Cannon

For other uses, seeCannon (disambiguation).Not to be confused withCanon.

Acannonis a large-calibergun classified as a type ofartillery,which usually launches aprojectileusing explosive chemicalpropellant.Gunpowder( "black powder" ) was the primary propellant before the invention ofsmokeless powderduring the late 19th century. Cannons vary ingauge,effective range,mobility,rate of fire,angle of fireandfirepower;different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. A cannon is a type of heavy artillery weapon.

The wordcannonis derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated astube,cane,orreed.In the modern era, the termcannonhas fallen into decline, replaced bygunsorartillery,if not a more specific term such ashowitzerormortar,except for high-caliberautomatic weaponsfiring bigger rounds than machine guns, calledautocannons.

The earliest known depiction of cannons appeared inSong dynasty Chinaas early as the 12th century; however, solid archaeological and documentary evidence of cannons do not appear until the 13th century.In 1288,Yuan dynastytroops are recorded to have usedhand cannonin combat, and the earliest extant cannon bearing a date of production comes from the same period.By the early 14th century, possible mentions of cannon had appeared in the Middle Eastand the depiction of one in Europe by 1326. Recorded usage of cannon began appearing almost immediately after.They subsequently spread to India, their usage on the subcontinent being first attested to in 1366.By the end of the 14th century, cannons were widespread throughoutEurasia.

Cannons were used primarily as anti-infantry weapons until around 1374, when large cannons were recorded to have breached walls for the first time in Europe.Cannons featured prominently assiegeweapons, and ever larger pieces appeared. In 1464 a 16,000 kg (35,000 lb) cannon known as theGreat Turkish Bombardwas created in theOttoman Empire.Cannons as field artillery became more important after 1453 when cannons broke down the walls of the Roman Empire's capital, with the introduction oflimber,which greatly improved cannon maneuverability and mobility.European cannons reached their longer, lighter, more accurate, and more efficient "classic form" around 1480. This classic European cannon design stayed relatively consistent in form with minor changes until the 1750s.

Etymology and terminology

The wordcannonis derived from theOld Italianwordcannone,meaning "large tube", which came from theLatincanna,in turn originating from the Greekκάννα(kanna), "reed",and then generalised to mean any hollow tube-like object.The word has been used to refer to agunsince 1326 in Italy and 1418 in England. Both of the plural formscannonsandcannonare correct.

History

Main article:History of cannons

Further information on the historical use of gunpowder in general:History of gunpowderandTimeline of the Gunpowder Age

East Asia

Main article:Gunpowder artillery in the Song dynasty

Further information on development of gunpowder warfare in China:Science and technology of the Song dynasty

Bronze cannon with inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan era (1332) of theYuan dynasty(1271–1368); it was discovered at theYunju TempleofFangshan District,Beijingin 1935.

The cannon may have appeared as early as the 12th century in China,and was probably a parallel development or evolution of thefire-lance,a short ranged anti-personnel weapon combining a gunpowder-filled tube and a polearm.Co-viative projectiles such as iron scraps or porcelain shards were placed in fire lance barrels at some point,and eventually, the paper and bamboo materials of fire lance barrels were replaced by metal.

The earliest known depiction of a cannon is a sculpture from theDazu Rock Carvingsin Sichuan dated to 1128,however, the earliest archaeological samples and textual accounts do not appear until the 13th century. The primary extant specimens of cannon from the 13th century are theWuwei Bronze Cannondated to 1227, theHeilong gian g hand cannondated to 1288, and theXanadu Gundated to 1298. However, only the Xanadu gun contains an inscription bearing a date of production, so it is considered the earliest confirmed extant cannon. The Xanadu Gun is 34.7 cm in length and weighs 6.2 kg. The other cannons are dated using contextual evidence.The Heilong gian ghand cannonis also often considered by some to be the oldest firearm since it was unearthed near the area where theHistory of Yuanreports a battle took place involving hand cannons. According to theHistory of Yuan,in 1288, a Jurchen commander by the name of Li Ting led troops armed with hand cannons into battle against the rebel prince Nayan.

A bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon" from theHuolongjing.

Chen Bingying argues there were no guns before 1259, while Dang Shoushan believes the Wuwei gun and otherWestern Xiaera samples point to the appearance of guns by 1220, and Stephen Haw goes even further by stating that guns were developed as early as 1200.SinologistJoseph Needhamand renaissance siege expert Thomas Arnold provide a more conservative estimate of around 1280 for the appearance of the "true" cannon.Whether or not any of these are correct, it seems likely that the gun was born sometime during the 13th century.

References to cannons proliferated throughout China in the following centuries. Cannon featured in literary pieces. In 1341 Xian Zhang wrote a poem calledThe Iron Cannon Affairdescribing a cannonball fired from an eruptor which could "pierce the heart or belly when striking a man or horse, and even transfix several persons at once."By the 1350s the cannon was used extensively in Chinese warfare. In 1358 the Ming army failed to take a city due to its garrisons' usage of cannon, however, they themselves would use cannon, in the thousands, later on during the siege ofSuzhouin 1366.

TheMongol invasion of Javain 1293 brought gunpowder technology to theNusantaraarchipelago in the form of cannon (Chinese:Pao).During theMing dynastycannons were used in riverine warfare at theBattle of Lake Poyang.One shipwreck in Shandong had a cannon dated to 1377 and an anchor dated to 1372.From the 13th to 15th centuries cannon-armed Chinese ships also travelled throughout Southeast Asia.Cannon appeared inĐại Việtby 1390 at the latest.

The first of the western cannon to be introduced werebreech-loadersin the early 16th century, which the Chinese began producing themselves by 1523 and improved on by including composite metal construction in their making.

Japan did not acquire cannon until 1510 when a monk brought one back from China, and did not produce any in appreciable numbers.During the 1593Siege of Pyongyang,40,000 Ming troops deployed a variety of cannons against Japanese troops. Despite their defensive advantage and the use of arquebus by Japanese soldiers, the Japanese were at a severe disadvantage due to their lack of cannon. Throughout theJapanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598),the Ming–Joseon coalition used artillery widely in land and naval battles, including on theturtle shipsofYi Sun-sin.

According toIvan Petlin,the first Russian envoy to Beijing, in September 1619, the city was armed with large cannon with cannonballs weighing more than 30 kg (66 lb). His general observation was:

There are many merchants and military persons in the Chinese Empire. They have firearms, and the Chinese are very skillful in military affairs. They go into battle against the Yellow Mongols who fight with bows and arrows.

— Ivan Petlin

Western Europe

Main article:Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages

Earliest picture of a European cannon, "De Nobilitatibus Sapientii Et Prudentiis Regum",Walter de Milemete,1326

Western European handgun, 1380

The first Western image of a battle with cannon: theSiege of Orléansin 1429

Cannon from the 15th century atŠibenikcity walls

Outside of China, the earliest texts to mention gunpowder areRoger Bacon'sOpus Majus(1267) andOpus Tertiumin what has been interpreted as references tofirecrackers.In the early 20th century, a British artillery officer proposed thatanother work tentatively attributed to Bacon,Epistola de Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae, et de Nullitate Magiae,dated to 1247, contained an encrypted formula for gunpowder hidden in the text. These claims have been disputed by science historians.In any case, the formula itself is not useful for firearms or even firecrackers, burning slowly and producing mostly smoke.

There is a record of a gun in Europe dating to 1322 being discovered in the nineteenth century but the artifact has since been lost.The earliest known European depiction of a gun appeared in 1326 in a manuscript byWalter de Milemete,although not necessarily drawn by him, known asDe Nobilitatibus, sapientii et prudentiis regum(Concerning the Majesty, Wisdom, and Prudence of Kings), which displays a gun with a large arrow emerging from it and its user lowering a long stick to ignite the gun through the touch hole.In the same year, another similar illustration showed a darker gun being set off by a group of knights, in another work of de Milemete's,De secretis secretorum Aristotelis.On 11 February of that same year, theSignoriaofFlorenceappointed two officers to obtaincanones de mettalloand ammunition for the town's defense.In the following year a document from the Turin area recorded a certain amount was paid "for the making of a certain instrument or device made by Friar Marcello for the projection of pellets of lead".A reference from 1331 describes an attack mounted by two Germanic knights onCividale del Friuli,using man-portable gunpowder weapons of some sort.The 1320s seem to have been the takeoff point for guns in Europe according to most modern military historians. Scholars suggest that the lack of gunpowder weapons in a well-traveled Venetian's catalogue for a new crusade in 1321 implies that guns were unknown in Europe up until this point, further solidifying the 1320 mark, however more evidence in this area may be forthcoming in the future.

The oldest extant cannon in Europe is a small bronze example unearthed in Loshult,Scaniain southern Sweden.It dates from the early-mid 14th century,and is currently in theSwedish History Museumin Stockholm.

Early cannons in Europe often shot arrows and were known by an assortment of names such aspot-de-fer,tonnoire,ribaldis,andbüszenpyle.Theribaldis,which shot large arrows and simplisticgrapeshot,were first mentioned in theEnglish Privy Wardrobeaccounts during preparations for theBattle of Crécy,between 1345 and 1346.The FlorentineGiovanni Villanirecounts their destructiveness, indicating that by the end of the battle, "the whole plain was covered by men struck down by arrows and cannon balls".Similar cannon were also used at theSiege of Calais (1346–47),although it was not until the 1380s that theribaudekinclearly became mounted on wheels.

Early use

TheBattle of Crecywhich pitted the English against the French in 1346 featured the early use of cannon which helped thelongbowmenrepulse a large force of Genoese crossbowmen deployed by the French. The English originally intended to use the cannon against cavalry sent to attack their archers, thinking that the loud noises produced by their cannon would panic the advancing horses along with killing the knights atop them.

Early cannons could also be used for more than simply killing men and scaring horses. English cannon were used defensively in 1346 during theSiege of Breteuilto launch fire onto an advancingsiege tower.In this way cannons could be used to burn down siege equipment before it reached the fortifications. The use of cannons to shoot fire could also be used offensively as another battle involved the setting of acastleablaze with similar methods. The particular incendiary used in these projectiles was most likely a gunpowder mixture. This is one area where early Chinese and European cannons share a similarity as both were possibly used to shoot fire.

Another aspect of early European cannons is that they were rather small, dwarfed by the bombards which would come later. In fact, it is possible that the cannons used at Crécy were capable of being moved rather quickly as there is an anonymous chronicle that notes the guns being used to attack the French camp, indicating that they would have been mobile enough to press the attack. These smaller cannons would eventually give way to larger, wall-breaching guns by the end of the 1300s.

Islamic world

TheDardanelles Gun,a 1464 Ottomanbombard

Malik E Maidan, a 16th-century cannon, was effectively used by theDeccan sultanates,and was the largest cannon operated during theBattle of Talikota.

There is no clear consensus on when the cannon first appeared in theIslamic world,with dates ranging from 1260 to the mid-14th century. The cannon may have appeared in the Islamic world in the late 13th century, withIbn Khaldunin the 14th century stating that cannons were used in theMaghrebregion of North Africa in 1274, and other Arabic military treatises in the 14th century referring to the use of cannon byMamlukforces in 1260 and 1303, and by Muslim forces at the 1324 Siege ofHuescain Spain. However, some scholars do not accept these early dates. While the date of its first appearance is not entirely clear, the general consensus among most historians is that there is no doubt the Mamluk forces were using cannon by 1342.Other accounts may have also mentioned the use of cannon in the early 14th century. An Arabic text dating to 1320–1350 describes a type of gunpowder weapon called amidfawhich uses gunpowder to shoot projectiles out of a tube at the end of a stock.Some scholars consider this a hand cannon while others dispute this claim.TheNasridarmy besiegingElchein 1331 made use of "iron pellets shot with fire".

According to historianAhmad Y. al-Hassan,during theBattle of Ain Jalutin 1260, theMamluksused cannon against theMongols.He claims that this was "the first cannon in history" and used a gunpowder formula almost identical to the ideal composition for explosive gunpowder. He also argues that this was not known in China or Europe until much later.Al-Hassan further claims that the earliest textual evidence of cannon is from the Middle East, based on earlier originals which report hand-held cannons being used by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.Such an early date is not accepted by some historians,including David Ayalon, Iqtidar Alam Khan,Joseph NeedhamandTonio Andrade.Khan argues that it was theMongolswho introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world,and believes cannon only reachedMamluk Egyptin the 1370s.Needham argued that the termmidfa,dated to textual sources from 1342 to 1352, did not refer to true hand-guns or bombards, and that contemporary accounts of a metal-barrel cannon in the Islamic world did not occur until 1365.Similarly, Andrade dates the textual appearance of cannons in middle eastern sources to the 1360s.Gabor Ágoston and David Ayalon note that the Mamluks had certainly used siege cannons by 1342or the 1360s, respectively, but earlier uses of cannons in theIslamic Worldare vague with a possible appearance in theEmirate of Granadaby the 1320s and 1330s, though evidence is inconclusive.

Ibn Khaldunreported the use of cannon assiege machinesby theMarinidsultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf at the siege ofSijilmasain 1274.The passage by Ibn Khaldun on the Marinid Siege of Sijilmassa in 1274 occurs as follows: "[The Sultan] installed siege engines... and gunpowder engines..., which project small balls of iron. These balls are ejected from a chamber... placed in front of a kindling fire of gunpowder; this happens by a strange property which attributes all actions to the power of the Creator."The source is not contemporary and was written a century later around 1382. Its interpretation has been rejected as anachronistic by some historians, who urge caution regarding claims of Islamic firearms use in the 1204–1324 period as late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder, naft, as they did for an earlier incendiary, naphtha.Ágoston and Peter Purton note that in the 1204–1324 period, late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder,naft,that they used for an earlier incendiary,naphtha.Needham believes Ibn Khaldun was speaking of fire lances rather than hand cannon.

