Armstrong gun

Black powder, lots more smoke and flash. Just like a warship firing a broadside.

Clive

Usually the report of a round with a projectile is higher-pitched and with a sharper volume rise at the start. Sometimes you can hear that it would do you harm.

The Rifled Muzzle Loaders of mid-Victorian times were developed specifically to circumvent a problem with Armstrong guns - these latter were found to have limited piercing power against newer ironclad warships as a result of the breech construction. RMLs were often older guns re-sleeved with a rifled liner stronger and more accurately machined than the original smooth bore, and supplied with an outfit of pointed Palliser shells, studded to engage the rifling and with a hard chilled-iron piercing point.

If you meant recoil, firing a blank on this gun produces none

Hey Dave, yes they are firing the gun now, nice to see. I found out there was an other similar gun on the island until the 1950, unfortunately it was cut down for scrap.

ChrisB many thanks for posting the video, nice to see the gun firing if only black powder, the Maltese certainly take their re-enactments seriously. Went to one at another fort in Valletta, can't remember the name of it, and watched a cracking display, plenty of flintlocks banging off so clouds of smoke and just 6 feet away from a brass canon was that was fired off, plenty of realism. Spent some happy days in Malta, loved the people, first went their in the 70's in the Air Force, has changed a lot since then, joining the EU they had to modernise their infrastructure which took away some of the character of the place, particularly the buses, they were legendary.

Dave

Hey Dave, yes much have changed since the 70's some for the better some for the worse... at least these last years an effort was made in restoring the fortifications, the whole of Valletta is now mostly restored, the fort you mention is Fort St Elmo at the very tip of the city, it's been restored and houses the national war museum. True, re-enactments are taken seriously, some represent the British period, and some the Knight's period. Did you visit the saluting battery at Valletta, they have 8 replica 32pdr breech loaders, guns are fired twice daily, at noon and in the evening and on special occasions a full salute!

Hi ChrisB, thanks for the video, very impressive, the Maltese always do things in style. Remember now it was Fort St. Elmo where we saw the re-enactment, and remember the noonday gun booming out but didn't have a chance to visit the battery. I was last in Malta about nine years ago, visiting friends and spent a month there. Always impressed by their naval patrol boats, very smart but probably not chance if ever in combat, probably very busy now with the boat refugees in that part of the Med, there were always a few refugees on the island, used to congregate around the bus terminus at Floriana, hate to imagine what it's like now.

Dave

Noisy folk we are! If you visited over the summer period especially August you would think it's WW2 again - Village feasts with large colourful fireworks and loud petards is the rule of the day, guess its a love us or hate us thing!

The patrol boats are not meant for any type of combat I think, armed with machine guns and maybe a small caliber cannon on some, they do more like coast guard / sea police duties and of course refugees rescue...strangely enough over these last 4 to 5 years we had almost none landing on the island. My guess is some sort of agreement was reached with Italy and they are taking them in.

We have groups here that that do similar, every thing from 25 pounder guns 40 mm Bofors, all sorts of machine guns, and a great favourite a massive air blast of petrol .

Ian S C

Majorly cool. Those that do not know their History are condemned to repeat it, how true are the words for today's situations. Glad to see People appreciating and remembering Their History.