>From http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq107.htm:
It has often been claimed that the "brass monkey" was a holder or storage
rack in which cannon balls (or shot) were stacked on a ship. Supposedly when
the "monkey" with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the contraction of
iron cannon balls led to the balls falling through or off of the "monkey."
This explanation appears to be a legend of the sea without historical
justification. In actuality, ready service shot was kept on the gun or spar
decks in shot racks (also known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy) which
consisted of longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, into
which round shot (cannon balls) were inserted for ready use by the gun crew.
These shot racks or garlands are discussed in: Longridge, C. Nepean. The
Anatomy of Nelson's Ships. (Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981): 64.
A top view of shot garlands on the upper deck of a ship-of-the-line is
depicted in The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing. New York: Dorling
Kindersley, 1991): 17.
Bob
> Nolan your wrong.
>
> In the days when gulf wars had more to do with sailing ships than TV
> coverage, cannon balls were stacked on the decks in pyramids. The pyramids
> were held in place by a brass frame around the base, called a "monkey".
When
> it got cold, the brass monkey contracted, and the cannon balls rolled off
> around the ship's deck.
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|