Tillhör fyndnr:04079,04086.Enligt fyndliggaren.
Lavetten är den konstruktion (även kallad fyrarullalåda och skeppslåda) av trä som kanonen låg på. Den består av två sidostycken, ett tvärstycke (kolv) mellan dessa, en botten, två hjulaxlar samt fyra hjul. Vidare fanns det järnbeslag på lavetten, som manövrerades med block och talja samt spakar. I stort sett samma typ av lavetter användes på fartyg från 1500- till 1800- talet. Tillverkningen av lavetter flyttades 1622 från Lådmakargården vid Norrmalmstorg till Skeppsholmen (nuvarande Blasieholmen). På Vasa har det påträffats 62 lavetter; 27 på övre batteridäck, 33 på undre batteridäck och 2 på trossdäck.
Om Lavettregel finns:
(Elevationsregeln, eller ställholtet, låg tvärs över lavettens trappstegsformade bakände och användes, tillsammans med riktkilar, för att rikta in kanonen i höjdled.)
A gun carriage is the four-wheeled wooden construction that carried a cannon, so that it could be aimed, moved about the deck and restrained safely. A carriage consists of ten wooden elements: a bed (bottom), two cheeks (sides), a transom (a vertical block between the cheeks just under the trunnions of the gun), two axles and four trucks (wheels). These elements are usually held together by nine heavy iron bolts, a number of nails, and a quantity of iron reinforcing straps and other hardware. 62 carriages were found on the ship, 27 on the upper gun deck, 33 on the lower gun deck, and 2 on the orlop. They are of four different sizes, for the four different types of carriage guns carried by the ship (light 24-pounders, heavy 24-pounders, 3-pounders, and howitzers) Carriages were manufactured in a specialised workshop, which after 1622 was part of the state shipyard on Skeppsholmen.
Gun carriage
A gun carriage is the four-wheeled wooden construction that carried a cannon, so that it could be aimed, moved about the deck and restrained safely. A carriage consists of eleven wooden elements: a bed (bottom), two cheeks (sides), a transom (a vertical block between the cheeks just under the trunnions of the gun), two axletrees, four trucks (wheels) and an elevation bar. These elements are usually held together by nine heavy iron bolts, a number of nails, and a quantity of iron reinforcing straps and other hardware. The carriage and gun were restrained by breechings, heavy ropes which passed through holes in the cheeks and were tied to ringbolts in the ship’s side, and the gun was manoeuvred with breeching tackles slipped over hooks mounted on the cheeks and held to more ringbolts in the ship’s side, as well as handspikes, heavy wooden levers. 62 carriages were found on the ship, 27 on the upper gun deck, 33 on the lower gun deck, and 2 on the orlop. They are of four different sizes, for four of the five different types of carriage guns carried by the ship (light 24-pounders, heavy 24-pounders, 3-pounders, and howitzers; no carriage survives for the 1-pounders).
The style of gun carriage found on Vasa is typical of the 17th century, with a full, flat bed and stepped cheeks, with holes for the breechings. In later periods, the bed was omitted and the cheeks were connected only by the axles and transom. The design is heavy, with the normal light 24-pounder mounted on a carriage weighing 300-400 kg, for a total weight of gun and carriage of 1500-1700 kg (the guns vary between 1200 and 1300 kg).
Carriages were manufactured in a specialised workshop, which after 1622 was part of the navy yard on Skeppsholmen, and the making and repair of carriages was part of the contract for maintenance of the fleet. The carriages show that standardised patterns were used in this workshop. Although Vasa sailed in August 1628 with only 64 of its official armament of 72 guns, the carriages for the missing eight guns had been delivered and were found near their eventual gunports. Historical accounts indicate that only one of the two 1-pounders was mounted on its carriage, the other was lashed to the deck for transport.
Gun carriage cheek
(Note: 3-pounder carriages are slightly different)
The cheek is the side of a gun carriage. It is made from a single plank of even thickness and width, cut square at the front end, with a rounded upper corner, and in a series of steps at the back end, finishing in a decorative moulding on the last step. There is a semi-circular notch in the upper edge for the trunnion of the gun barrel, a shallow rebate in the upper edge behind this notch for the iron capsquare which held the barrel in place, a similar rebate on the outer face under the trunnion notch for the bolt which held the transom, and a second, shallower rebate of oval [or octagonal] form towards the back end of the outer face for the iron hook for the breech and train tackles. There is a large hole through the cheek for the breeching. The cheek was held to the bed by three forelock bolts, which also held the capsquare in place: one in front of the trunnion notch, which ended in an eye fitted with a wedge to hold the capsquare closed; one directly behind the trunnion which ended in an iron plate, to absorb some of the shock of recoil, and one farther back, which held the capsquare plate. A fourth bolt of similar size held the back end of the capsquare plate, but was a blind drift, and did not reach the bed. The back end of the cheek was held to the bed by large nails driven up through the bed into the lower edge of the cheek, and the straps which held the ends of the axletrees extended well up the cheeks. A thin iron plate was nailed to the top edge in front of the trunnion notch, down the front edge and around to the bottom of the bed. A staple driven into the outer face, near the upper, forward corner took a lanyard for the capsquare wedge, so that it would not be lost.
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