Carronades
Thunder Bay, Ontario

Two Carronades are mounted in the concrete wall in the heights overlooking Thunder Bay. The carronades were short, smoothbore, cast iron cannons, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland and used from the 1770s to the 1860s.

This gun was originally designed as a lightweight, low velocity piece of artillery that could keep up with the infantry rather than the heavier, bulkier cannons that were difficult to transport. The design was adapted for naval gunfire. The advantage of the carronade lay in its lightness.

The carronade predates the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery and were never used in service by any of its units.

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Photos and text provided by LCol L. Jensen