Large HMS Capetown Tompion - Ferrers Walker

This impressive gun tompion from HMS Capetown is a circular metal muzzle cover mounted on wood and decorated with an elaborate heraldic coat of arms. Tompions were fitted over naval gun barrels to keep out seawater, spray and debris, and were often embellished with a ship’s badge or associated heraldry.

HMS Capetown was a Carlisle-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, completed in 1922. Armed principally with 6-inch guns, she served extensively overseas during the interwar years, including in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Americas.

During the Second World War she undertook convoy and fleet duties. In April 1941 she was seriously damaged by a torpedo from the Italian motor torpedo boat MAS 213 off Massawa, requiring lengthy repairs. In 1944 she supported the Normandy landings, helping control shipping around the Mulberry harbours. HMS Capetown survived the war and was sold for scrapping in 1946. From the famed Ferrers Walker collection that was curated by, and once on display at, the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth.