Greener harpoon gun
Maker
W Fowler
Date1868
Object number00000039
NameGun
MediumMetal, wood.
DimensionsOverall: 410 x 1220 x 85 mm, 31.9 kg
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection
Collections
HistoryEarly killing methods were as dangerous to the crews as they were deadly to the whale. Hand-thrown harpoons merely attached a rope to the whale to stop it from escaping. Actual killing of the wounded and thrashing mammal was done at close range. A long lance pierced the lungs or heart for a slow death.
Harpoon firing guns became standard from the 1850s. The Greener gun was regarded as the best of the open whaleboat guns. It was mounted on a swivel base in the bow and fired double barbed steel harpoons. William Greener of Birmingham, England, devised the method in 1837. The mechanism for firing usually consisted of a hammer that struck a pair of percussion caps.
SignificanceThis harpoon gun is typical of the 1860s whaling period in the Southern Seas.
