124 MILITARY SCIENCES. 



with a handle bent backwards {fig. 34 d), and connected with the staff by 

 the mounting, c, are employed. For fortifications where it is necessary to 

 fire downwards, as in Gibraltar for instance, the depression carriage of 

 Kohler is employed {pi S8, fig. 2, side Yiew, fig. 3, from above). Upon the 

 platform,//, which can be moved sideways by means of rollers, h^ runs, on 

 four wheels, g g, the carriage proper, whose lower frame is bevelled off in 

 front, and has two arches, z, in rear, by means of which the upper frame, ee, 

 which is also bevelled off in front at d, can be set at any angle. Upon the 

 upper frame lie the cheeks, a hi, on which the piece, c, rests upon its trun- 

 nions, and which are bound together by two cross-pieces and bolts into a 

 frame ; the whole is of iron. 



A peculiar carriage was invented by Count von Buckeburg already men- 

 tioned, for the one-pound amusette, which can be fired from without unlim- 

 bering {fig. 4, side view, fig. 5, view from above). Upon the high edges rest 

 the two beams, a h, bound together into a frame, between which are the 

 bench, c, and stand, d, for the artillerists, and upon which the platform, e / 

 lies. Upon this are the low cheeks, g h, with the transoms, i and n ; on 

 these cheeks the trunnions rest. Upon the front carriage, o, which is a 

 limber with a pintle for the pintle-ring on the lower frame, stands an ammu- 

 nition* chest, n. 



e. Mortar CARRiAftE or Bed. For mortars which have their trunnions 

 on the second reinforce, the so called hanging mortars, the carriage con- 

 sists of two cheeks connected together by bolts and transoms. After the 

 inefficiency of this construction was perceived in various armies, and 

 instead of the hanging, the standing mortar was introduced, the carriage 

 consisted only of a short massive block of oak wood, or of two or three 

 very thick oak planks, screwed together by means of strong iron bolts 

 passing through them and secured by surrounding bands. Upon this bed 

 is hollowed out the place for trunnion beds and for the foot of the mortar. 

 PL 37, fig. 8, is a Prussian 50-pound mortar upon its bed. A, which is com- 

 posed of two very thick planks and three very short transoms. Besides the 

 two bolts, aa, the four bolts which pass through the iron band serve to 

 hold the bed together. The lower corners of the bed are notched in and 

 rounded, to permit of handspikes being thrust under for moving it upon the 

 platform, and there are also hooks, hh, to be made use of in curving the bed 

 sideways, or to secure it in transportation ; B, are the trunnion plates and 

 cap squares, which are fastened round the trunnions by key bolts ; c and d 

 are quoins for elevating the mortar. Fig. 17 is a French mortar on its 

 bed, which consists of two thick cheeks of cast iron. A, set upon the wooden 

 sleepers, B, and firmly united by means of transoms and bolts ; the pins, 

 «a, of which there are four, are employed in giving the direction and 

 securing the mortar ; B are the cap squares, and C is the quoin. Fig. 7 is 

 the side view of an Austrian 30-pound mortar, after Vega's construction : 

 A is a bed composed of three oak blocks united by screw bolts, and having 

 iron studs at the angles for giving the direction and moving the piece. 

 Upon this bed, two low iron cheeks, B, are fastened by means of bolts, and 

 form the trunnion beds, which are closed by the cap squares, F. On the 

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