1.5 inch Nordenfelt QF Gun (England)

1.5 inch calibre quick firing gun mounted on a non-recoiling garrison recoil cone mounting. Vertical operating breech wedge. The barrel is inscribed near the breech with 'Nordenfelt 1.5 QF gun No 4093'. The gun mounts a foresight on the left side of the barrel. The gun is missing both its elevation and traverse wheels. The barrel and breech are unpainted, with light corrosion. The cone mount is painted in a light grey.

The 1.5 inch Nordenfelt gun was used in the late 19th century and early 20th century for defence of fortifications and also on board naval vessels for close-in defence. They were positioned in a number of forts in NSW including Middle Head, South Head, Fort Scratchley (Newcastle) and Smiths Hill (Wollongong). A number were also used by the Navy.

This particular example was one of the guns located a Fort Scratchley. One such gun was mounted at Fort Scratchley in the period 1888-94 above the Casemate Battery to counter any attacks by Torpedo Boats. In 1898 gun number 4093 is specifically referred to as being one of three 1.5 inch Nordenfelt QF Guns that replaced the three obsolete 80 pounder RML weapons in the Casemate Battery. The other two guns were numbers 4094 and 4095. In 1910-11 one 1.5 inch Nordenfelt gun was removed and the emplacement converted to a magazine. It is possible that this gun was number 4093.