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93-502: The obusier de vaisseau was a light piece of naval artillery with a large calibre mounted on French warships of the Age of Sail . Designed to fire explosive shells at a low velocity, they were an answer to the carronade in the close combat and anti-personnel role. However, their intended ammunition proved too dangerous for the crew, and the French navy phased them out at the beginning of

186-514: A 9-pounder, rather than one which used a 12 or 24 pound shot. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth advances in manufacturing technology allowed the English Navy Royal to start using matched cannon firing standard ammunition, allowing firing of coordinated broadsides (although that was more of a matter of improved training and discipline than of matched guns). Different types of shot were employed for various situations. Standard fare

279-555: A 9-second scenario where the distance the cannon was fired from the gunner was approximately 10,278 feet or 3,426 yards. By the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, a series of technical innovations over the course of the late 18th century combined to give the British fleet a distinct superiority over the ships of the French and Spanish navies. The carronade was a short-barrelled gun which threw

372-504: A devastating shotgun effect. Trials made with replicas of culverins and port pieces showed that they could penetrate wood the same thickness of the Mary Rose's hull planking, indicating a stand-off range of at least 90 m (295 ft). The port pieces proved particularly efficient at smashing large holes in wood when firing stone shot and were a devastating anti-personnel weapon when loaded with flakes or pebbles. A perrier threw

465-462: A heavy ball developed by the Carron Company , a Scottish ironworks, in 1778. Because of irregularities in the size of cannonballs and the difficulty of boring out gun barrels, there was usually a considerable gap between the ball and the bore—often as much as a quarter of an inch—with a consequent loss of efficiency. This gap was known as the "windage". The manufacturing practices introduced by

558-571: A long gun firing the same cannonball. Its invention is variously ascribed to Lieutenant General Robert Melville in 1759, or to Charles Gascoigne , manager of the Carron Company from 1769 to 1779. Carronades initially became popular on British merchant ships during the American Revolutionary War . A lightweight gun that needed only a small gun crew and was devastating at short range was a weapon well suited to defending merchant ships against French and American privateers . In

651-401: A naval cannon required a great amount of labour and manpower. The propellant was gunpowder, whose bulk had to be kept in a special storage area below deck for safety. Powder boys - sometimes called Powder Monkeys- typically 10–14 years old, were enlisted to run powder from the armoury up to the gun decks of a vessel as required. A typical firing procedure follows. A wet swab was used to mop out

744-402: A paper or cloth wrapping. The shooter would bite off the end of the paper cartridge with his teeth and pour the powder into the barrel followed by the ball encased in the paper wrapping. The projectiles and wads were then pushed down into the breech with a ramrod until they were firmly seated on the propellant charge. Priming powder could be carried in a separate priming flask and poured into

837-403: A shell with the propelling charge and primer attached at the base. Unlike older muzzleloading mortars, which were loaded the same way as muzzleloading cannon, the modern mortar is fired by dropping the shell down the barrel where a pin fires the primer, igniting the main propelling charge. Both the modern mortar and the older mortar were used for high angle fire. However, the fact that the mortar

930-460: A ship's dry timbers would set the ship afire. Because of the danger of fire aboard (and the difficulty of heating and transporting the red-hot shot aboard ship), heated shot was seldom used from ship-mounted cannon, as the danger to the vessel deploying it was almost as great as to the enemy; fire was the single greatest fear of all men sailing in wooden ships. Consequently, for men aboard these vessels, going up against shore artillery firing heated shot

1023-559: A similar way. Bags of junk, such as scrap metal, bolts, rocks, gravel, or old musket balls, were known as 'langrage', and were fired to injure enemy crews (although this was not common, and when it was used, it was generally aboard non-commissioned vessels such as privateers , actual pirate ships , merchantmen , and others who couldn't afford real ammunition). In China and other parts of Asia, fire arrows were thick, dartlike, rocket -propelled incendiary projectiles with barbed points, wrapped with pitch -soaked canvas which took fire when

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1116-415: A stone projectile three quarters of a mile (1.2 km), while a cannon threw a 32-pound ball a full mile (1.6 km), and a culverin a 17-pound ball a mile and a quarter (2 km). Swivel guns and smaller cannon were often loaded with grapeshot for antipersonnel use at closer ranges, while the larger cannon might be loaded with a single heavy cannonball to cause structural damage. In Portugal,

