"Lyle" type Life Saving Line Cannons      

   Manufactured in late 1800's to the middle 1900's!

                                                                          Rescue from land
If the wreck was close to shore, a line was shot out to the vessel with a Lyle type gun and the survivors brought ashore in a breeches buoy - think of it as a rescue by clothesline, getting this equipment close to the wreck could be a problem.

A breeches buoy was simply a pair of canvas pants sewed onto a life preserver.

Lightweight rope was shot out to the wreck with the Lyle gun.

It was carefully wound on a rope-board so it would uncoil without snagging. The crews would then use this rope to haul out the heavier lines which actually carried the breeches buoy.

Wanted all types of bronze and steel Lyle Line Cannons

for consignment sales or cash purchase!

 

     

Brand New "Lyle" type projectiles available!

2.5 inch in diameter

Hurry - only three of these available at this time! Very hard to find.

$200 each + shipping

A very rare & complete Naval Co. Bronze Line Cannon!

Price reduced to sell FAST!

It has been almost three years since we have had one of these!

 

         

   

Note: This is NOT the original base.

This great cannon comes with the original complete firing mechanism, a projectile, ram rod, original tools and the original instructions!  This is the most complete line cannon we have ever had!

       

We have just acquired this cast bronze line throwing gun or cannon marked on the side of the barrel “Naval Co.”.

Other markings include the following: Manufacture date 4/8/44, Serial # 519,  F R W O, etc.

   

The barrel (not including the ears) is roughly 25.75 inches long and 5” in diameter at the widest point. The bore is roughly 2-9/16” in diameter.  Total weight is about 150 lbs. without the projectile.

Price reduced to sell FAST!

Priced at: $2,695 US$ plus shipping

 

Located in Florida

1900 USLSS Bronze Model "C" Lyle Line Gun

 

 

Fantastic USLSS Lyle Gun in Firing condition.

 

 

Cast in 1900 by the American Ordinance Co. And it bears serial number 463, and has the inspectors stamp of F. E. H.

 

The Carriage has been restored to firing condition as has the firing mechanism.

 

 

This is the finest model of the United States Life Saving Service.

This Bronze Type C Lyle Gun has been used during the past 109 years to save lives and keep our mariners safe.

The previous owner has personally done several live firing demonstrations with the Breeches Buoy using this very gun, and it fires just as it did over a hundred years ago.

Included is the .32 caliber firing mechanism and an original USLSS firing lanyard, just as found in a private collection.

This is a fabulous piece of our nations history.

It is absolutely the best buy ever for this type of maritime artifact and is one of the finest Model "C's" we have ever seen.

 

Priced REDUCED by $1,000 US$!

Price now is $13,950 US$ plus shipping

 

Located in Michigan

 

Videos of firing and information a "Lyle" Line Guns

http://youtu.be/AayYvoYjidM

http://youtu.be/OEeu7YVHBcg

http://youtu.be/uhkZIojHaqw

Bronze & Steel "Lyle" Type  Line Cannons Wanted!

           

 

 

Wanted ORIGINAL projectiles for Bronze "C" Lyle Gun

Recent Line Cannon Sales!

      

 

 