The Ottoman Empire made good use of cannon as siege artillery. Sixty-eight super-sized bombards were used byMehmed the Conquerortocapture Constantinoplein 1453. Jim Bradbury argues that Urban, a Hungarian cannon engineer, introduced this cannon from Central Europe to the Ottoman realm;according to Paul Hammer, however, it could have been introduced from other Islamic countries which had earlier used cannons.These cannon could fire heavy stone balls a mile, and the sound of their blast could reportedly be heard from a distance of 10 miles (16 km).ShkodëranhistorianMarin Barletidiscusses Turkish bombards at length in his bookDe obsidione Scodrensi(1504), describing the 1478–79siege of Shkodrain which eleven bombards and two mortars were employed. The Ottomans also used cannon to control passage of ships through the Bosphorus strait.Ottoman cannons also proved effective at stopping crusaders at Varna in 1444 and Kosovo in 1448 despite the presence of European cannon in the former case.

The similar Dardanelles Guns (for the location) were created by Munir Ali in 1464 and were still in use during theAnglo-Turkish War (1807–1809).These were cast in bronze into two parts: the chase (the barrel) and the breech, which combined weighed 18.4tonnes.The two parts were screwed together using levers to facilitate moving it.

Fathullah Shirazi, aPersianinhabitant of India who worked forAkbarin theMughal Empire,developed avolley gunin the 16th century.

While there is evidence of cannons in Iran as early as 1405 they were not widespread.This changed following the increased use of firearms by Shah Ismail I, and the Iranian army used 500 cannons by the 1620s, probably captured from the Ottomans or acquired by allies in Europe.By 1443, Iranians were also making some of their own cannon, as Mir Khawand wrote of a 1200 kg metal piece being made by an Iranianrikhtegarwhich was most likely a cannon.Due to the difficulties of transporting cannon in mountainous terrain, their use was less common compared to their use in Europe.

Eastern Europe

Documentary evidence of cannons in Russia does not appear until 1382 and they were used only in sieges, often by the defenders.It was not until 1475 when Ivan III established the first Russian cannon foundry in Moscow that they began to produce cannons natively.The earliest surviving cannon from Russia dates to 1485.

Later on large cannons were known as bombards, ranging from three to five feet in length and were used byDubrovnikandKotorin defence during the later 14th century. The first bombards were made of iron, but bronze became more prevalent as it was recognized as more stable and capable of propelling stones weighing as much as 45 kilograms (99 lb). Around the same period, theByzantine Empirebegan to accumulate its own cannon to face theOttoman Empire,starting with medium-sized cannon 3 feet (0.91 m) long and of 10 in calibre.The earliest reliable recorded use of artillery in the region was against the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1396, forcing the Ottomans to withdraw.The Ottomans acquired their own cannon and laid siege to the Byzantine capital again in 1422. By 1453, the Ottomans used 68 Hungarian-made cannon for the 55-day bombardment of thewalls of Constantinople,"hurling the pieces everywhere and killing those who happened to be nearby".The largest of their cannons was the Great Turkish Bombard, which required an operating crew of 200 menand 70 oxen, and 10,000 men to transport it.Gunpowder made the formerly devastatingGreek fireobsolete, and with the final fall of Constantinople—which was protected by what were once the strongest walls in Europe—on 29 May 1453, "it was theend of an erain more ways than one ".

Southeast Asia

Collection of Philippinelantakain a European museum

Cannons were introduced to theJavaneseMajapahitEmpire whenKublai Khan's Mongol-Chinese army under the leadership of Ike Mesesought to invade Javain 1293.History of Yuanmentioned that the Mongol used a weapon calledp'aoagainst Daha forces.This weapon is interpreted differently by researchers, it may be atrebuchetthat throwsthunderclap bombs,firearms, cannons, or rockets. It is possible that the gunpowder weapons carried by the Mongol–Chinese troops amounted to more than one type.

Thomas Stamford Raffleswrote inThe History of Javathat in 1247saka(1325 AD), cannons were widely used in Java especially by the Majapahit. It is recorded that the small kingdoms in Java that sought the protection of Majapahit had to hand over their cannons to the Majapahit.Majapahit underMahapatih(prime minister)Gajah Mada(in office 1331–1364) utilized gunpowder technology obtained fromYuan dynastyfor use in naval fleet.

A cannon found from the Brantas river. Made of bronze, with a triangular em Boss ed touch hole. The wooden parts were recently made for display.

Mongol-Chinese gunpowder technology of Yuan dynasty resulted in eastern-style cetbang which is similar to Chinese cannon. Swivel guns however, only developed in the archipelago because of the close maritime relations of the Nusantara archipelago with the territory of West India after 1460 AD, which brought new types of gunpowder weapons to the archipelago, likely through Arab intermediaries. This weapon seems to be cannon and gun of Ottoman tradition, for example theprangi,which is abreech-loading swivel gun.A new type of cetbang, called the western-style cetbang, was derived from the Turkish prangi. Just like prangi, this cetbang is a breech-loading swivel gun made of bronze or iron, firing single rounds or scattershots (a large number of small bullets).

Cannons derived from western-style cetbang can be found in Nusantara, among others werelantakaand lela. Most lantakas were made of bronze and the earliest ones werebreech-loaded.There is a trend toward muzzle-loading weapons during colonial times.When thePortuguesecame to the archipelago, they referred to the breech-loading swivel gun asberço,while theSpaniardscall itverso.Apole gun(bedil tombak) was recorded as being used by Java in 1413.

Duarte Barbosa c. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannon (cetbangorrentaka), long muskets,spingarde(arquebus),schioppi(hand cannon),Greek fire,guns (cannon), and other fireworks. Every place was considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it.In 1513, theJavanese fleetled by Pati Unus sailed to attackPortuguese Malacca"with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in iron, over and above what they have in India".By early 16th century, the Javanese already locally-producing large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180- and 260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3 and 8 tons, length of them between 3 and 6 m (9.8 and 19.7 ft).

Cannons were used by theAyutthaya Kingdomin 1352 during its invasion of theKhmer Empire.Within a decade large quantities of gunpowder could be found in theKhmer Empire.By the end of the century firearms were also used by theTrần dynasty.

Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation.Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial Dutch occupiers.According to colonel McKenzie quoted in SirThomas Stamford Raffles'The History of Java(1817), the purest sulfur was supplied froma crater from a mountainnear the straits ofBali.

Africa

In Africa, theAdal Sultanateand theAbyssinian Empireboth deployed cannons during theAdal-Abyssinian War.Imported fromArabia,and the wider Islamic world, the Adalites led byAhmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghaziwere the first African power to introduce cannon warfare to the African continent.Later on as thePortuguese Empireentered the war it would supply and train the Abyssinians with cannons, while theOttoman Empiresent soldiers and cannon to back Adal. The conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value offirearmssuch as thematchlockmusket,cannon, and thearquebusover traditional weapons.

Offensive and defensive use

While previous smaller guns could burn down structures with fire, larger cannons were so effective that engineers were forced to develop stronger castle walls to prevent their keeps from falling.Nonetheless, cannons were used other purposes than battering down walls as fortifications began using cannons as defensive instruments such as an example in India where the fort of Raicher had gun ports built into its walls to accommodate the use of defensive cannons.InThe Art of War,Niccolò Machiavelli opined that field artillery forced an army to take up a defensive posture and this opposed a more ideal offensive stance.Machiavelli's concerns can be seen in the criticisms of Portuguese mortars being used in India during the sixteenth century as lack of mobility was one of the key problems with the design.In Russia the early cannons were again placed in forts as a defensive tool.Cannon were also difficult to move around in certain types of terrain with mountains providing a great obstacle for them, for these reasons offensives conducted with cannons would be difficult to pull off in places such as Iran.