1209-431: A variety of ammunition intended to destroy rigging and light structure or injure enemy personnel. The majority of the guns were small iron guns with short range that could be aimed and fired by a single person. The two most common were bases , breech-loading swivel guns , most likely placed in the castles, and hailshot pieces , small muzzle-loaders with rectangular bores and fin-like protrusions that were used to support

1302-615: A year in Friendship, Indiana as well as the Western National Shoot Event held in Phoenix, Arizona. The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (MLAIC) governs international competition with muzzle-loading arms. The MLAIC holds a Short Range World Championship in even-numbered years and a Long Range World Championship (300–1,000 yd (270–910 m)) on odd numbered years (South Africa has won

1395-426: Is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the breech end of the barrel . The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to

1488-416: Is not loaded in separate steps may make its definition as a muzzleloader a matter of opinion. Muzzleloading can apply to anything from cannons to pistols but in modern parlance the term most commonly applies to black powder small arms . It usually, but not always, involves the use of a loose propellant (i.e., gunpowder ) and projectile, as well as a separate method of ignition or priming. In general,

1581-406: Is used between the powder and the shot charge to prevent pellets from dropping into the powder charge and on top of the shot charge to hold it in place in the barrel. In smooth bore muskets and most rifles used prior to cartridges being introduced in the mid-to late nineteenth century, wadding was used primarily to hold the powder in place. On most naval cannons, one piece of wadding was used to hold

1674-445: Is used to force the round ball down through the rifling. When fired, either the lead ball or the wrapping grips the rifling and imparts spin to the ball which usually gives improved accuracy. In rifles firing Minié balls , the patch, often the paper wrapping from the cartridge, is used as an initial seal and to hold powder in place during loading. The Minié ball replaced the round ball in most firearms, especially for military use, in

1767-637: The Action of 4 September 1782 , the impact of a single carronade broadside fired at close range by the frigate HMS Rainbow under Henry Trollope caused a wounded French captain to capitulate and surrender the Hebe after a short fight. Flintlock firing mechanisms for cannon were suggested by Captain Sir Charles Douglas and introduced during the American War of Independence in place of

1860-788: The Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363 and in considerable quantities at the Battle of Jinpo in 1380 with cannon made by Ch'oe Mu-sŏn . 80 Koryo warships successfully repelled 500 Japanese pirates referred to as Wokou using long range cannon fire. By the 15th century, most Mediterranean powers were utilising heavy cannon mounted on the bow or stern of a vessel and designed to bombard fortresses on shore. By mid-century some vessels also carried smaller broadside cannon for bombarding other vessels immediately prior to an attempted boarding. These small guns were anti-personnel weapons and were fired at point blank range to accompany engagement with muskets or bows. In

1953-526: The Dutch Republic favoured rapid fire at close range to shatter a ship's hull and disable its crew. A typical broadside of a Royal Navy ship of the late 18th century could be fired 2-3 times in approximately 5 minutes, depending on the training of the crew, a well trained one being essential to the simple yet detailed process of preparing to fire. French and Spanish crews typically took twice as long to fire an aimed broadside. An 18th-century ship of

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2046-777: The Empire in favour of the carronade. Accounts by British warships of the armament of captured French ships tend to describe them as carronades. However, when the description includes the remark that the weapon was brass, this suggests that it was an obusier . Several of the guns were recovered from the wreck of the Golymin in the road of Brest, and are now on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris and in Brest. Naval artillery The idea of ship-borne artillery dates back to

2139-615: The Jin dynasty fleets. The Mongol invasion of Java introduced cannons, to be used in Song dynasty naval general warfare (e.g. Cetbang by Majapahit ). The Battle of Arnemuiden , fought between England and France in 1338 at the start of the Hundred Years' War , was the first recorded European naval battle using artillery. The English ship Christopher was armed with three cannons and one hand gun. In Asia naval artillery are recorded from

2232-640: The United States and Europe , particularly in northern Italy , for example at Gardone Val Trompia , in the Province of Brescia . In the United States muzzleloading guns are, subject to a number of qualifications, generally not considered firearms. Subject to state law they may be possessed by persons who might otherwise not be legally allowed to own a firearm. The American National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association holds two national tournaments

2325-419: The United States in the 1930s, just as the last original users and makers of muzzleloading arms were dying out. The sport received a tremendous boost in the 1960s and 1970s. The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (www.MLAIC.org) was formed in 1970 and held its first World Championship in 1971. Since then a flourishing industry manufacturing working reproductions of historic firearms now exists in

2418-488: The air resistance into account. He also carried out an extensive series of experiments in gunnery, embodying his results in his famous treatise on New Principles in Gunnery (1742), which contains a description of his ballistic pendulum (see chronograph ). Robins also made a number of important experiments on the resistance of the air to the motion of projectiles, and on the force of gunpowder , with computation of

2511-579: The naval ram to reappear as a means of sinking armored warships. The rapidity of innovation through the last half of the 19th century caused some ships to be obsolete before they were launched. Maximum projectile velocity obtainable with gunpowder in cast cannon was approximately 480 m/s (1,600 ft/s). Increased projectile weight through increased caliber was the only method of improving armor penetration with this velocity limitation. Some ironclads carried extremely heavy, slow-firing guns of calibres up to 16.25 inches (41.3 cm). These guns were

2604-496: The 1470s, the Portuguese and Venetian navies were experimenting with ship mounted cannons as anti-ship weapons. King John II of Portugal , while still a prince in 1474, is credited with pioneering the introduction of a reinforced deck on the old Henry-era caravel to allow the mounting of heavy guns for this purpose. These were initially wrought iron breech-loading weapons known as basilisks . In 1489 he further contributed to

2697-580: The 1650s, the line of battle had developed as a tactic that could take advantage of the broadside armament. This method became the heart of naval warfare during the Age of Sail , with navies adapting their strategies and tactics in order to get the most broadside-on fire. Cannon were mounted on multiple decks to maximise broadside effectiveness. Numbers and calibre differed somewhat with preferred tactics. France and Spain attempted to immobilize ships by destroying rigging with long-range, accurate fire from their swifter and more maneuverable ships, while England and

2790-453: The 1840s and 1850s . It has a hollow base which expands to grip the rifling. The combination of the spinning Minié ball and the consistent velocity provided by the improved seal gave far better accuracy than the smoothbore muzzleloaders that it replaced. When aiming for great accuracy, muzzle-loaders are usually cleaned ("swabbed") before reloading, so that there is no residue left in the barrel to reduce accuracy, though in competitions run by

2883-459: The Age of Sail as responsibility for gunnery strategy was devolved to midshipmen or lieutenants . By the eighteenth century the master gunner had become responsible only for the maintenance of the guns and their carriages, and for overseeing supplies of gunpowder and shot. In status the master gunner remained equal to the boatswain and ship's carpenter as senior warrant officers , and was entitled to

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2976-492: The Carron Company reduced the windage considerably, enabling the ball to be fired with less powder and hence a smaller and lighter gun. The carronade was half the weight of an equivalent long gun, but could throw a heavy ball over a limited distance. The light weight of the carronade meant that the guns could be added to the forecastle and quarterdeck of frigates and ships of the line, increasing firepower without affecting

3069-733: The Dutch-built flagship of the Danish-Norwegian King Hans, Gribshunden , carried 68 guns. Eleven gun beds from Gribshunden 's artillery have been recovered by archaeologists; all of the guns were small bore swivel guns firing composite lead/iron shot about the size of a golf ball. By the early 16th century, the navies of the Mediterranean had universally adopted lighter and more accurate muzzleloaders , cast in bronze and capable of firing balls or stones weighing up to 60 lb (27 kg). The 16th century

3162-467: The amphibious abilities of galleys as they could make assaults supported with heavy firepower, and were even more effectively defended when beached stern-first. Gunports cut in the hull of ships were introduced as early as 1501, about a decade before the famous Tudor era ship, the Mary Rose , was built. This made broadsides , coordinated volleys from all the guns on one side of a ship, possible for

3255-602: The bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a ballistic arc. Explosive shells or carcasses were employed rather than solid shot. Bomb vessels were specialized ships designed for bombarding (hence the name) fixed positions on land. The first recorded deployment of bomb vessels by the English was for the Siege of Calais in 1347 when Edward III deployed single deck ships with Bombardes and other artillery. The first specialised bomb vessels were built towards

