Who is this Designed to Harm?

As anyone working in metallurgy or metal casting will tell you, the creation of cast metal objects is a science that requires a wide range of skills, and a lot of patience. When casting a gun the newly moulded weapon must be left to cool naturally because uneven or sudden cooling can create flaws in the metal.  When the clean-up and machining have been completed, the gun is test fired, or ‘proven’.  If the gun is properly made, the round flies off toward its target. However, if the gun is flawed, or loaded with too powerful a charge, it may well explode, killing or injuring the crew. During the 1600s the iron guns made in Sweden and England had a reputation for being the best, very rarely ‘failing proof’. The Dutch, with limited access to metals and fuel, tended to concentrate on the manufacture of bronze guns, which were perfectly adequate for the task. However, guns founded in France had a reputation for exploding. With a weapon like that, you would have to wonder who was in more danger, the target, or the gun crew.