"What Is The Actual Identity of This Gun?" Topic

Dear All,

A Gentleman of impeccable taste here in OKC acquired at a local convention the model gun pictured below.

As a 25mm war games model, it's provenance and description are perfectly well known to us. Namely, it is
"CL-02--75mm Maxim-Nordenfelt Field Gun" originally produced by Richard Houston some 30 years ago as part of his "Colonial Guns" line of miniatures. While not yet certain, TVAG may have the mold this gun (and the others in that line), so it's not a question of "Where can I get another one."

Instead, a greater challenge is in hand.

WHAT IN THE H--- IS THIS ACTUALLY A MODEL OF?

There was no "Maxim-Nordenfelt 75mm Field Gun," so what historical gun does this represent?

The recoil tube on the left hand side of the breech could be a Vickers' feature, but the only gun that's even close made by that erstwhile arms maker was the 2.95" Mountain Gun, and it was on a Box Carriage.

The Italian Deport 75mm Field Gun, and the 57mm Maxim-Nordenfelt guns have virtually the identical carriages, but no gun tubes that would match.

Is there any true hair-splitter out there who can at least nominate a plausible actual gun of any manufacture that the model may represent?

If we can get a believable nomination (preferably with other photo or accessible resources to back up the claim), I promise to send a three gun battery of the same piece to the first one to name that tune.

Of course, if we really don't have the mold, I'm a big fibber, and will have to offer another reward.

Okay now, dazzle us--and the rest of the TMP community--with the depth of your knowledge and breadth of your resources!

TVAG

link

link

link

link

Links are bad

Damn straight!

Trying to fix them now.

Okay, links operative.

Please give them a look and let know what this is supposed to be!

TVAG

It does look a bit like a 57mm Maxim-Nordenfelt Quick-Firing Gun

I have found this picture of a 75mm Maxim-Nordenfelt:

Can't see the other side of the gun, though.

Then what did the Egyptian artillery rearm with in 1897?

Perhaps this link

This gun, designed by Russian General Engelhardt, was the first modern Russian designed field gun. The structure of the recoil mechanism was that which one could expect from mountain gun. Somewhat unusually the parts of recoil system had been built into the gun carriage. The gun had a hydro buffer and a bar was used to transmit the rest of the recoil energy to the recuperator, which consisted of steel and rubber plates

The underside model photo shows a bar connected to the recoil mechanism

OK, Patrick. here is my guess: A British 5-inch field howitzer, introduced in 1896. My picture of it shows the recuperator on the right-hand side, though. My source is "Artillery. The Big Guns Go To War" by Curt Johnson, ISBN: 0 7064 0411 4, Octopus Books 1975, top of page 40.

Tom Dye

This is the same picture I was working from. But upon further examination, it is NOT the same carriage nor recouperator set up. As Usual, Patrick, you come up with some great and interesting challenges in the Colonial period!

v/r
Tom

I would presume that it is meant to be a 75mm Maxim-Nordenfelt QF, as used by the Boers in the 2nd Anglo Boer War and by Egypt. There is one in the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich

see link and link

Gentlemen All!

My thanks to you for trying to crack this mysterious nut, but I'm not sure we're there yet.

The 75mm M-N QF referred to by N Drury is at least similar, but the absence of a photo showing the recouperator (thanks, Tom, for the proper term!) leaves room for doubt.

Evidently, the same piece is cited by Our Friend, Gallowglass. The carriage of the 57mm piece is clearly very much the same as that of the model in question, but the lack of recouperator and other differences in the barrel are proof enough that the model is not meant to be the 57mm.

Dragon6's "Englehardt Gun" could be the same barrel, and the carriage cannot be dismissed outright, but the cursed lack of photos from the left rear of most of these pieces makes any "yay" or "nay" judgment impossible.

Seems we need to find some plans, if not more photos, that would allow us for sure to ID the model.

However, for whatever it's worth, I'm tending to agree that "75mm (12.5 pdr) Maxim-Nordenfelt" may be our best suspect, at least to date.

I want to make this gun model available again, but not without proper ID.

Please, Friends, any more ideas or resources would be greatly appreciated!

Exelsior!

TVAG

This certainly looks similar

and could be the same weapon given that Vickers took over the Maxim Nordenfelt group.

There is another reference to these guns here link