Description

The Flagship Models kit of the 1/32 scale 7" Brooke Rifle (Base 8.75" x 7.5"), is a dead on accurate representation of this famous weapon used extensively by the the Confederate army and navy during the American Civil War. The first seven single-banded 7-inch (178 mm) were bored and rifled from 9-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren gun blocks between July and December 1861. Two of these were the front and rear pivot guns of the CSS Virginia. Tredegar made another nineteen to the Brooke pattern between 1862 and 1863 of which three survive. Two of these are found at the Washington Navy Yard as trophies from CSS Atlanta. Selma cast fifty-four double-banded rifles in 1863 and 1864, but only shipped thirty-nine due to casting flaws. Tredegar cast thirty-six between 1863 and 1865. Eight survive, two as trophies from CSS Tennessee II, one in the Washington Navy Yard and the other in Selma. Three triple-banded rifles were cast by Tredegar in 1862. These were 15 inches (380 mm) longer than the other 7-inch rifles and were unique among Brooke guns in that they lacked cast trunnions. Instead, a separate trunnion strap was fitted around the breech. One was mounted on the CSS Richmond and another was sent to the harbor defenses of Charleston, South Carolina where it remains as a trophy in Ft. Moultrie. An independent review of this kit can be found here: www.modelwarships.com/reviews/misc/flagship/weapons/brooke-rifle-192/flagship-review.html