Information on the Lyle type life saving line cannons

Experiments in shooting tethered projectiles dates back to circa 1800.  A mortar device was credited with saving lives in 1850.  But it wasn't until West Point and M.I.T.  graduate David A. Lyle (1845 - 1937) began his research / testing that resulted in reliable efficient designs.  Thus Line saving guns are most often referred to as "Lyle Guns". The US Government funded many line throwing gun projects.   There were about 30 companies who made line throwing guns from the late 1800's to 1952.  Famous names included, American Manufacturing, Galbraith, General Ordnance, Naval Co., Sculler and Steward. Production ceased in 1952 in favor of rockets.  Some line guns even look like guns, such as the examples shown made by Winchester and the Naval Company. These line guns are used primarily for shore based rescue operations.  The shooter would fire, aiming over the victims head and then pull the line within reach of the victim.  They are also useful for rescuing victims that have fallen through the ice, or are stranded on a cliff or burning building. Boats in distress need larger lines.  Lyle guns were designed to throw projectiles weighing approximately 15 pounds, carrying heavier rope over 1000 feet. Pictured is a early Lyle Gun made by Edmund S. Hunt, of Weymouth, Massachusetts.  David Lyle actually tested Hunt's guns.   The Hunt gun featured a unique projectile, in that it contained the line coiled inside it and played out during flight.  The cannon barrel shown is bronze, and measures 18 1/2” long. The bore is 2 1/2” across. It is mounted on a wooden base which measures 10 1/2” x 29 3/4”.  Circa 1878       This iron gun was made by the Sculler Safety Co (Circa 1940).  The barrel is 28 inches long with a 2.5 inch bore.  Click on images to see larger pictures.    Here are examples of a few line throwing guns made by different manufacturers. Private collection For the most part, these cannons were designed to be compact and easy to operate. Most had a elevation adjustment achieved by placing a pin in holes, which held the barrel at a certain angle.  At least one Japanese line gun has a horizontal adjustment.  It fired using 12 gauge blanks. Lyle guns have tremendous recoil (several feet) and need to be lashed down (many people were injured just by the recoil).  All fired using black powder charges, with a couple of exceptions of those using black powder cartridges.  Black powder was used in pre-measured bags, and was coarser than the far grade, no longer manufactured.   Extensive tests were conducted to determine the optimum powder charge.  The idea being that the powder would ignite and the pressure would start pushing the projectile out of the barrel and stop burning just as the projectile exited. Modern day shooters of these cannons should take note! The fa grade was much coarser and slower burning than today's ffg grade. It could be dangerous to put 5 ounces of ffg powder in a Lyle gun. Barrels were made mostly of cast iron with bore diameters of about 2.5 inches.  A few were made of Bronze, and fewer of Manganese/Bronze.   This  cannon and its projectile were made by the Naval Company, June 1944.  The waffle design barrel is made of manganese/bronze and is 34 inches long and weighs 75 lbs. (2.5 inch bore).  It was  restored to it's original factory condition.  A clear coat of urethane was applied to protect it from oxidizing.  Earlier Lyle guns fired using standard cannon fuse. Aboard ship this proved too unreliable as most rescue operations were during turbulent, stormy weather.  Friction primers were a much better choice (these were also used during the Civil War and are in use today).  A friction primer consist of a small brass tube (3/16 inch) filled with a flash powder that gets ignited by sparks from a friction pin that is quickly pulled out of the tube using a string (lanyard) attached to the loop.   It is similar to the effect of lighting a safety match. Shown is a friction primer by itself, and then one inserted in a breech plug, which is screwed into the breech of a Lyle gun.   The bolt has a 3/16 inch hole running through it. Later, another design used a primer method consisting of a 22 or 32 caliber blank configured in a mechanical assembly.  By pulling on a string (lanyard) a spring/trigger would be released to fire the blank cartridge, which in turn ignited the powder in the barrel. Shown, is a  earlier 32 caliber firing mechanism for a Lyle gun.  These were also made in the 22 caliber size.  This device screwed into the breech section of the barrel. More reliable firing devices came later, and included this stainless steel 22 caliber model shown below.  A 22 cal. blank was inserted by unscrewing the lower section.  The top section was spring loaded, requiring one to pull up on the head and rotating 90 degrees to the cocked position and then inserting a safety clip on the shaft. At this time the head was turned back such that it was now resting on the safety clip. The safety clip was attached to a 10 foot lanyard.    (From the collection of T. Parks).   Lyle guns have saved thousands of lives!

Comments on "Lyle Cannons" from a website visitor! 

Seeing the Lyle guns brings back a wave of nostalgia, as from 1967 to 1969 I was a USCG seaman stationed at Fort Point Motor Lifeboat Station in San Francisco, CA., which had at least a dozen Lyle guns lying around for decoration.

We had, and trained with, the last "beach cart" on the west coast. This was a hand cart with fat sand tires that held a polished (by me) bronze Lyle gun and all its accessories.

Though we never used it in an actual rescue (we used boats for the 1,000 SAR cases a year we handled) we trained and practiced with it, mostly to impress visiting brass hats. Yes, it recoils hard (20 feet end over end across the beach) flying off its oak slide, and you must be most careful in flaking the 1/2 mile of light messenger line over the pins of the line box cover, putting the box over the cover, inverting it and withdrawing the cover with its pins without disturbing the piled up coiled flakes of line, then using the box's elevating wings to point it the right direction, as one little mistake results in an incredible mess and broken expensive things.

We built a platform and "yardarms" on a tall piling a few hundred yards down the beach to simulate a ship and our drills were timed as to how fast we could run out the cart, deploy and load the gun with its powder packets and heavy "sash weight" projectile, jerk the lanyard to fire the light messenger over the "victim" on the platform who hauls out the heavy messenger, then the manila cable and secures it to the piling, then the beach crew set up an "X" frame to hold the line up a few feet, buried the "dead man" and set the cable up with a powerful tackle. When this was done the breeches buoy was hauled out, the man on the piling jumped in, and we hauled him to "safety". I think our best time was something like four and a half minutes from alarm to man's feet on the beach. There's also a spring loaded line cutter you haul out last to cut the cable for recovery.

Even though this was 40 years ago, I can still smell the burnt powder and  feel the satisfaction of a difficult job well done with my shipmates, with whom I shared so much danger and adventure in our young lives.

by Peter Bailey, April 5, 2008

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Last up-dated on 02/18/2012