Mons Meg

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Hard Ball

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mons-meg

I assume that your user name refers to the giant 1400s vintage Bombard which the Sots still keep in Edinburgh castle. I saw it during a trip to Scotland a few years ago. The cannon was a gift to the King of Scotland from the Duke of Burundy.
What amazed me as an engineer was the remarkably advanced technology (for the 1400s) used in ite design and construction. It was ca[able of being transported with the Scots army and was capable of blowing holes in the walls of any castle in the British Ilses.:cool:
 
You are correct, sir. During my trip to Scotland we naturally did the tour of Edinburgh castle. Being an artilleryman myself, I was intrigued by the sheer size of the thing. I want to say that it was the largest gun in Europe during its time, but I am not sure...it had two sister guns made at the same (I think) Belgian foundry.

They had it inside when I saw it in '99, but I understand now it has been somewhat restored and returned to the battlements and is a great hit among the tourists. :)
 
T'was...

...still indoors when I saw it back in '83. Absolutely awesome. Wasn't there an even larger bombard (the "supergun" of its day) used by the Turks during the seige of Constantinople? I'd love to see the bits of that one which are, IIRC, still in Istanbul.
 
Best I can find online is that she was one of a pair cast in Mons, Belgium, the other piece has not survived. Meg is simply short for Margaret, of course.

She was around 6 tons (or tonnes, if you are in the UK) and could throw a 150Kg stone shot over 3000 meters. Wonder what the muzzle energy works out to? :)
 
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