Cannons subjected to long tenures of low maintenance are especially prone to honeycombing and extensive bore corrosion. These effects could have been present within the bore to weaken the interior structure of the guns, unless they were routinely inspected and cleaned. This might have resulted in the failure observed in the 32–pounder. Additionally, if the weapons were not fielded during peacetime training, it is unlikely that the gun crews of Kronprins Gustaf Adolf had substantial experience calculating the correct powder loads to utilize when firing the larger guns, and mistakes due to poor training or stress may have been more prevalent. This may have also resulted in a gun failure.
Alternatively, either gun may have burst during the sinking event. If the guns reached a very high temperature during the shipboard fire, and then were rapidly quenched during the sinking, thermal shock could have fractured one or both of the guns in half. It is unlikely that either gun was damaged by enemy forces during the capture of the vessel. They were destroyed previously, or during the sinking.
The “E” letter located on the trunnion is not directly connected with any known iron gun foundries. The closest found was Ehrendal Mill in Sweden, which used the markings "EB", "IE", "EC", "IEC", "OEC", "JEC" and sometimes "E BR” (Ehrendals bruk in kanoner.nuv). It is not certain if the gun examined is related to this foundry or not.
The results of this study were utilized extensively in James Fowler’s master’s thesis, to be published through East Carolina University, North Carolina, United States. This work was also utilized in a public outreach publication in East Carolina University Maritime Studies Program Publication Stem to Stern (Fowler 2025:10). |
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