Pho,
Just a SWAG, but an 18 inch bore USN cannon would probably be pre-1906 Dreadnaught era. Huge bore cannon were about, but tended to be short barrel and short range; almost mortar in nature. The most famous being the British Royal Navy “Carronade” or as known to the Brit Sailors as the “smasher” or to the Spanish or French Sailors as the “Devil gun”. These bad boys were mounted up along the bow sprint , had a arc deck track; roughly 100 degrees of azimuth capability , loaded a 64 pound ball backed by 500 rounds of musket shot and 12 lbs of black powder propellent charge.
One of the original USN “Fat Frigates” could have mounted Carronades, but I can’t find any specifications thus far.
The HMS Victory, now on display in Portsmouth, UK, has the original Carronades on display, but on the sides of the dry dock and not on the deck of the Victory. Poor old gal was sagging badly due to cannon weight so all iron cannon have been removed, set along the dry dock and wood replicas are used for on-board display.
Scamp
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I'd rather be a hammer than a nail, yes I would, I really would.
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