Salvo

For other uses, seeSalvo (disambiguation).

Salvo atBelgrade fortress

Asalvois the simultaneous discharge ofartilleryorfirearmsincluding the firing ofgunseither to hit a target or to perform asalute.As a tactic inwarfare,the intent is to cripple an enemy in many blows at once and prevent them from fighting back.

Overview

Troops armed withmuzzleloadersrequired time to refill theirarmswithgunpowderandshot.Gun drills were designed to enable an almost continuous rain of fire on the enemy by lining troops intoranks,allowing one rank to fire a salvo, or volley, while the other ranks prepared their guns for firing.

The term is commonly used to describe the firing ofbroadsidesbywarships,especiallybattleships.During fleet engagements in the days of sail, from 17th century until the 19th century,ships of the linewere maneuvered with the objective of bringing the greatest possible number of cannon to bear on the enemy and to discharge them in a salvo, causing enough damage and confusion as to allow time for the cannon to be swabbed out and reloaded.Crossing the Tentailed cutting across the enemy'sline of battleto enablebroadsidesto be fired through the enemy'sboworsternalong the whole length of the ship, with every shot likely to cause the maximum carnage. The opportunity was a passing one and the most had to be made of it.

With the coming ofHMSDreadnought,with herturretedmain armament, the heavy guns were directed by firing a salvo of half-broadside in order to observe the fall of shot, allowing enough time to adjust for range and direction before firing the other half-broadside. This way, shells were kept in flight while each half-battery was reloaded. Reloading a battleship guns, arriving at a firing solution and lining the guns up to fire took as long as 30 seconds, especially when the fall of shot needed to be observed and corrections made before firing again. A target ship moving at 18 knots (33 km/h) traveled 0.15 nautical miles (0.28 km) in 30 seconds, and would often maneuver to "spoil" the range measurement. The "spread" of the salvo would have one shot fire "over" the estimated range, one shot "under", and two on the estimated range. When a four-shot "salvo" "straddled" the target with one splashing over, one splashing under and two landing on or near the target, fire control officers knew they had the correct range. Allturret-mountedguns onbattleshipsandcruiserswere directed by the gunnery officer, positioned high in the ship and equipped with a visualrangefinderand other mechanisms for directing fire. Instructions to thegunlayersin the turrets were passed byvoice pipe,messengerand, later, bytelephone.Guns could also be laid byremote controlby the gunnery director, with the appropriate technology. Late inWorld War II,guns were directed byradar.

See also

• List of multiple-barrel firearms
• Barrage (artillery)
• Broadside
• Fusillade
• Volley fire
• Gast Gun
• Meroka CIWS
• Metal Storm Limited
• MRSI
• Nordenfelt gun
• Project SALVO
• Volley gun