Navy discovers WWI-believed cannons from Hooghly banks

Kolkata: While clearing a piece of land on the Hooghly river banks, the Indian Navy discovered five cannons presumed to be of World War I vintage, PTI reported.

Two of them were restored and painted in black, white and red motifs to mount them at the INS Netaji Subhas, the Indian Navy's Bengal area base headquarters here.

The cannons are probably of World War I vintage and meant for being mounted on ships," said Captain Joydeep Chakraborty, who added that the pieces were found at the left bank of the Hooghly.

Four of the five canons, discovered in mid-2021, were retrieved this year from the land, which earlier was part of the river bed. The last one is in the process of being lifted from the ground where it is embedded, the official said.

The official said land at Daighat near Kidderpore docks earlier belonged to the Kolkata Port. The Navy took it for construction of a facility. While clearing the land of weed and rubbish, the workers came across a British-era cannon when the spade of one of them made a metallic sound on hitting the ground.

"Upon clearing the place, a cannon was discovered and further search led to the discovery of four more," Captain Chakraborty said.

However, the cannons did not possess any manufacturing marks, which makes it difficult to trace their origin. They could have built for British warships, Captain says.

The remaining cannons will also be refurbished and mounted in other Navy establishments, PTI learned.