Chase gun

Chase guns of this era were commonly made of brass rather than iron, as this improved their accuracy.

Despite this, most chase guns were of limited accuracy even when aiming at the sizeable target of an enemy ship's rigging.

In one eighteenth-century example, a British crew fired seventy-two shots from their vessels' bow chasers before hitting the sails of a fleeing enemy craft.

[1] By the late eighteenth century, Royal Navy crews were progressively being trained in the use of artillery in chases.

From 1799 Royal Navy frigates were universally supplied with two bow and two stern chasers, as these were the vessels most likely to be engaged in the pursuit of fleeing enemies.