3348-414: The bullets it contained at some distance along the canister's trajectory from the gun. His shell was a hollow cast-iron sphere filled with a mixture of balls and powder, with a crude time fuze. If the fuze was set correctly then the shell would break open, either in front or above the intended target, releasing its contents (of musket balls). The shrapnel balls would carry on with the "remaining velocity" of

3441-498: The centerline on revolving platforms. These platforms were supported by strong internal wooden framework to transmit the forces of firing the weapons to the hull. The interstices of the framework were used as storage areas for ammunition. Early bomb vessels were rigged as ketches with two masts . They were awkward vessels to handle , in part because bomb ketches typically had the masts stepped farther aft than would have been normal in other vessels of similar rig, in order to accommodate

3534-652: The classical era. Julius Caesar indicates the use of ship-borne catapults against Britons ashore in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico . The dromons of the Byzantine Empire carried catapults and Greek fire . From the Middle Ages onwards, warships began to carry cannons of various calibres. In the Battle of Tangdao in 1161, the Southern Song general Li Bao used huopao (a type of gunpowder weapons, possibly cannons ) and fire arrows against

3627-411: The cock or hammer was then cocked to make the firearm ready to fire. Muzzleloading firearms generally use round balls, cylindrical conical projectiles, and shot charges. In some types of rifles firing round ball, a lubricated patch (see Kentucky rifle ) of fabric is wrapped around a ball which is slightly smaller than the barrel diameter. In other types of round ball firing rifles, a ramrod and hammer

3720-400: The configuration of guns changed as gun-making technology evolved and new classifications were invented. In 1514, the armament consisted mostly of anti-personnel guns like the larger breech-loading iron murderers and the small serpentines , demi-slings and stone guns. Only a handful of guns in the first inventory were powerful enough to hole enemy ships, and most would have been supported by

3813-443: The development of naval artillery by establishing the first standardized teams of trained naval gunners ( bombardeiros ). Use of naval artillery expanded toward the end of the 15th century, with ships purpose-built to carry dozens of small bore breech-loading anti-personnel guns. English examples of these types include Henry VII's Regent and Sovereign , with 141 and 225 guns respectively. Elsewhere in late medieval Northern Europe,

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3906-465: The development of the heavy galleon removed even the necessity of bringing carrack firepower to bear in most circumstances. One of them became famous in the conquest of Tunis in 1535, and could carry 366 bronze cannon (a possible exaggeration – or possibly not – of the various European chroniclers of the time, that reported this number; or also possibly counting the weapons in reserve). This ship had an exceptional capacity of fire for its time, illustrating

3999-416: The distance of a shot on a ship based on the sound of the gun, which was found to fly at a rate of 1,142 feet or 381 yards in one second. According to Marshall's equation after seeing the flash of a cannon and hearing the blast the gunner would count the seconds until impact. This way a trained ear would know the distance a cannonball traveled and might gain information or return fire. The book example, outlines

4092-450: The effective range and accuracy of the gun, but could be devastating within pistol shot range. Canister shot consisted of metallic canisters which broke open upon firing, each of which was filled with hundreds of lead musket balls for clearing decks like a giant shotgun blast; it is commonly mistakenly called "grapeshot", both today and in historic accounts (typically those of landsmen). Although canister shot could be used aboard ship, it

4185-470: The end of the 17th century, based on the designs of Bernard Renau d'Eliçagaray, and used by the French Navy . Five such vessels were used to shell Algiers in 1682 destroying the land forts, and killing some 700 defenders. Two years later the French repeated their success at Genoa. The early French bomb vessels had two forward-pointing mortars fixed side-by-side on the foredeck. To aim these weapons,

4278-477: The entire ship was rotated by letting out or pulling in a spring anchor . The range was usually controlled by adjusting the gunpowder charge. The Royal Navy continued to refine the class over the next century or more, after Huguenot exiles brought designs over to England and the United Provinces. The side-by-side, forward-pointing mortars were replaced in the British designs by mortars mounted on

4371-404: The evolution that was operating at the time, and for this reason, it became known as Botafogo , meaning literally fire maker , torcher or spitfire in popular Portuguese. Naval artillery and tactics stayed relatively constant during the period 1571–1862, with large, sail-powered wooden naval warships mounting a great variety of different types and sizes of cannon as their main armament. By

