Model of a British offset Limber for 12 pounder Armstrong BL gun

Wood, brass, copper and leather model of an artillery limber with offset shafts, mounted on a wooden plinth. The shafts, wheels and most of the carriage body is made from oak. A pair of brass-banded wooden ammunition boxes sit atop the body. They are provided with hinges, allowing the lids to open, and each has a miniature latch lock fitting. The grip handles are in copper. A leather strap at the rear of each box attaches to the lower carriage. The wheels display the correct dished pattern and are fitted with brass tyres. Accessories provided with the model include a pair of sponge buckets, hung from hooks attached to the axle, and a set of tools (shovel, axe, pick and bill hook) made of pewter and brass with oak handles, mounted to the base. The outer shaft is provided with a folding stand, and the rear towing hook is slotted and fitted with a flat copper locking pin. A separate perspex cover has been made to fit the base.

Model of an offset artillery limber designed for use with the Armstrong 12 pounder breech-loading gun in approximately one-twelfth scale. The 12 pounder Armstrong was developed in the late 1850s and represented a radical departure from pervious muzzle loaded artillery, in that it combined a rifled barrel with a new breech-loading mechanism. Further innovations included a carriage with elevation and traverse adjusting mechanisms. The Armstrong was chosen as the ideal artillery piece to arm the newly created Victorian Volunteer Artillery Corps and 12 pounder versions were ordered by the Victorian Government between 1864 and 1870. Ultimately six 12 pounders were ordered by the Victorian Government, and two by the Western Australian Government. Gun number 370 is now in the Memorial's collections.