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The 12-pdr rifle was designed in the early 1850s by British manufacturer Joseph Whitworth, who had recently been contracted to improve the Pattern 1853 Enfield.During his experiments with the Enfield, Whitworth was inspired to begin experimenting with a hexagonally-rifled barrel; Whitworth would later apply these principles to his field guns.
They were a bit liable to disturbances, [9] but the problem with the wedge breech was solved to satisfaction. [10] In 1864 a comparative test of three types of 70-pounder guns took place. In this test, the Armstrong breechloader could not stand up against newer Rifled Muzzle Loaders (RML) designed by himself and Whitworth.
The above diagram shows the typical gun crew of a Civil War cannon. Each cannoneer was numbered and played an important role in the firing sequence when the order "Commence fire" was given: [43] Gunner: Gave the order "Load" to load the cannon and sighted it at the target. Number One: Sponged the barrel clean and rammed the round to the breech.
The gun was initially adopted by both the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, and was in full service by 1885.It marked a return to breech-loading guns, after the British Army had reverted to muzzle-loaders in the late 1860s following the failure of the Armstrong screw breech guns.
The 100-ton gun (also known as the Armstrong 100-ton gun) [6] was a British coastal defense gun and is the world's largest black powder cannon. It was a 17.72-inch (450 mm) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) gun made by Elswick Ordnance Company, the armaments division of the British manufacturing company Armstrong Whitworth, owned by William Armstrong.
They were a particular type of swivel gun, and consisted in a small breech-loading cannon equipped with a swivel for easy rotation, loaded by inserting a mug-shaped chamber already filled with powder and projectiles. The breech-loading swivel gun had a high rate of fire, and was especially effective in anti-personnel roles.
Created Date: 8/30/2012 4:52:52 PM
"New pattern" 72-inch barrel and breech The gun incorporated some advanced features for its day. It was one of the first breech-loaders: shell and gunpowder propellant were loaded through the gunner's end of the barrel, rather than through the muzzle as in previous guns, allowing a higher rate of fire.