4464-510: The explosive character of the shells with the high power and flatter trajectory of a high velocity gun. However, high trajectories were not practical for marine combat and naval combat essentially required flat-trajectory guns in order to have some decent odds of hitting the target. Therefore, naval warfare had consisted for centuries of encounters between flat-trajectory cannon using inert cannonballs, which could inflict only local damage even on wooden hulls. Muzzleloader A muzzleloader

4557-503: The field of fire. By the simple expedient of attaching the gun ropes at a greater distance from the gunports, the range through which each cannon could be traversed was greatly improved. The new system was first tested at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, where the Duke , Formidable',' and Arrogant , and perhaps other British ships, had adopted Douglas's new system. The shrapnel shell

4650-457: The first six months of a typical voyage, barring hostile action. Instead of live fire practice, most captains exercised their crews by "running" the guns in and out—performing all the steps associated with firing but for the actual discharge. Some wealthy captains—those who had made money capturing prizes or from wealthy families—were known to purchase powder with their own funds to enable their crews to fire real discharges at real targets. Firing

4743-423: The first time in history, at least in theory. Ships such as Mary Rose carried a mixture of cannon of different types and sizes, many designed for land use, and using incompatible ammunition at different ranges and rate of fire . Mary Rose , like other ships of the time, was built during a period of rapid development of heavy artillery, and her armament was a mix of old designs and innovations. The heavy armament

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4836-430: The flash pan and coarser powder for the main charge behind the ball. This was particularly the case with earlier muzzleloaders like matchlocks but appear to have been less common with flintlocks and was irrelevant with percussion locks since they used percussion caps rather than priming powder. Wadding is made from felt, paper, cloth or card and has several different uses. In shotguns , a card wad or other secure wadding

4929-444: The gun discharged, the recoil sent it backwards until it was stopped by the breech rope—a sturdy rope made fast to ring bolts set into the bulwarks, and a turn taken about the gun's cascabel, the knob at the end of the gun barrel. The types of artillery used varied from nation and time period. The more important types included the demi-cannon , the culverin and demi-culverin , and the carronade . One descriptive characteristic which

5022-421: The gun, safely beyond its range of recoil, and sight along the barrel, firing when the roll of the ship lined the gun up with the enemy and so avoid the chance of the shot hitting the sea or flying high over the enemy's deck. Despite their advantages, gunlocks spread gradually as they could not be retrofitted to older guns. The British adopted them faster than the French, who had still not generally adopted them by

5115-423: The gun. This was dangerous and made accurate shooting from a moving ship difficult, as the gun had to be fired from the side, to avoid its recoil, and there was a noticeable delay between the application of the linstock and the gun firing. In 1745, the British began using gunlocks ( flintlock mechanisms fitted to cannon). The gunlock was operated by pulling a cord, or lanyard . The gun-captain could stand behind

5208-400: The guns against the railing and allow the ship structure to take the force of the recoil. Though the design is unknown, there were two top pieces in a 1546 inventory (finished after the sinking) which was probably similar to a base, but placed in one or more of the fighting tops. During rebuilding in 1536, Mary Rose had a second tier of carriage-mounted long guns fitted. Records show how

5301-398: The interior of the barrel, extinguishing any embers from a previous firing which might set off the next charge of gunpowder prematurely. Gunpowder , either loose or in a cloth or parchment cartridge pierced by a metal 'pricker' through the touch hole, was placed in the barrel and followed by a cloth wad (typically made from canvas and old rope), then rammed home with a rammer. Next the shot

5394-660: The international governing body, the MLAIC, this is prohibited for military rifle and musket events. However, in small arms muzzleloading rifles, swabbing is only done after every 5-10 shots. Large caliber muzzle-loaders such as cannons are always swabbed between shots to prevent accidents caused by live sparks igniting the fresh charge of powder as it is being loaded. Muzzleloading is the sport or pastime of firing muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in

5487-562: The iron placed design constraints on the length and size of naval guns. Muzzle loading required the cannon muzzle to be positioned within the hull of the ship for loading. The hull is only so wide, with guns on both sides, and hatchways in the centre of the deck also limit the room available. Weight is always a great concern in ship design as it affects speed, stability, and buoyancy. The desire for longer guns for greater range and accuracy, and greater weight of shot for more destructive power, led to some interesting gun designs. One unique naval gun