Early modern period

Various 16th-century artillery pieces, includingculverin,falconetandmortar

By the 16th century, cannons were made in a great variety of lengths and bore diameters, but the general rule was that the longer the barrel, the longer the range. Some cannons made during this time had barrels exceeding 10 ft (3.0 m) in length, and could weigh up to 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg). Consequently, large amounts of gunpowder were needed to allow them to fire stone balls several hundred yards.By mid-century, European monarchs began to classify cannons to reduce the confusion.Henry II of Franceopted for six sizes of cannon,but others settled for more; the Spanish used twelve sizes, and the English sixteen. They are, from largest to smallest: the cannon royal, cannon, cannon serpentine, bastard cannon, demicannon, pedrero, culverin, basilisk, demiculverin, bastard culverin, saker, minion, falcon, falconet, serpentine, and rabinet.Better powder had been developed by this time as well. Instead of the finely ground powder used by the first bombards, powder was replaced by a "corned" variety of coarse grains. This coarse powder had pockets of air between grains, allowing fire to travel through and ignite the entire charge quickly and uniformly.

The end of the Middle Ages saw the construction of larger, more powerful cannon, as well as their spread throughout the world. As they were not effective at breaching the newer fortifications resulting from the development of cannon,siege engines—such assiege towersandtrebuchets—became less widely used. However, wooden "battery-towers" took on a similar role as siege towers in the gunpowder age—such as that used atSiege of Kazanin 1552, which could hold ten large-calibre cannon, in addition to 50 lighter pieces.Another notable effect of cannon on warfare during this period was the change in conventional fortifications.Niccolò Machiavelliwrote, "There is no wall, whatever its thickness that artillery will not destroy in only a few days."Although castles were not immediately made obsolete by cannon, their use and importance on the battlefield rapidly declined.Instead of majestictowersandmerlons,the walls of new fortresses were thick, angled, and sloped, while towers became low and stout; increasing use was also made of earth and brick inbreastworksandredoubts.These new defences became known asbastion forts,after their characteristic shape which attempted to force any advance towards it directly into the firing line of the guns.A few of these featuredcannon batteries,such as theHouse of Tudor'sDevice Fortsin England.Bastion forts soon replaced castles in Europe and, eventually, those in the Americas as well.

By the end of the 15th century, several technological advancements made cannons more mobile. Wheeled gun carriages andtrunnionsbecame common, and the invention of thelimberfurther facilitated transportation.As a result, field artillery became more viable, and began to see more widespread use, often alongside the larger cannons intended for sieges.Better gunpowder, cast-iron projectiles (replacing stone), and the standardisation of calibres meant that even relatively light cannons could be deadly.InThe Art of War,Niccolò Machiavelli observed that "It is true that thearquebusesand the small artillery do much more harm than the heavy artillery. "This was the case at theBattle of Flodden,in 1513: the Englishfield gunsoutfired the Scottish siege artillery, firing two or three times as many rounds.Despite the increased maneuverability, however, cannon were still the slowest component of the army: a heavyEnglish cannonrequired 23 horses to transport, while a culverin needed nine. Even with this many animals pulling, they still moved at a walking pace. Due to their relatively slow speed, and lack of organisation, and undeveloped tactics, the combination ofpike and shotstill dominated the battlefields of Europe.

Innovations continued, notably the German invention of themortar,a thick-walled, short-barrelled gun that blasted shot upward at a steep angle. Mortars were useful for sieges, as they could hit targets behind walls or other defences.This cannon found more use with the Dutch, who learnt to shoot bombs filled with powder from them. Setting the bomb fuse was a problem. "Single firing" was first used to ignite the fuse, where the bomb was placed with the fuse down against the cannon's propellant. This often resulted in the fuse being blown into the bomb, causing it to blow up as it left the mortar. Because of this, "double firing" was tried where the gunner lit the fuse and then the touch hole. This required considerable skill and timing, and was especially dangerous if the gun misfired, leaving a lighted bomb in the barrel. Not until 1650 was it accidentally discovered that double-lighting was superfluous as the heat of firing would light the fuse.

Gustavus Adolphus of Swedenemphasised the use of light cannon and mobility in his army, and created new formations and tactics that revolutionised artillery. He discontinued using all 12 pounder—or heavier—cannon as field artillery, preferring, instead, to use cannons that could be handled by only a few men. One obsolete type of gun, the "leatheren",was replaced by 4 pounder and 9 pounder demi-culverins. These could be operated by three men, and pulled by only two horses. Gustavus Adolphus's army was also the first to use a cartridge that contained both powder and shot which sped up reloading, increasing the rate of fire.Finally, against infantry he pioneered the use ofcanister shot—essentially a tin can filled with musket balls.Until then there was no more than one cannon for every thousand infantrymen on the battlefield but Gustavus Adolphus increased the number of cannons sixfold. Each regiment was assigned two pieces, though he often arranged them into batteries instead of distributing them piecemeal. He used these batteries to break his opponent's infantry line, while his cavalry wouldoutflanktheir heavy guns.

At theBattle of Breitenfeld,in 1631, Adolphus proved the effectiveness of the changes made to his army, by defeatingJohann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly.Although severely outnumbered, the Swedes were able to fire between three and five times as many volleys of artillery, and their infantry'slinearformations helped ensure they did not lose any ground. Battered by cannon fire, and low on morale, Tilly's men broke ranks and fled.

In England, cannons were being used to besiege various fortified buildings during theEnglish Civil War.Nathaniel Nyeis recorded as testing aBirminghamcannon in 1643 and experimenting with asakerin 1645.From 1645 he was the master gunner to theParliamentariangarrison atEveshamand in 1646 he successfully directed the artillery at theSiege of Worcester,detailing his experiences and in his 1647 bookThe Art of Gunnery.Believing that war was as much a science as an art,his explanations focused ontriangulation,arithmetic,theoretical mathematics,andcartographyas well as practical considerations such as the ideal specification for gunpowder orslow matches.His book acknowledged mathematicians such asRobert RecordeandMarcus Jordanusas well as earlier military writers on artillery such asNiccolò Fontana Tartagliaand Thomas (or Francis) Malthus (author ofA Treatise on Artificial Fire-Works).

Around this time also came the idea of aiming the cannon to hit a target. Gunners controlled the range of their cannons by measuring the angle of elevation, using a "gunner's quadrant". Cannons did not havesights;therefore, even with measuring tools, aiming was still largely guesswork.

In the latter half of the 17th century, the French engineerSébastien Le Prestre de Vaubanintroduced a more systematic and scientific approach to attacking gunpowder fortresses, in a time when many field commanders "were notorious dunces in siegecraft".Carefulsappingforward, supported byenfiladingricochets,was a key feature of this system, and it even allowed Vauban to calculate the length of time a siege would take.He was also a prolific builder of bastion forts, and did much to popularize the idea of "depth in defence" in the face of cannon.These principles were followed into the mid-19th century, when changes in armaments necessitated greater depth defence than Vauban had provided for. It was only in the years prior toWorld War Ithat new works began to break radically away from his designs.

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  TheTsar Cannon,the largesthowitzerever made, cast byAndrey Chokhov
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  Remains of a post-medievalcannon battery,mounted on a medievaltown wall,although without carriages.
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  Contemporary illustration on how a cannon could be used with the aid ofquadrantsfor improved precision.
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  The use ofgabionswith cannon was an important part in the attack and defence of fortifications.
• 
  Fort Bourtange,abastion fort,was built with angles and sloped walls specifically to defend against cannon.

18th and 19th centuries

See also:Naval artillery in the Age of Sail,Field artillery in the American Civil War,andSiege artillery in the American Civil War

36-pounder long gunat the ready

The lower tier of 17th-century Englishships of the linewere usually equipped with demi-cannons, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).Demi-cannons were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force that they could penetrate more than a metre of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could dismast even the largest ships at close range.Full cannon fired a 42-pound (19 kg) shot, but were discontinued by the 18th century, as they were too unwieldy. By the end of the 18th century, principles long adopted in Europe specified the characteristics of theRoyal Navy's cannon, as well as the acceptable defects, and their severity. TheUnited States Navytested guns by measuring them, firing them two or three times—termed "proof by powder" —and usingpressurized water to detect leaks.

Thecarronadewas adopted by the Royal Navy in 1779; the lower muzzle velocity of the round shot when fired from this cannon was intended to create more wooden splinters when hitting the structure of an enemy vessel, as they were believed to be more deadly than the ball by itself.The carronade was much shorter, and weighed between a third to a quarter of the equivalentlong gun;for example, a 32-pounder carronade weighed less than aton,compared with a 32-pounder long gun, which weighed over 3 tons. The guns were, therefore, easier to handle, and also required less than half as much gunpowder, allowing fewer men to crew them.Carronades were manufactured in the usualnaval guncalibres,but were not counted in a ship of the line's rated number of guns. As a result, the classification of Royal Navy vessels in this period can be misleading, as they often carried more cannons than were listed.

Illustration byWilliam Simpsonshows action in a British artillery battery during theCrimean Warwith cannon firing and being loaded and men bringing in supplies.

Cannons were crucial inNapoleon's rise to power, and continued to play an important role in his army in later years.During theFrench Revolution,the unpopularity of theDirectoryled to riots and rebellions. When over 25,000 royalists led by General Danican assaulted Paris,Paul Barraswas appointed to defend the capital; outnumbered five to one and disorganised, the Republicans were desperate.When Napoleon arrived, he reorganised the defences but realised that without cannons the city could not be held. He orderedJoachim Muratto bring the guns from the Sablons artillery park; the Major and his cavalry fought their way to the recently captured cannons, and brought them back to Napoleon. When Danican's poorly trained men attacked, on13 Vendémiaire1795 (5 October in thecalendar used in Franceat the time), Napoleon ordered his cannon to fire grapeshot into the mob,an act that became known as the "whiff of grapeshot".The slaughter effectively ended the threat to the new government, while, at the same time, making Bonaparte a famous—and popular—public figure.Among the first generals to recognise that artillery was not being used to its full potential, Napoleon often massed his cannon into batteries and introduced several changes into the French artillery, improving it significantly and making it among the finest in Europe.Such tactics were successfully used by the French, for example, at theBattle of Friedland,when 66 guns fired a total of 3,000roundshotand 500 rounds of grapeshot,inflicting severe casualties to the Russian forces, whose losses numbered over 20,000 killed and wounded, in total.At theBattle of Waterloo—Napoleon's final battle—the French army had many more artillery pieces than either theBritishorPrussians.As the battlefield was muddy,recoilcaused cannons to bury themselves into the ground after firing, resulting in slow rates of fire, as more effort was required to move them back into an adequate firing position;also, roundshot did notricochetwith as much force from the wet earth.Despite the drawbacks, sustained artillery fire proved deadly during the engagement, especially during theFrench cavalry attack.The British infantry, having formedinfantry squares,took heavy losses from the French guns, while their own cannons fired at thecuirassiersandlancers,when they fell back to regroup. Eventually, the French ceased their assault, after taking heavy losses from the British cannon and musket fire.

In the 1810s and 1820s, greater emphasis was placed on the accuracy of long-range gunfire, and less on the weight of a broadside. Around 1822,George MarshallwroteMarshall's Practical Marine Gunnery.The book was used by cannon operators in the United States Navy throughout the 19th century. It listed all the types of cannons and instructions.

A 3-inchParrott riflefrom theBattle of Chancellorsville

The carronade, although initially very successful and widely adopted, disappeared from the Royal Navy in the 1850s after the development of wrought-iron-jacketed steel cannon byWilliam ArmstrongandJoseph Whitworth.Nevertheless, carronades were used in the American Civil War.

Western cannons during the 19th century became larger, more destructive, more accurate, and could fire at longer range. One example is the American 3-inch (76 mm) wrought-iron, muzzle-loading rifle, orGriffen gun(usually called the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle), used during theAmerican Civil War,which had an effective range of over 1.1 mi (1.8 km). Another is the smoothbore12-pounder Napoleon,which originated in France in 1853 and was widely used by both sides in the American Civil War. This cannon was renowned for its sturdiness, reliability, firepower, flexibility, relatively lightweight, and range of 1,700 m (5,600 ft).

Armstrong gun deployed by Japan during theBoshin war(1868–69).

The 1870sde Bange 90 mm cannonon the yard of Eastern Finland military office inMikkeli,South Savonia,Finland

The practice ofrifling—casting spiralling lines inside the cannon's barrel—was applied to artillery more frequently by 1855, as it gave cannon projectilesgyroscopicstability, which improved their accuracy. One of the earliest rifled cannons was thebreech-loadingArmstrong Gun—also invented by William Armstrong—which boasted significantly improved range, accuracy, and power than earlier weapons. The projectile fired from the Armstrong gun could reportedly pierce through a ship's side and explode inside the enemy vessel, causing increased damage and casualties.The British military adopted the Armstrong gun, and was impressed;the Duke of Cambridgeeven declared that it "could do everything but speak".Despite being significantly more advanced than its predecessors, the Armstrong gun was rejected soon after its integration, in favour of the muzzle-loading pieces that had been in use before.While both types of gun were effective against wooden ships, neither had the capability to pierce the armour ofironclads;due to reports of slight problems with the breeches of the Armstrong gun, and their higher cost, the older muzzle-loaders were selected to remain in service instead.Realising that iron was more difficult to pierce with breech-loaded cannons, Armstrong designed rifled muzzle-loading guns,which proved successful;The Timesreported: "even the fondest believers in the invulnerability of our present ironclads were obliged to confess that against such artillery, at such ranges, their plates and sides were almost as penetrable as wooden ships."

The superior cannon of the Western world brought them tremendous advantages in warfare. For example, in theFirst Opium Warin China, during the 19th century, British battleships bombarded the coastal areas and fortifications from afar, safe from the reach of the Chinese cannons. Similarly, the shortest war in recorded history, theAnglo-Zanzibar Warof 1896, was brought to a swift conclusion by shelling from British cruisers.The cynical attitude towards recruited infantry in the face of ever more powerful field artillery is the source of the termcannon fodder,first used byFrançois-René de Chateaubriand,in 1814;however, the concept of regarding soldiers as nothing more than "food for powder" was mentioned byWilliam Shakespeareas early as 1598, inHenry IV, Part 1.

