This light 24-pound demi-cannon was the main armament of the Swedish warship, Vasa. The cannon was originally developed for the army in 1620, and they were cast in Stockholm from 1626–1628. Gustav II Adolph’s initials, “GA,” the Swedish Royal Arms, and the date of casting are in relief towards the breech. These ornate artillery pieces were located in most of the gunports of the upper and lower gundeck. Vasa carried 46 of these light demi-cannons, some taken from army stores when the foundry couldn’t complete the armament order on time. Clayton Johnson built this historically accurate light 24-pound demi-cannon at 1/10 scale.
Clayton Johnson has built not one, but two impressive scale models of the Swedish warship, Vasa. The ship itself has a famed history as one of the largest and most ornate vessels of its time, but also because the Vasa sank in 1628 less than 2,000 yards into its maiden voyage. Fortunately, the warship was remarkably well-preserved after lying on the seafloor for centuries, and is now on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mr. Johnson went to painstaking lengths when making his two Vasa models, which were built at 1/50 scale and 1/144 scale, respectively. The models were so accurate, in fact, that they were donated to the Vasa museum along with some scale cannons and associated block and tackle for a different 1/10 scale model that belongs to the Vasa museum. In fact, his historical research on how the ship was originally built, and the accuracy of his models, has been consulted by Vasa Museum research staff. We thank Mr. Johnson for donating seven of his historically accurate scale model warship cannons for display at the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum.