Great Turkish Bombard
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The Great Turkish Bombard is a siege gun dating from soon after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is cast in bronze and was made in two parts: the barrel which holds the shot and the chamber which holds the charge. The two parts screw together and there is a ring of sockets at the ends of each section, these take levers to facilitate screwing and unscrewing the parts.
Overall length is 5.2 m and it weighs 16.8 tonnes. It fires a stone ball of about 300 kg (660 lb) some 1600 m (5249 ft 4 in). The rate of fire was very slow — about 15 rounds per day.
Currently in the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, England.
