Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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, or Griffen gun (usually called the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle), used during the American Civil War, which had an effective range of over 1.1 mi (1.8 km).
The history of cannon spans several hundred years from the 12th century to modern times. The cannon first appeared in China sometime during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was most likely developed in parallel or as an evolution of an earlier gunpowder weapon called the fire lance. The result was a projectile weapon in the shape of a cylinder ...
A 1st-century BC Roman catapult launching 6.55 kg (14.4 lb) stones achieved a kinetic energy of 16 kilojoules, compared to a mid-19th-century 12-pounder gun, which fired a 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) round, with a kinetic energy of 240 kilojoules, or a 20th-century US battleship that fired a 1,225 kg (2,701 lb) projectile from its main battery with an ...
The cannon shot (c. 1680), painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger Essential parts of a cannon: 1. the projectile or cannonball (shot) 2. gunpowder 3. touch hole (or vent) in which the fuse or other ignition device is inserted Firing of an 18-pounder aboard a French ship. Firing a naval cannon required a great amount of labour and manpower.
A full cannon fired a 42-pound shot, but these were discontinued by the 18th century as they were seen as too unwieldy. Firing of an 18-pounder aboard a French ship. The introduction of carronades at the end of the 18th century also resulted in guns that were easier to handle and required less than half the gunpowder of long guns, allowing ...
Artillery has been one of primary weapons of war since before the Napoleonic Era. Several countries have developed and built artillery systems, while artillery itself has been continually improved and redesigned to meet the evolving needs of the battlefield. This has led to a multitude of different types and designs which have played a role in ...
Old Japanese weapons and other military paraphernalia, c. 1892–95 A Gilbertese shark-toothed weapon (late 19th century). Major innovations in the history of weapons have included the adoption of different materials – from stone and wood to different metals, and modern synthetic materials such as plastics – and the developments of different weapon styles either to fit the terrain or to ...
The Artillery Service in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65. Yardly, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2011. ISBN 978-1-59416-149-0. OCLC 760901332. Wise, Jennings C. The Long Arm of Lee: The History of the Artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959. OCLC 1150741.