page_title: Gun port
section_title: Technique
hierarchical_section_title: Gun port / History / Age of Sail / Technique
context_page_description: A gunport is an opening in the side of the hull of a ship, above the waterline, which allows the muzzle of artillery pieces mounted on the gun deck to fire outside. The origin of this technology is not precisely known, but can be traced back to the late 15th century, with the appearance of artillery in naval warfare. Ships featuring gunports were said to be pierced, since the ports were cut through the hull after the construction.
context_section_description: The gunport makes it possible to mount large artillery pieces on a ship, turning it into an efficient artillery platform. From the 15th century, the number and quality of the artillery, conditioned by the gunports, became one of the features that distinguished warships from merchantmen. It announced the advent of the ship of the line and the demise of the galleys, which carried only a few guns on their forecastle. From the 16th century, the number and disposition of the artillery dictated the evolution of the silhouette of the ships, whose forecastle and quarterdeck faded and eventually disappeared entirely in the 19th century.
  Gunports were pierced on the side of the hull at equal intervals of 2.4 to 2.7 metres, though some were also pierced at the bow and at the stern of ships, for chase guns. Their size was adapted to the calibre of the artillery: for instance a gunport for a 36-pounder long gun was 1.2 metre wide. On ships with several decks, they were never pierced one on top of the other, but in quincunx, as to better distribute the load of the guns and the weaknesses of the hull.  They were not mere holes in the hull, but artillery positions that had to withstand the weight of the cannons and the recoil forces of shots; to this end, they featured strong beams and rings to which the complex rigging that held the guns in place were attached. In effect, naval guns mounted behind gunports were more comparable to the guns installed in latter turrets, than to mobile Army field guns.
  Georges Fournier describes that in 1643, gunports closed with a top-mounted lid mounted in France, England and Holland, while they closed with side-mounted doors in Spain, and with removable panels in other countries. Some ships built with clinker, such as the Mary Rose, had to be rebuilt with a freeboard to be pierced.
  Gunports also provided aeration to the cluttered ships. To this end, it was possible to either open the lid, like when bearing the guns, or to open a smaller door in the lid.
caption: Broadside of the Océan, showing the quincunx disposition of the gunport across superposed gun decks.
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