3 chambered salute cannon

July 2003 - A viewer sent us these pictures of his rare, "Reliable" salute cannon made by Barney & Berry of Springfield, MA, Circa 1900.  In a 1906 advertisement (from our archives) it showed the cannon as being able to fire 3 times (3 gauge blanks) without reloading!  The cannon owned by this collector was only capable of firing 1, 3 gauge blank at a time, thus we believe it to be an earlier model.  The cannon has been in the family for 4 generations, and is not for sale.  The serial number on this cannon is 154.  Where are the other 153?

The lanyard trigger is double action- the hammer is un-cocked at rest and is cocked and released by a three horned cam actuated by the lanyard.  

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Here, is another awesome salute / signal cannon owned by a private collector.  It looks innocent enough, at 23 inches long (barrel 17 inches) and weighs 47 lbs.   However that's where the innocence stops.  The bore is 2 1/8 inches in diameter.  Open the barrel by tilting it down and you discover that it is chambered for 3, 10 gauge blank shells!  Three retractable firing pins are all mechanically linked together so as to strike the blanks simultaneously  when the lanyard is pulled.  It is a good, safe design.  The cascable is pivoted to engage with the lanyard assembly for firing.  No cocking is required 

This cannon was prototyped Circa 1960 and never went into production.  It is not for sale.

I really appreciate viewers sharing photo's & stories of cannons they own.  I know many other viewers enjoy seeing the different cannons and the ingenious methods for chambering and firing the blanks.  Complete confidentiality is assured.