Collection Highlights
Builder's Model of the U.S.S. "Monitor"
1862
1862.9
Wood, metal
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
U.S. Coast Guard Line-Throwing Gun (Flair Gun)
Title
U.S. Coast Guard Line-Throwing Gun (Flair Gun)
Object name
Whaling gun
Date
1875-1890
Medium
Brass
Dimensions
Overall: 37 in. ( 94 cm )
Description
Brass whaling gun; breech-loading with skeleton stock; barrel tips downward to load; stamped marks at breech end of barrel, frame, breech, trigger guard, and wrist.
Credit Line
Gift of the U.S. Coast Guard Supply Center
Object Number
1953.104
Marks
stamped: wrist, left frame, and breech end of barrel: "E. PIERCE"
stamped: breech, right and bottom frames, trigger guard: "3"
Gallery Label
Until the 1840's, whaling guns were heavy, muzzle-loading guns that were swivel-mounted to the decks of whaleboats and fired large harpoons at close range. With the invention of the bomb lance, a small, exploding steel projectile filled with gunpowder, whaling guns became lighter, shoulder-fired weapons whose smaller ammunition could be loaded through the breech and fired at greater distances.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