5580-402: The last 5 Long Range World Championships). Driven by demand for muzzleloaders for special extended primitive hunting seasons, firearms manufacturers have developed in-line muzzleloading rifles with designs similar to modern breech-loading centerfire designs. Knight Rifles pioneered the in-line muzzleloader in the mid-1980s, manufacturing and selling them to this day. Savage Arms has created

5673-408: The line typically mounted 32-pounder or 36-pounder long guns on a lower deck, and 18- or 24-pounders on an upper deck, with some 12-pounders on the forecastle and quarterdeck. From the late sixteenth century it was routine for naval ships to carry a master gunner, responsible for overseeing the operation of the cannon on board. Originally a prestigious position, its status declined throughout

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5766-489: The marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from cannons to small-caliber palm guns ). Modern muzzleloading firearms range from reproductions of sidelock, flintlock and percussion long guns, to in-line rifles that use modern inventions such as a closed breech, sealed primer and fast rifling to allow for considerable accuracy at long ranges. Modern mortars use

5859-488: The mortars forward and provide a clear area for their forward fire. As a result, the 19th century British bomb vessels were designed as full-rigged ships with three masts, and two mortars, one between each neighboring pair of masts. The art of gunnery was put on a scientific basis in the mid-18th century. British military engineer Benjamin Robins used Newtonian mechanics to calculate the projectile trajectory while taking

5952-399: The muzzles, or in canvas sacks wrapped about with rope. The name "grapeshot" comes from the former's apparent resemblance to a bunch of grapes . When fired, the inertial forces would cause the bundle to disintegrate, and the shot would spread out to hit numerous targets. Grapeshot was a naval weapon, and existed for almost as long as naval artillery. The larger size of the grapeshot projectiles

6045-415: The need for wadding and worming. Simplifying gunnery for comparatively untrained merchant seamen in both aim and reloading was part of the rationale for the gun. The replacement of trunnions by a bolt underneath, to connect the gun to the mounting, reduced the width of the carriage enhancing the wide angle of fire. A carronade weighed a quarter as much and used a quarter to a third of the gunpowder charge for

6138-436: The only weapons capable of piercing the ever-thicker iron armour on the later ironclads, but required steam powered machinery to assist loading cannonballs too heavy for men to lift. Explosive shells had long been in use in ground warfare (in howitzers and mortars), but they were only fired at high angles and with relatively low velocities. Shells are inherently dangerous to handle, and no solution had been found to combine

6231-401: The powder in place and served the purpose of creating a better seal around the shot. Another was used to act as a plug to stop the shot rolling out because of the swaying of the ship. The use of cartridges with both gunpowder charge and ball, made up in batches by the shooter or a servant, was known from very early on, but until roughly around 1800 loading using a powder flask and a bag of balls

6324-426: The priming pan or a little powder from the cartridge was used, and the frizzen was pushed down to hold the priming powder in place. After the gunpowder and projectile or shot charge were placed in the barrel a ramrod was used to firmly pack everything down at the base of the barrel. Then either a priming charge was placed in the priming pan or a percussion cap was placed on the nipple, the firing mechanism initiated;

6417-432: The rocket was launched, which could either be from special launching racks or from a cannon barrel (see Chongtong , Bō hiya .) The point stuck in sails, hulls or spars and set fire to the enemy ship. In Western naval warfare, shore forts sometimes heated iron shot red-hot in a special furnace before loading it (with water-soaked wads to prevent it from setting off the powder charge prematurely.) The hot shot lodging in

6510-400: The same as those used until the 19th century. The breech-loaders were cheaper to produce and both easier and faster to reload, but could take less powerful charges than cast bronze guns. Generally, the bronze guns used cast iron shot and were more suited to penetrate hull sides while the iron guns used stone shot that would shatter on impact and leave large, jagged holes, but both could also fire

6603-487: The sequence of loading is to put in first gunpowder, by pouring in a measured amount of loose powder, historically mostly by using a powder flask (or powder horn), or by inserting a pre-measured bag or paper packet of gunpowder (called a cartridge ) or by inserting solid propellant pellets. The gunpowder used is typically black powder or black powder substitutes like Pyrodex . Sometimes two types of gunpowder (and two flasks) were used consisting of finer priming powder for

6696-410: The shell. In addition to a denser pattern of musket balls, the retained velocity could be higher as well, since the shrapnel shell as a whole would likely have a higher ballistic coefficient than the individual musket balls (see external ballistics ). The Industrial Revolution introduced steam-powered ironclad warships seemingly impervious to cast cannon. The inadequacy of naval artillery caused

6789-407: The ship would probably be rolling. The touch hole in the rear ('breech') of the cannon was primed with finer gunpowder ('priming powder'), or a 'quill' (from a porcupine or such, or the skin-end of a feather) pre-filled with priming powder, then ignited. The earlier method of firing a cannon was to apply a linstock —a wooden staff holding a length of smoldering match at the end—to the touch-hole of

6882-444: The ship's sailing qualities. It became known as the "Smasher" and gave ships armed with carronades a great advantage at short range. The mounting, attached to the side of the ship on a pivot, took the recoil on a slider. The reduced recoil did not alter the alignment of the gun. The smaller gunpowder charge reduced the guns' heating in action. The pamphlet advocated the use of woollen cartridges, which, although more expensive, eliminated

6975-726: The ship's structure rather than resting on carriages. The inventories of both the Mary Rose and the Tower had changed radically by 1540. There were now the new cast bronze cannons , demi-cannons , culverins and sakers and the wrought iron port pieces (a name that indicated they fired through ports), all of which required carriages, had longer range and were capable of doing serious damage to other ships. Various types of ammunition could be used for different purposes: plain spherical shot of stone or iron smashed hulls, spiked bar shot and shot linked with chains would tear sails or damage rigging, and canister shot packed with sharp flints produced

7068-527: The ship, closer to the water line. Heavy artillery on galleys was mounted in the bow, which aligned easily with the long-standing tactical tradition of attacking head on, bow first. The ordnance on galleys was heavy from its introduction in the 1480s, and capable of quickly demolishing the high, thin medieval stone walls that still prevailed in the 16th century. This temporarily upended the strength of older seaside fortresses, which had to be rebuilt to cope with gunpowder weapons. The addition of guns also improved

7161-477: The support of one or more gunner's mates. In the Royal Navy, the master gunner also directed the "quarter gunners" – able seamen with the added responsibility of managing the rate and direction of fire from any set of four gun crews. The British Admiralty did not see fit to provide additional powder to captains to train their crews, generally only allowing 1/3 of the powder loaded onto the ship to be fired in

7254-410: The time of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), placing them at a disadvantage as they were in general use by the Royal Navy at this time. After the introduction of gunlocks, linstocks were retained, but only as a backup means of firing. The linstock slow match, or the spark from the flintlock, ignited the priming powder, which in turn set off the main charge, which propelled the shot out of the barrel. When

7347-461: The traditional matches. Flintlocks enabled a higher rate of fire and greater accuracy as the gun captain could choose the exact moment of firing. Prior to this the Royal Navy introduced the use of goose quills filled with powder during the Seven Years' War giving an almost instantaneous burn time compared with earlier methods of detonation. Douglas also innovated a system that greatly increased

7440-447: The velocities thereby communicated to projectiles. He compared the results of his theory with experimental determinations of the ranges of mortars and cannon, and gave practical maxims for the management of artillery . He also made observations on the flight of rockets and wrote on the advantages of rifled gun barrels. Robins argued for the use of larger bore cannon and the importance of tightly fitting cannonballs. His work on gunnery

7533-480: Was a mix of older-type wrought iron and cast bronze guns, which differed considerably in size, range and design. The large iron guns were made up of staves or bars welded into cylinders and then reinforced by shrinking iron hoops and breech loaded , and equipped with simpler gun-carriages made from hollowed-out elm logs with only one pair of wheels, or without wheels entirely. The bronze guns were cast in one piece and rested on four-wheel carriages which were essentially

7626-425: Was a terrifying experience, and typically wooden fleets were not expected to brave such fire except in cases of great emergency, as a single heated shot could easily destroy the entire ship and crew, while the same ship could typically be expected to survive numerous hits from normal solid shot. The bomb ketch was developed as a wooden sailing naval ship with its primary armament as mortars mounted forward near

7719-441: Was an era of transition in naval warfare. Since ancient times, war at sea had been fought much like that on land: with melee weapons and bows and arrows , but on floating wooden platforms rather than battlefields. Though the introduction of guns was a significant change, it only slowly changed the dynamics of ship-to-ship combat. As guns became heavier and able to take more powerful gunpowder charges, they needed to be placed lower in

7812-536: Was commonly used was to define guns by their 'pound' rating: theoretically, the weight of a single solid iron shot fired by that bore of cannon. Common sizes were 42-pounders, 36-pounders, 32-pounders, 24-pounders, 18-pounders, 12-pounders , 9-pounders, 8-pounders, 6-pounders, and various smaller calibres. French ships used standardized guns of 36-pound , 24-pound and 12-pound calibres, augmented by smaller pieces. In general, larger ships carrying more guns carried larger ones as well. The muzzle-loading design and weight of

7905-488: Was desirable because it was more capable of cutting thick cordage and smashing equipment than the relatively smaller musket balls of a canister shot, although it could rarely penetrate a wooden hull. Although grapeshot won great popular fame as a weapon used against enemy crew on open decks (especially when massed in great numbers, such as for a boarding attempt), it was originally designed and carried primarily for cutting up enemy rigging. A more specialized shot for similar use

7998-486: Was developed in 1784, by Major General Henry Shrapnel of the Royal Artillery . Canister shot was already in widespread use at the time; a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls burst open when fired, giving the effect of an oversized shotgun shell . Shrapnel's innovation was to combine the multi-projectile shotgun effect of canister shot, with a time fuze to open the canister and disperse

8091-444: Was more common outside of the military. The measuring stage for the barrel charge of gunpowder could be avoided by carrying a number of pre-measured charges in small containers of wood, metal or cloth, often carried on a bandolier . These were known by various names, including "chargers" or "apostles" as 12 were often carried. For most of the time muzzleloaders were in use, a round ball and pre-measured powder charge could be carried in

8184-470: Was more traditionally an army artillery projectile for clearing fields of infantry . Grapeshot was similar in that it also consisted of multiple (usually 9–12) projectiles that separated upon firing, except that the shot was larger (at least 1 inch in diameter, up to 3 inches or larger for heavier guns), and it either came in bundles held together by lengths of rope wrapped around the balls and wedged between, with wooden bases to act as wadding when rammed down

8277-458: Was rammed in, followed by another wad (to prevent the cannonball from rolling out of the barrel if the muzzle was depressed.) The gun in its carriage was then 'run out'—men heaved on the gun tackles until the front of the gun carriage was hard up against the ship's bulwark, and the barrel protruding out of the gun port. This took the majority of the guncrew manpower as the total weight of a large cannon in its carriage could reach over two tons, and

8370-471: Was the chain-shot , which consisted of two iron balls joined together with a chain, and was particularly designed for cutting large swaths of rigging , such as boarding nets and sails . It was far more effective than other projectiles in this use, but was of little use for any other purpose. Bar shot was similar, except that it used a solid bar to join the two balls; the bar could sometimes also extend upon firing. Series of long chain links were also used in

8463-407: Was the round shot , which is spherical cast-iron shot used for smashing through the enemy's hull, holing his waterline, smashing gun carriages and breaking masts and yards, with a secondary effect of sending large wooden splinters flying about to maim and kill the enemy crew. At very close range, two round shots could be loaded in one gun and fired together. "Double-shotting", as it was called, lowered

8556-419: Was the long nine. It was a proportionately longer-barrelled 9-pounder. Its typical mounting as a bow or stern chaser, where it was not perpendicular to the keel, allowed room to operate this longer weapon. In a chase situation, the gun's greater range came into play. However, the desire to reduce weight in the ends of the ship and the relative fragility of the bow and stern portions of the hull limited this role to

8649-518: Was translated into German by Leonhard Euler and was heavily influential on the development of naval weaponry across Europe. Another significant scientific gunnery book was written by Warrant Officer George Marshall , a Master Gunner in the United Navy. He wrote Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery in 1822. The book discusses the dimensions and apparatus necessary for the equipment of naval artillery. The book goes into further details regarding

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