Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: ipushleadaround on July 17, 2017, 02:18:30 PM
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Maj Gen Hughes, in his book on the Bengal Horse Artillery talks about the standardisation of guns and their carriages in India in the chapter on Bharatpur - so possibly as early as 1805? He goes on to describe, "The chief differences between them (Indian guns) and those of the Royals lay in the comparative heaviness and clumsiness of the Indian patterns and in the provision of two seats on the axle-trees of the guns on which sat the gun lascars."
Rather confusingly the book includes photographs which possibly contradict this statement. A 5.5 inch howitzer and 9pdr don't have seats. A 6pdr captured from the Sikhs at Mudki in 1846 does. From the same book; an illustration of a 12pdr howitzer, which was in service as early as 1828, clearly shows these. I wonder if we need to make a distinction between the types of guns, and specifically the seats on them, of the Bombay and Bengal Horse Artilleries and those of their lessers in the Foot?
The Iron Duke gun carriage (Code:IMLA1)for the Mutiny period, which comes with optional barrels for the 6dr, 9pdr and 24pdr howitzer, has these seats. The Foundry and Studio Miniatures guns for their respective Sikh Wars, First and Second Afghan War do not.
Is anyone able to tell me which pieces had these seats for the crew; where they for the Horse and/or Foot Artillery; and, when they might have been actually introduced into service?