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By the early 1800s gun-founders knew that two metals were suitable for the manufacture of cannon, iron and bronze. Bronze, an alloy made up of about 90% copper and 10% tin, was strong enough to resist the explosion of gunpowder without bursting the cannon. The guns were often referred to as brass cannons when in fact their composition was of ...
Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during the late 19th century. Cannons vary in gauge, effective range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the ...
It was nearly impossible to find a target that would leave enough evidence to measure the effect of hits. The first four shots were fired with charges of 50, 75, 100, and 125 lb (57 kg) of gunpowder, reaching a bore pressure of 25,000 psi (170,000 kPa). Four more shots were fired in March 1867 with charges of 125, 150, 175, and 200 lb (91 kg ...
It was used at a time when some cannons burst when loaded with too much gunpowder, but as cannons got stronger, grapeshot was replaced by canister. A grapeshot round (or "stand") used in a 12-pounder Napoleon contained 9 balls, contrasted against the 27 smaller balls in a canister round.
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 ...
The C was to indicate the powder burned "cooler" than traditional Improved Military Rifle (IMR) powders. [4] In 1949, he began acquisition of powder salvaged from disassembled Oerlikon 20mm cannon cartridges. This powder resembled IMR 4350 in appearance, and with a slower burning rate, was initially marketed as "4350 Data", and later as 4831. [5]
The shot was carried on a specially designed iron barrow or two-man litter and, in the era of black-powder cannon charges contained in cloth bags, occasioned much fanfare and notice as it was conveyed to the cannon muzzle as the red-hot projectile would easily ignite any carelessly handled loose powder.
Cannons needed to be strong enough to withstand the explosion that reduced the gunpowder charge to propellant gas. Bronze smoothbore cannons were in need of a larger gunpowder charge because there was windage – or space – between the shot and the barrel. Windage caused the propellant gases from the explosion to leak out, but it also reduced ...