin handles were probably of most use in moving the gun (they'd be hoist points for a crane for use in loading or off-loading the guns from the ship, for raising the gun to replace/repair its carriage, etc.), but depending on how the carriage was arranged, a cable could have passed through the handles of the gun to secure it to the ship's side, ensuring that the recoil of the gun firing didn't send the whole piece flying across the ship's deck! http://www.melfisher.org/cannonsurvey/firstfourcenturies.htm has a short paragraph on swivel guns, saying they were about 3 feet long, and usually cast of bronze, but also sometimes of iron. Hope that helps. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery 1302 Bomford Crescent S.W. Medicine Hat, AB T1A 5E6 (403) 502-8587 >>> [log in to unmask] 08/07/02 10:40AM >>> Hi everyone, One of the designers here is having some issues with an exhibit about guns on a french ship, The Belle, built circa mid 1600's. Does anyone have any information about the following(or information on how to get information on the following:) Cannon: Were all three cannon on the deck were mounted the same way? What did the cannon carriages look like? What were the dolphins on the back of the cannon used for? (the one we're needing to display has two leaping, stylized dolphins that create loops on the back of the gun. They look like they're used for tying it down.) Swivel gun What were the typical dimensions? What were the materials they were made of? Muchas, Muchas Gracias Cecelia Ottenweller Research Associate Southwest Museum Services Houston, Texas 713-462-7754 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).