XV-Inch Dahlgren in Hong Kong!
Monitor USS Mahopac, sister ship to USS Catawba, on the Appomattox River, 1864.
In 1988 a 15-inch Dahlgren gun was recovered from the harbor of Hong Kong. It is on display at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense. The gun is thought to have been one of two aboard USS Catawba, a Canonicus-class monitor that was completed after the American Civil War. Catawba was laid up until sold to her builders in 1868. Her builders sold her to Peru’s Navy. Renamed the Atahualpa, the monitor participated in the defense of main port of Peru, Callao, during the War of the Pacific. Eventually scuttled to prevent capture, the monitor was salvaged post war. At some point, possibly in the early 20th century, the ship was sold for scrap.
The gun is apparently marked FP No51 - Fort Pitt Foundry No 51.
This gun and the two 15-inch Dahlgrens on display at John Erricson’s grave at Filipstad, Varmlands Lan in Sweden are the only three of this type known to exist on land. (There are also two entombed in the wreck of USS Tecumseh in Mobile Bay.)
15-inch Dahlgren on display at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense. This gun was dredged from the harbor of Hong Kong in the 1980s. It is thought to have been part of the armament of USS Catawba which had been sold to Peru after the US Civil War. This photo is © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons and is used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Rear view of 15-inch Dahlgren on display at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense. This gun was dredged from the harbor of Hong Kong in the 1980s. It is thought to have been part of the armament of USS Catawba which had been sold to Peru after the US Civil War. This photo is © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons and is used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Another view of the 15-inch Dahlgren can be seen here: https://360carmuseum.com/en/museum/29/exhibit/1453
War time view of a 15-inch Dahlgren. I believe this photo was taken at the Washington Navy Yard. Image may be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14576345509/in/photostream/
