The Jaivana (जयवाण) cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

W.G.Ewald

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Last night I watched the movie The Pride and the Passion (1957), based on C.S.Forester's novel The Gun.

The Pride and the Passion (1957) - IMDb

The cannon in the movie was patterned after a real artillery piece, the Jaivana cannon.

Jaivana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is located at the Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur (India) at (26°58"²48.03"³N 75°50"²37.29"³E). It was cast in 1720, by Jai Singh II of Jaipur the administrator of Jaigarh Fort during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. The formidable strength of its builder, the scientifically inclined warrior Sawai Jai Singh II, lay in the large number of artillery and copious supply of munitions which he maintained.

Jaivan rests on a high four-wheeled carriage. The front wheels are 2.74 m (9.0 ft) in diameter and the rear wheels are 1.37 m (4.5 ft) in diameter.


 

pmaitra

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Jai means victory. It could also possibly have been named after Jai Singh.

It lies atop the Amber Palace, that I have had the fortune to visit and see in person. More than real use, it was a great psychological weapon. The fables emanating from it kept the Afghan raiders at bay, so goes the local legend.

Great find Mr. Ewald.

I'm sure Adolf Hitler would have loved it. :D

 

Kunal Biswas

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Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

Jaivana cannon



The Jaivana cannon is the largest wheeled cannon ever constructed. It is located at the Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur. It was cast in 1720, during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The formidable strength of its builder, the scientifically inclined warrior Sawai Jai Singh II, lay in the large number of artillery and copious supply of munitions which he maintained. Jaivan rests on a high 4 wheeled carriage. The front wheels are 2.74 m in diameter and the rear wheels are 1.37 m in diameter.

The length of the barrel of the cannon is 20 feet 2 inches and it weighs 50 tons.


Its sheer size gives some idea of what a monumental task Jaivana's manufacture might have been. The 50 tonne cannon rests on six massive wheels, each 9 ft in circumference. The cannon is 31 ft long with a 20 ft barrel that can be raised or lowered by an 8 ft tall elevating screw. Four elephants were used to rotate it. The cannon is believed to have been fired only once- towards Chakshu, 22 km away. About 100 kg of explosives launched a 50 kg iron ball which created a huge depression when it landed. It is a pond now.

Cannons always had a water tank beside them, for the gunner to jump into to avoid the massive shock wave. Jaivan's gunner is said to have died on the spot on firing the cannon, before he could jump into water. Eight people and one elephant were also reportedly killed by the shock wave and many houses collapsed in Jaipur

The most prominent features of the cannon complex are the giant wheels with teeth measuring 9 inches for rotating cutters to drill holes in mammoth barrels. Each cutter is 9 ft long. Four pairs of bulls rotated the gear system made from thick wooden crossbars fixed to a central beam. It is these wooden parts that have eroded and need repair. Narendra Singh has hired a master carpenter to work on the missing parts. Delhi's National Museum too has been approached for help. Since the erstwhile kings used to supervise the making of cannons themselves, the royal pavilion where they were seated is also being renovated. In addition, a support system is being fabricated to ease the burden on the wheels of Jaivana that are wearing out under the cannon's weight.
 

Kunal Biswas

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re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon









 

ani82v

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re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

I have seen it when I was a child.
Every 10 years or so, they should take it to a secluded place and fire it once.
My generation doesn't know how it powerful our canons were 300-400 years ago.
 

Kunal Biswas

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re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon



Size..
 

Kunal Biswas

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

they should take it to a secluded place and fire it once.My generation doesn't know how it powerful our canons were 300-400 years ago.
That is a wonderful piece..

She need maintenance specially the barrel, One should not fire such a old gun which could cause explosion of the barrel instead..

But one can be made a replica for research about its true power..
 

ani82v

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

One more interesting factoid. It has been fired only once after it was made, which was only for testing and it completely destroyed the village where it landed. The residents were already evacuated before the test.
 

Akim

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

A "tsar –cannon" is in Moscow
 

SajeevJino

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

small cannon in big moving platform ...The cannon cost is less than the wheels platform...
 

bhramos

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

Interesting facts and read

Its sheer size gives some idea of what a monumental task Jaivana's manufacture might have been. The 50 tonne cannon rests on six massive wheels, each 9 ft in circumference. The cannon is 31 ft long with a 20 ft barrel that can be raised or lowered by an 8 ft tall elevating screw. Four elephants were used to rotate it. The cannon is believed to have been fired only once- towards Chakshu, 22 km away. About 100 kg of explosives launched a 50 kg iron ball which created a huge depression when it landed. It is a pond now.

Cannons always had a water tank beside them, for the gunner to jump into to avoid the massive shock wave. Jaivan's gunner is said to have died on the spot on firing the cannon, before he could jump into water. Eight people and one elephant were also reportedly killed by the shock wave and many houses collapsed in Jaipur
 

Kunal Biswas

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Cannons always had a water tank beside them, for the gunner to jump into to avoid the massive shock wave. Jaivan's gunner is said to have died on the spot on firing the cannon, before he could jump into water. Eight people and one elephant were also reportedly killed by the shock wave and many houses collapsed in Jaipur
I am very septic about this info..

Unless one in front of the gun or at very side have real chance of getting brain damage..
 

trackwhack

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Re: Jaivana Cannon- World's Largest Wheeled Cannon

Cannons always had a water tank beside them, for the gunner to jump into to avoid the massive shock wave. Jaivan's gunner is said to have died on the spot on firing the cannon, before he could jump into water. Eight people and one elephant were also reportedly killed by the shock wave and many houses collapsed in Jaipur
I doubt this is true. Common sense would have made them use a longer wick
 

Kunal Biswas

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Just adding another legend..

Tanjavur Cannon





There is one object of heritage value in Tanjavur that not many visitors would have seen. It is the Tanjavur Cannon, a mighty Cannon of forge welded iron built during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak (1600-1645 CE). This 25 ft long Cannon weighs 22Tonnes. The outer diameter is 37 inches and the inner dia 25 inches can fire a cannon ball (iron) of 1000 Kg weight. No wonder it finds fourth place in the list of Largest Cannons fired in the World History.This Cannon was named "Rajagopala Beerangi (Cannon), but popularly known as "Daasimettu beerangi" is placed on an elevated (25'high) defense barricade at the eastern Rampart of the Tanjavur Fort. Surprisingly many people living in Tanjavur may not be aware of the existance of such a huge Cannon in Tanjavur. Since I stayed with my uncle on the same road on Rampart I saw this Cannon when I visited Tanjavur for the first time in 1946.

Interestingly though many locals may not be aware of such thing of heritage value is there in their Town, this Cannon finds a place in the list of Largest Cannons in World History.

Brahmanyan: Tanjavur Cannon
 

rock127

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