One O'Clock Gun

History of the One o'clock Gun

The procedure for firing the 1861 gun illustrated by John Thomson
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12.50 pm - Using wooden handspikes the gunners roll the gun back from the gun port so that it can be loaded.
 
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12.55 pm - A cloth bag filled with 4 pounds of gunpowder is rammed down the barrel.
 
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12.56 pm - The gun is rolled back to the firing position. A friction tube is then inserted into the gun's vent piercing the cloth bag.
 
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12.58 pm - A chain attached to a weight inside the clock is hooked to a ring on the time gun's friction tube.
 
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1.00pm - On receiving an electric signal from the observatory the weight is released. As the weight drops the gun fires automatically bang on time.

 
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