As soon as I walked into the MCC, my eyes drew straight to the Hotchkiss Naval Gun standing proud on a plinth which compliments the shine of this historical object. In comparison to all the other figures in the warehouse that have aged over time, this bold icon has been highly respected and kept in high quality condition for over a century. This amplifies the military's priorities and concerns on the display of could be called a "killing machine", possibly because they wanted to glorify its horrific purpose while covering up its true violent identity.
The Hotchkiss Naval Gun began its service for warships in 1886, originating from France and used by the UK, United States, Italy and Russia, mostly used to destroy small torpedo boats prior to WWI. These guns did their duty in the late 19th and early 20th century until they were seen as too heavy with firepower that was too light to be effective when The Great War started; they were altered into sub-caliber training and saluting guns. Having this use for the Hotchkiss Naval Guns, this meant that they prolonged their lifespan up to World War II where presumably ammunition and weaponry had become scarce and so they were transformed back into shooting guns for the war effort. These bulky firing guns were used on warships such as the HMS Furious and various armoured lorries.
With this in mind, I'll take my curiosity into the ergonomics of the design for this object and see what qualities it had to show for in order to be seen as "important" for western warships. I have deep interest in the evolution of these military tools of war; seeing what they used before the Hotchkiss Naval Gun, where they've took it further and what could be possible in the future of these designs.
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