20th and 21st centuries

Comparison of 1888 and 1913 German cannon

Cannons in the 20th and 21st centuries are usually divided into sub-categories and given separate names. Some of the most widely used types of modern cannon are howitzers, mortars, guns, and autocannon, although a few verylarge-calibre cannon,custom-designed, have also been constructed.Nuclear artillerywas experimented with, but was abandoned as impractical.Modern artillery is used in a variety of roles, depending on its type. According toNATO,the general role of artillery is to provide fire support, which is defined as "the application of fire, coordinated with the manoeuvre of forces to destroy, neutralize, or suppress the enemy".

When referring to cannons, the termgunis often used incorrectly. In military usage, a gun is a cannon with a high muzzle velocity and aflat trajectory,useful for hitting the sides of targets such as walls,as opposed to howitzers or mortars, which have lower muzzle velocities, and fire indirectly, lobbing shells up and over obstacles to hit the target from above.

Royal Artilleryhowitzersat theBattle of the Somme

Main article:Artillery

By the early 20th century,infantry weaponshad become more powerful, forcing most artillery away from the front lines. Despite the change toindirect fire,cannons proved highly effective duringWorld War I,directly or indirectly causing over 75% of casualties.The onset oftrench warfareafter the first few months of World War I greatly increased the demand for howitzers, as they were more suited to hitting targets in trenches. Furthermore, their shells carried more explosives than those of guns, and caused considerably less barrel wear. The German army had the advantage here as they began the war with many more howitzers than the French.World War I also saw the use of theParis Gun,the longest-ranged gun ever fired. This 200 mm (8 in) calibre gun was used by the Germans against Paris and could hit targets more than 122 km (76 mi) away.

The Second World War sparked new developments in cannon technology. Among them weresabot rounds,hollow-charge projectiles, andproximity fuses,all of which increased the effectiveness of cannon against specific targets.The proximity fuse emerged on the battlefields of Europe in late December 1944.Used to great effect inanti-aircraftprojectiles, proximity fuses were fielded in both theEuropeanandPacificTheatres of Operations; they were particularly useful againstV-1 flying bombsandkamikazeplanes. Although widely used in naval warfare, and in anti-air guns, both the British and Americans feared unexploded proximity fuses would be reverse engineered, leading to them limiting their use in continental battles. During theBattle of the Bulge,however, the fuses became known as the American artillery's "Christmas present" for the German army because of their effectiveness against German personnel in the open, when they frequently dispersed attacks.Anti-tank gunswere also tremendously improved during the war: in 1939, the British used primarily2 pounderand6 pounderguns. By the end of the war,17 poundershad proven much more effective against German tanks, and 32 pounders had entered development.Meanwhile, German tanks were continuously upgraded with bettermain guns,in addition to other improvements. For example, thePanzer IIIwas originally designed with a 37 mm gun, but wasmass-producedwith a 50 mm cannon.To counter the threat of the RussianT-34s,another, more powerful 50 mm gun was introduced,only to give way to a larger 75 mm cannon, which was in a fixed mount as theStuG III,the most-produced German World War II armoured fighting vehicle of any type.Despite the improved guns, production of the Panzer III was ended in 1943, as the tank still could not match the T-34, and was replaced by thePanzer IVandPanther tanks.In 1944, the8.8 cm KwK 43and many variations, entered service with theWehrmacht,and was used as both a tank main gun, and as thePaK 43anti-tank gun.One of the most powerful guns to see service in World War II, it was capable of destroying anyAlliedtank at very long ranges.

USSIowafiring her 16 in (41 cm) guns

Despite being designed to fire at trajectories with a steep angle of descent, howitzers can be fireddirectly,as was done by the11th Marine Regimentat theBattle of Chosin Reservoir,during theKorean War.Twofield batteriesfired directly upon abattalionof Chinese infantry; the Marines were forced to brace themselves against their howitzers, as they had no time to dig them in. The Chinese infantry took heavy casualties, and were forced to retreat.

The tendency to create larger calibre cannons during the World Wars has reversed since. TheUnited States Army,for example, sought a lighter, more versatile howitzer, to replace their aging pieces. As it could be towed, the M198 was selected to be the successor to the World War II–era cannons used at the time, and entered service in 1979.Still in use today, the M198 is, in turn, being slowly replaced by theM777Ultralightweight howitzer, which weighs nearly half as much and can be more easily moved. Although land-based artillery such as the M198 are powerful, long-ranged, and accurate, naval guns have not been neglected, despite being much smaller than in the past, and, in some cases, having been replaced bycruise missiles.However, theZumwalt-class destroyer's planned armament included theAdvanced Gun System(AGS), a pair of 155 mm guns, which fire theLong Range Land-Attack Projectile.The warhead, which weighed 24 pounds (11 kg), had acircular error of probabilityof 50 m (160 ft), and was mounted on a rocket, to increase the effective range to 100 nmi (190 km), further than that of the Paris Gun. The AGS's barrels would be water-cooled, and fire 10 rounds per minute, per gun. The combined firepower from both turrets would give aZumwalt-class destroyer the firepower equivalent to 12 conventional M198 howitzers.The reason for the re-integration of cannons as a main armament in United States Navy ships was because satellite-guided munitions fired from a gun would be less expensive than a cruise missile but have a similar guidance capability.

Autocannon

Main article:Autocannon

A large bore Maxim onUSSVixenc. 1898

Autocannons have an automatic firing mode, similar to that of a machine gun. They have mechanisms to automatically load their ammunition, and therefore have a higher rate of fire than artillery, often approaching, or, in the case ofrotary autocannons,even surpassing the firing rate of a machine gun.While there is no minimum bore for autocannons, they are generally larger than machine guns, typically 20 mm or greater since World War II and are usually capable of using explosive ammunition even if it is not always used. Machine guns in contrast are usually too small to use explosive ammunition;such ammunition is additionally banned in international conflict for the parties to theSaint Petersburg Declaration of 1868.

Most nations use rapid-fire cannon on light vehicles, replacing a more powerful, but heavier, tank gun. A typical autocannon is the25 mm"Bushmaster"chain gun,mounted on theLAV-25andM2 Bradleyarmoured vehicles.Autocannons may be capable of a very high rate of fire, but ammunition is heavy and bulky, limiting the amount carried. For this reason, both the 25 mm Bushmaster and the 30 mmRARDENare deliberately designed with relatively low rates of fire. The typical rate of fire for a modern autocannon ranges from 90 to 1,800 rounds per minute. Systems with multiple barrels, such as a rotary autocannon, can have rates of fire of several thousand rounds per minute. The fastest of these is theGSh-6-23,which has a rate of fire of over 10,000 rounds per minute.

Autocannons are often found in aircraft, where they replaced machine guns and as shipboard anti-aircraft weapons, as they provide greater destructive power than machine guns.

