Armament - Page 3 of 9 - Guns
The large iron guns are found on both the main deck and in the waist, where there were probably three guns on each side of the ship - not four as is shown in the model and various drawings and pictures of the ship. The technology behind these iron guns was at least two centuries old, but Henry VIII encouraged the domestic gun founding industry and some of the earliest cast bronze guns made in London were also recovered from the wreck.
These guns were muzzle-loading and were fitted on elm carriages equipped with four wheels, allowing them to be run back for cleaning and loading. The carriages for all the bronze guns were either manufactured or adapted to fit a particular gun and to take into account it's position in the ship. There isn't much standardisation in guns, carriages or gun furniture.
These guns used iron shot and would have been able to fire considerable distances. In combination with the shorter range iron guns, they provided the Mary Rose with a flexible main battery.
Two bronze guns were mounted on the aftercastle, firing forward past the forecastle. N.A.M. Roger has suggested that these were added as a result of the clash with the French galleys in 1513, to help cover one of the weakest points in a sailing warship.
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