"WSS Artillery Colours & Type Help?" Topic

Hi All,

Following on from the help I got in the WSS Advice Appreciated: OOBs, Artillery, Grenadiers, Figures thread I'm wondering of anyone can help me with a couple of questions specifically about artillery ordnance. I have received my newly ordered CS Grant books but they don't seem to specifically mention much about the guns?

1. Were Artillery Carriages painted any specific colours for each army/nationality this early? Were they painted any colours at all? Or were they generally traditional wood colour, etc, akin to ECW and similar…?

2. I purchased a couple of Front Rank guns and they have multiple barrels – I presume this is to allow modelling them as 'long' or 'short' versions of the 3pdr & 6pdr? Or are they to model specific nationalities of guns (e.g. the French had long barrels the Germans short ones, etc, etc)?

3. Who (Nation) were the biggest users of Howitzers – at Blenheim, Ramillies, and such the Grand Alliance army seems to have had quite a few but the French near none…?

Appreciate any help,

TIA.

I recently dropped on a note based on the Saxon author Fleming, "Der vollkommene Teutsche Soldat" publ. 1726. It states most European ordnance was furnished red at that time. A very popular colour to furnish wood then.
Among the exceptions were Saxony (black, with yellow metal furnish); Prussia (white with black metal furnish) which changed to blue only just before 1740; Sweden (blue, with black metal furnish, I believe – or was it yellow?)
This list may well be incomplete.
Among the red fraction was France, Hannover, Russia (all with black metal furnish); Danmark should have been red with yellow metal furnish

Hope someone can add up to the above.

Cheers,
Christian

Dutch guns had a red carriage:

link

Re: your question 2) I am puzzled by this myself. IRRC, according to John Lynn the difference in barrel length between the largest and smallest calibers in the French army was only 3 inches. The barrels were kept long for use in firing out of works apparently.

It is interesting that British guns may well have always been grey in colour. An author in the 1950s did not understand that lead colour could mean white lead and not red lead.
Stephen

paint'em all reddish brown. mix brown and red and paint'em all the same color. its only a game, but make sure those bricoles are painted the right shade of hemp.!

Thanks Guys – so for colours we have:

Red: France, Hannover, Russia; Danmark (Yellow metal); United Provinces & I presume Spanish Netherlands? (all Black metal unless otherwise noted).

Black: Saxony (Yellow metal)

White: Prussia (Black metal)

Blue: Sweden (Black or Yellow metal)

Grey: possibly the English/British? (presumably Black metal?)

Any thoughts on the Imperial (Austrian) forces, and Bavaria? And what of the other smaller German states?

Re: your question 2) I am puzzled by this myself. IRRC, according to John Lynn the difference in barrel length between the largest and smallest calibers in the French army was only 3 inches. The barrels were kept long for use in firing out of works apparently.

@idontbelieveit – Yes, I had the impression most guns still had long barrels at this stage ala the Renaissance – my thoughts were either the shorter barrels are for later SYW weapons (by which time shorter barrels may have become common – e.g. for the 3pdr "Battalion" Guns) or for one or two specific nations who had smaller guns?

I presumed perhaps the latter as I know the British for example still had 3 types of 6pdr as late as 1796 or so (a long, short, and light I think – which had different barrels in the former cases, and IIRC a different carriage for the latter)…

Hall states that Imperial guns were painted in colours of Habsburg livery – yellow wood with black metal.

Sweden had yellow metal during the Great Northern War. They changed to black sometime in the middle of the 18th century. The blue colour on the gun carriages was of a lighter shade than their uniforms:

link

The Russians are reported to have had red gun carriages with yellow metal in 1700 and 1710, but green carriages with black metal ca 1707. The red carriages with black metal were used after the Great Northern War.

Appreciate the info – so:

Black (with Yellow metal): Saxony.

Blue (with Yellow metal): Sweden.

Green (with Black metal): Russia ~1707.

Grey (with Black metal): English/British.

Red (with Black Metal): France; Hannover; Russia post-1721; United Provinces (& I presume Spanish Netherlands?).

Red (with Yellow Metal): Denmark; Russia 1700 & probably 1710-1721.

White (with Black metal): Prussia.

Yellow (with Black metal): Imperial/Austrian.

That's most useful – thanks all – I don't suppose anyone recalls any references at all to the Bavarians or any of the other smaller German states?

I'm still trying to figure out the different barrel length thing if anyone can help?

Re: your question 2) I am puzzled by this myself.

I tried emailing Front Rank but their website's a bit flaky with the contact form (it gives weird errors and no way tell if it posted the enquiry correctly), and I haven't heard back so they may never have got it or are too busy to respond… So in the hope someone can answer with specifics I've posted a new thread: Why Do Front Rank 18th Century Guns have 2 Barrels?