Aircraft use

Main article:Aircraft artillery

The first documented installation of a cannon on an aircraft was on the Voisin Canon in 1911, displayed at the Paris Exposition that year. By World War I, all of the major powers were experimenting with aircraft-mounted cannons; however, their low rate of fire and great size and weight precluded any of them from being anything other than experimental. The most successful (or least unsuccessful) was the SPAD 12 Ca.1 with a single 37 mm Puteaux mounted to fire between the cylinder banks and through the propeller Boss of the aircraft's Hispano-Suiza 8C. The pilot (by necessity an ace) had to manually reload each round.

The first autocannon were developed during World War I as anti-aircraft guns, and one of these, theCoventry Ordnance Works"COW 37 mm gun",was installed in an aircraft. However, the war ended before it could be given a field trial, and it never became standard equipment in a production aircraft. Later trials had it fixed at a steep angle upwards in both theVickers Type 161and theWestland C.O.W. Gun Fighter,an idea that would return later.

During this period autocannons became available and several fighters of the GermanLuftwaffeand theImperial Japanese Navy Air Servicewere fitted with 20 mm cannons. They continued to be installed as an adjunct to machine guns rather than as a replacement, as the rate of fire was still too low and the complete installation too heavy. There was a some debate in the RAF as to whether the greater number of possible rounds being fired from a machine gun, or a smaller number of explosive rounds from a cannon was preferable. Improvements during the war in regards to rate of fire allowed the cannon to displace the machine gun almost entirely.The cannon was more effective against armour so they were increasingly used during the course of World War II, and newer fighters such as theHawker Tempestusually carried two or four versus the six.50 Browning machine gunsfor US aircraft or eight to twelveM1919 Browning machine gunson earlier British aircraft. TheHispano-Suiza HS.404,Oerlikon 20 mm cannon,MG FF,and their numerous variants became among the most widely used autocannon in the war. Cannons, as with machine guns, were generally fixed to fire forwards (mounted in the wings, in the nose or fuselage, or in apannierunder either); or were mounted ingun turretson heavier aircraft. Both the Germans and Japanese mounted cannons to fire upwards and forwards for use against heavy bombers, with the Germans calling guns so-installedSchräge Musik.This term derives from a German colloquialism for jazz music (schrägmeans "off-key" ).

Preceding theVietnam Warthe high speeds aircraft were attaining led to a move to remove the cannon due to the mistaken belief that they would be useless in adogfight,but combat experience during the Vietnam War showed conclusively that despite advances in missiles, there was still a need for them. Nearly all modernfighter aircraftare armed with an autocannon and they are also commonly found onground-attack aircraft.One of the most powerful examples is the 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling-type rotary cannon, mounted exclusively on theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.TheLockheed AC-130gunship (a converted transport) can carry a 105 mm howitzer as well as a variety of autocannons ranging up to 40 mm.Both are used in theclose air supportrole.

• 
  Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighterwith 37 mm C.O.W. gun mounted to fire upwards
• 
  Supermarine Spitfirewith 20 mm cannon protruding from the leading edge of the wing
• 
  GSh-23autocannon mounted on the underside of aMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
• 
  TheGAU-8/A Avengerrotary cannon, mounted in aFairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II

Materials, parts, and terms

Side elevation of a typical 18th-century cannon

Cannons in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding anexplosive chargeand a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive charge. As any explosive charge will dissipate in all directions equally, the thickest portion of the cannon is useful for containing and directing this force. The backward motion of the cannon as its projectile leaves the bore is termed itsrecoil,and the effectiveness of the cannon can be measured in terms of how much this response can be diminished, though obviously diminishing recoil through increasing the overall mass of the cannon means decreased mobility.

Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often ofbronze,though later forms were constructed ofcast ironand eventually steel.Bronze has several characteristics that made it preferable as a construction material: although it is relatively expensive, does not always alloy well, and can result in a final product that is "spongy about the bore",bronze is more flexible than iron and therefore less prone to bursting when exposed to high pressure; cast-iron cannon are less expensive and more durable generally than bronze and withstand being fired more times without deteriorating. However, cast-iron cannon have a tendency to burst without having shown any previous weakness or wear, and this makes them more dangerous to operate.

The older and more-stable forms of cannon weremuzzle-loadingas opposed tobreech-loading—to be used they had to have their ordnance packed down the bore through the muzzle rather than inserted through the breech.

The following terms refer to the components or aspects of a classical western cannon (c. 1850) as illustrated here.In what follows, the wordsnear,close,andbehindwill refer to those parts towards the thick, closed end of the piece, andfar,front,in front of,andbeforeto the thinner, open end.

Negative spaces

• Bore:The hollow cylinder bored lengthwise down the centre of the cannon, including thebase of the boreorbottom of the bore,the nearest end of the bore in which theordnance(wadding,shot,etc.) rests just before firing. A cannon'scalibreis determined by the diameter of its bore.
• Chamber:The cylindrical, conical, or spherical recess at the nearest end of the bottom of the bore into which thegunpowderis packed.
• Vent:A thin tube on the near end of the cannon connecting the explosive charge inside with an ignition source outside and often filled with a length offuse;always located near thebreech.Sometimes called thefuse holeor thetouch hole.On the top of the vent on the outside of the cannon is a flat circular space called thevent fieldwhere the charge is lit. If the cannon is bronze, it will often have avent piecemade of copper screwed into the length of the vent.

Solid spaces

The main body of a cannon consists of three basic extensions: the foremost and the longest is called thechase,the middle portion is thereinforce,and the closest and briefest portion is thecascabelorcascable.

• The chase:Simply the entire conical part of the cannon in front of thereinforce.It is the longest portion of the cannon, and includes the following elements:
  • Theneck:the narrowest part of the chase, always located near the foremost end of the piece.
  • Themuzzle:the portion of the chase forward of theneck.It includes the following:
    • Theswell of the muzzlerefers to the slight swell in the diameter of the piece at the very end of the chase. It is often chamfered on the inside to make loading the cannon easier. In some guns, this element is replaced with a wide ring and is called amuzzle band.
    • Thefaceis the flat vertical plane at the foremost edge of the muzzle (and of the entire piece).
    • Themuzzle mouldingsare the tiered rings which connect the face with the rest of the muzzle, the first of which is called thelipand the second thefillet
    • Themuzzleastragaland filletsare a series of three narrow rings running around the outside of the chase just behind the neck. Sometimes also collectively called thechase ring.
  • Thechase astragal and fillets:these are a second series of such rings located at the near end of the chase.
  • Thechase girdle:this is the brief length of the chase between the chase astragal and fillets and thereinforce.
• The reinforce:This portion of the piece is frequently divided into afirst reinforceand asecond reinforce,but in any case is marked as separate from the chase by the presence of a narrow circularreinforce ringorbandat its foremost end. The span of the reinforce also includes the following:
  • Thetrunnionsare located at the foremost end of the reinforce just behind the reinforce ring. They consist of two cylinders perpendicular to the bore and below it which are used to mount the cannon on its carriage.
  • Therimbasesare short broad rings located at the union of the trunnions and the cannon which provide support to the carriage attachment.
  • Thereinforce bandis only present if the cannon has two reinforces, and it divides the first reinforce from the second.
  • Thebreechrefers to the mass of solid metal behind the bottom of the bore extending to thebase of the breechand including thebase ring;it also generally refers to the end of the cannon opposite themuzzle,i.e., the location where the explosion of the gunpowder begins as opposed to the opening through which the pressurized gas escapes.
  • Thebase ringforms a ring at the widest part of the entire cannon at the nearest end of the reinforce just before thecascabel.
• Thecascabel:This is that portion of the cannon behind the reinforce(s) and behind thebase ring.It includes the following:
  • Theknobwhich is the small spherical terminus of the piece;
  • Theneck,a short, narrow piece of metal holding out the knob; and
  • Thefillet,the tiered disk connecting the neck of the cascabel to thebase of the breech.
  • Thebase of the breechis the metal disk that forms the most forward part of the cascabel and rests against the breech itself, right next to thebase ring.

