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Fort Trumbull State Park
New London, CT 2014
To defend the fort and the harbor of New London, the army installed 3, 15"-Rodman cannons in the North Battery. In the mid-19th century these cannons were the most powerful guns in the world, weighing over 50,000 lbs and could fire a 450 lb cannonball or a 350 lb explosive shell. By the time cannons were installed here in the 1890's, they were just about obsolete. Today, this is all that remains where these cannons once stood. I don't believe the cannons were ever fired.
Beautiful sky in your photo!
ReplyDeleteYour post got me to read all about the history of the Rodman guns. The U.S. installed 332 of them for 12,000 plus miles of coastal defense. They were installed just prior to the Civil War and protected our coasts for the next 30 years until the 1890s when they were replaced with 10" rifled steel cannons. The Rodman guns shot 3.5 miles penetrating 10" of iron ship side, so European ships with 9" guns never wanted to exchange fire with them. Only 25 of these guns still survive mostly in parks and military museums.
ReplyDeleteThey do have some cannons on display here at Fort Trumbull, but I think they're the 8"-Rodman which were located in the South Battery. I'll post a picture of them.
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