Chase gun

"We are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

The Flying Dutchman chase guns.

"I looked through the spyglass too, and I clearly saw a brass bow chaser on Koldunya’s bow."

―Esmeralda to Edward Teague

A chase gun, most notably distinguished as bow chaser or the triple guns, was a cannon mounted in the bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either chasing (pursuing) or being chased, when the ship's broadside could not be brought to bear. Typically, the chasers were used to attempt to damage the rigging and thereby cause the target to lose performance.

Throughout the Age of Piracy, bow chasers were used on several ships. Boris "Borya" Palachnik, the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, had a brass bow chaser aboard his ship, the Koldunya. Davy Jones, the cursed captain of the Flying Dutchman, had triple guns on the bow aboard the Dutchman.

History

"Let them taste the triple guns."
"Aye, captain."

―Davy Jones and Olgivey

Although gun ports for cannons became mostly used on the sides of ships, chase guns became of notable usage in the Age of Piracy. Some ships, like the Nemesis, were equipped with a pair of regular chase guns. The Koldunya, the ship of Boris "Borya" Palachnik, a Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, had a brass bow chaser. During an investigation by the Brethren Court, the Koldunya's crew threw it overboard before the official Court of Inquiry convened and replaced it with a regular iron nine-pounder, painted black. However, Davy Jones himself later testified to Captain Edward Teague that Palachnik's bow chaser was lying at the bottom of Shipwreck Cove.

The Silent Mary, the ship of Spanish Navy Capitán Armando Salazar, had four stern chasers below the captain's cabin. The Queen Anne's Revenge was armed with a pair of regular chase guns located at the bow for an unknown period of time during the War of Jolly Roger, but they were removed from the bow at some point when Blackbeard instead used a secret weapon based on the Greek fire device of the ancient Byzantine Empire.

The Flying Dutchman was armed with a pair of triple-barreled chase guns, also known as "triple guns" or "bow cannons", secreted in demon-faced gunports in the ship's bow. These rapid-firing chase guns most notably caused extensive damage to the Black Pearl's aft quarters shortly after Jack Sparrow's crew left Isla Cruces. Months later, the Dutchman caused further damage to the Pearl, with Hector Barbossa at the helm, in the battle around the maelstrom.

The HMS Providence of the British Royal Navy had two stern chasers below the captain's cabin. By 1751, both the HMS Monarch and the Essex of the British Navy had two bow chasers.

Behind the scenes

Chase guns first appear in the 2003 video game Pirates of the Caribbean. These cannons were first identified as "triple guns" in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The term "bow cannons" was used in the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay draft for Dead Man's Chest, although Davy Jones described them as "triple guns" in the Flying Dutchman's pursuit of the Black Pearl, they were also described as "dual triple Gatling cannons" in the scenery. In the "Calypso's Fury" draft for At World's End, Jones called them "bow cannons" in the maelstrom battle, but the terminology "forward cannons of the Dutchman" was used.

Chase guns were meant to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, a video game which was scheduled to be released in 2011. But since that game was cancelled, it is unknown if its appearance in the game is canon or not.

In the non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Blackbeard's ship the Queen Anne's Revenge appeared to have triple-barreled guns located at the bow of the ship, similar to the Flying Dutchman. Although the Greek fire device used in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is located lower in the ship's bow, it may be that the triple guns were meant to be cannons that unleashed Greek fire within the context of the LEGO game.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 video game) (First appearance)
• The Price of Freedom
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (First identified as triple guns)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (First identified as bow cannons)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Kingdom Hearts III (Non-canonical appearance)
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)

See Also

• Broadside
• Chain Shot
• Long Nine
• Cannon
• Swivel gun

External links

• Chase gun on Wikipedia