To pack a muzzle-loading cannon, first gunpowder is poured down the bore. This is followed by a layer of wadding (often nothing more than paper), and then the cannonball itself. A certain amount ofwindage(in this case meaning that the bore is designed slightly wider than the cannonball) allows the ball to fit down the bore, though the greater the windage the less efficient the propulsion of the ball when the gunpowder is ignited. To fire the cannon, the fuse located in the vent is lit, quickly burning down to the gunpowder, which then explodes violently, propelling wadding and ball down the bore and out of the muzzle. A small portion of exploding gas also escapes through the vent, but this does not dramatically affect the total force exerted on the ball.

Any large,smoothbore,muzzle-loading gun—used before the advent ofbreech-loading,rifledguns—may be referred to as a cannon, though once standardised names were assigned to different-sized cannon, the term specifically referred to a gun designed to fire a 42-pound (19 kg) shot, as distinct from ademi-cannon– 32 pounds (15 kg),culverin– 18 pounds (8.2 kg), ordemi-culverin– 9 pounds (4.1 kg).Gunin this context specifically refers to a type of cannon that fires projectiles at high speeds, and usually at relatively low angles;they have been used in warships,and asfield artillery.The termcannonis also used forautocannon,a modern repeating weapon firing explosive projectiles. Cannon have been used extensively in fighter aircraft sinceWorld War II.

Operation

Main article:Cannon operation

The parts of a cannon described in John Roberts'The Compleat Cannoniere,London, 1652

Firing of a field gun of the early 17th century with alinstock

In the 1770s, cannon operation worked as follows: each cannon would be manned by two gunners, six soldiers, and four officers of artillery. The right gunner was to prime the piece and load it with powder, and the left gunner would fetch the powder from the magazine and be ready to fire the cannon at the officer's command. On each side of the cannon, three soldiers stood, to ram and sponge the cannon, and hold the ladle. The second soldier on the left was tasked with providing 50 bullets.

Before loading, the cannon would be cleaned with a wet sponge to extinguish any smouldering material from the last shot. Fresh powder could be set off prematurely by lingering ignition sources. The powder was added, followed by wadding of paper or hay, and the ball was placed in and rammed down. After ramming, the cannon would be aimed with the elevation set using a quadrant and aplummet.At 45 degrees, the ball had the utmost range: about ten times the gun's level range. Any angle above a horizontal line was called random-shot. Wet sponges were used to cool the pieces every ten or twelve rounds.

Firing of a 6-pound cannon

During theNapoleonic Wars,a British gun team consisted of five gunners to aim it, clean the bore with a damp sponge to quench any remaining embers before a fresh charge was introduced, and another to load the gun with a bag of powder and then the projectile. The fourth gunner pressed his thumb on the vent hole, to prevent a draught that might fan a flame. The charge loaded, the fourth would prick thebagged chargethrough the vent hole, and fill the vent with powder. On command, the fifth gunner would fire the piece with aslow match.Friction primersreplaced slow match ignition by the mid-19th century.

When a cannon had to be abandoned such as in a retreat or surrender, the touch hole of the cannon would be plugged flush with an iron spike, disabling the cannon (at least until metal boring tools could be used to remove the plug). This was called "spiking".

A gun was said to behoneycombedwhen the surface of the bore had cavities, or holes in it,caused by corrosion or casting defects.

Legal considerations

In the United States, muzzleloading cannons made before 1899 (and replicas) that are unable to fire fixed ammunition are considered antiques. They are not subject to the Gun Control Act of 1968 or National Firearms Act of 1934.They may be subject to local rules in some jurisdictions, however.

Deceptive imitations

Main articles:Quaker gunandMilitary deception

Historically, logs or poles have been used as decoys to mislead the enemy as to the strength of an emplacement. The "Quaker Guntrick "was used by ColonelWilliam Washington'sContinental Armyduring theAmerican Revolutionary War;in 1780, approximately 100 Loyalists surrendered to them, rather than face bombardment.During the American Civil War, Quaker guns were also used by theConfederates,to compensate for their shortage of artillery. The decoy cannon were painted black at the "muzzle", and positioned behind fortifications to delayUnionattacks on those positions. On occasion, real gun carriages were used to complete the deception.

In popular culture

Cannon sounds have sometimes been used in classical pieces with a military theme. One of the best known examples isPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's1812 Overture.The overture is to be performed using an artillery section together with the orchestra, resulting in noise levels high enough that musicians are required to wearear protection.The cannon fire simulates Russian artillery bombardments of theBattle of Borodino,a critical battle inNapoleon's invasion of Russia,whose defeat the piece celebrates.When the overture was first performed, the cannon were fired by an electric current triggered by the conductor.However, the overture was not recorded with real cannon fire untilMercury Recordsand conductorAntal Doráti's 1958 recording of theMinnesota Orchestra.Cannon fire is also frequently used in presentations of the1812on AmericanIndependence Day,a tradition started byArthur Fiedlerof theBoston Popsin 1974.

Thehard rockbandAC/DCused cannon in their song "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)",and in live shows replica Napoleonic cannon andpyrotechnicswere used to perform the piece.A recording of that song has accompanied the firing of an authentic reproduction of aM1857 12-pounder NapoleonduringColumbus Blue Jacketsgoalcelebrations atNationwide Arenasince opening night of the2007–08 season.The cannon is the focal point of the team's alternate logo on its third jerseys.

Cannons have been fired intouchdowncelebrations by severalAmerican footballteams including theSan Diego Chargers.ThePittsburgh Steelersused one only during the 1962 campaign but discontinued it afterBuddy Dialwas startled by inadvertently running face-first into the cannon's smoky discharge in a 42–27 loss to theDallas Cowboys.

Restoration

Cannon recovered from the sea are often extensively damaged from exposure to salt water;electrolytic reduction treatmentis required to forestall corrosion.The cannon is then washed indeionizedwater to remove theelectrolyte,and is treated intannic acid,which prevents furtherrustand gives the metal a bluish-black colour.Cannon on display may be protected from oxygen and moisture by awaxsealant. A coat ofpolyurethanemay also be painted over the wax sealant, to prevent the cannon from attracting dust.

References

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External links

• Artillery Tactics and Combat during the Napoleonic Wars
• Handgonnes and Matchlocks – History of firearms to 1500
• U.S. patent 5,236–Patent for a Casting ordnance
• U.S. patent 6,612–Cannon patent
• U.S. patent 13,851–Muzzle loading ordnance patent
• Historic Cannons of San Francisco