From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A small cannon on a carriage in Bucharest. Note the inclusion of an unneeded cascabel, a useful feature on naval guns.

The Jaivana cannon, cast in 1720, is the largest wheel-mounted cannon in the world.

A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a long distance. The cannon is the archetypical form of artillery.

Cannon comes through Old French from Old Italian cannone, ultimately derived from Latin canna—a tube.^[1] The Latinised word canon was used for a gun since 1326 in Italy, and 1418 in England. Bombardum, or "bombard", was earliest used for "cannon", but from 1430 it came to refer only to the largest weapons.^[2] "Cannon" serves both as the singular and plural of the noun, although the plural "cannons" can also be used. The term can apply to a modern day rifled machine gun with a calibre of 20 mm or more (see autocannon).

Cannon also refers to a large, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading gun used before the advent of breech-loading, rifled guns firing explosive shells. Although a variety of such guns are commonly referred to as "cannon", the term specifically refers to a gun designed to fire a 42 lb shot as opposed to a "Demi-cannon" (32 lb), Culverin (18 lb) or Demi-culverin (9 lb).

When on board a warship a cannon is called a gun, while a cannonball is a roundshot.

Korean cannon arrow from the early Joseon Dynasty.

"Fire lances", gunpowder-propelled arrows, were used in China from at least 1132. The first documented record of artillery with gunpowder propellent used on the battlefield is on January 28, 1132 when General Han Shizhong of the Song Dynasty used escalade and Huochong to capture a city in Fujian. In the year 1161 the Song Dynasty navy employed trebuchet catapults to launch gunpowder bombs against the opposing Jin Dynasty navy on the Yangtze River.^[3] In 1221, cast iron bombs thrown by hand, sling, and catapult are mentioned. Somewhere around 1249, the Chinese of the Song Dynasty began to load early gunpowder in the middle of thick bamboo as a projection firearm, firing clay pellets like a shotgun. During the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD), portable firearms were introduced in the form of bronze tubes (based on the firelance designs) that fired iron balls. The first art depiction of the Chinese 'fire-lance' (a combination of a temporary-fire flamethrower and gun) was from a Buddhist mural painting of Dunhuang, dated circa 950 AD. These 'fire-lances' were widespread in use by the early 12th century featured hollowed bamboo poles as tubes to fire sand particles (to blind and choke), lead pellets, bits of sharp metal and pottery shards, and finally large gunpowder-propelled arrows.^[4] Eventually, perishable bamboo was replaced with hollow tubes of cast iron, and so too did the terminology of this new weapon change, from 'fire-spear' ('huo qiang') to 'fire-tube' ('huo tong').^[5]

Around the time of the wars between the Mongols and the Song Dynasty (1268-1279), mortars with bronze tubes or bronze first appeared.^[6] (However, the earliest certain example is dated 1332). Additionally, the Chinese and Mongols took up the use of "true" gunpowder instead of the slower-burning older mixture - which made this early cannon, known as the Huochong, more reliable and powerful. During wartime, the Chinese used the early gunpowder weapons in defence against the Mongols, mounting more than 3,000 bronze and iron casted cannons on the Great Wall of China. The weapon was taken up by the Mongol conquerors later, and was also used in Korea. From the early 14th century Chinese manuscript known as the Huo Long Jing, a passage refers to the first use of cast iron shell casings for gunpowder-filled cannon balls, fired by what the Chinese had termed the 'flying-cloud thunderclap eruptor' (fei yun pi-li pao):

The shells (phao) are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of 'magic' gunpowder (shen huo). They are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor (mu phao); and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the whole place will be set ablaze...^[7]

The invention of gunpowder spread into India prior to the Mongol intrusion in China. In India, gunpowder was manufactured and used in both rocketry and for powering cannon. Even before this however, the Indians used rudimentary projectile weapons to launch stones and explosive/incendiary objects at besieging armies. The Arthashastra mentions a tubular weapon, the Sataghni. Indigenous gunpowder was called agnicurna. By the 16th Century, the world's largest and heaviest cannon were being cast in India. The best examples of this are the Jaivana Cannon in Jaigarh, Rajasthan and the Thanjavur Cannon in Thanjavur armories in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The "giant gun" trend was by then disappearing in Europe, in favor of lighter, more manoeuvrable pieces in larger numbers, and the early use of true field artillery.

Main article: Cannon in the Middle Ages

The first mention of the composition of gunpowder in express terms in Europe appeared in 1216, in Roger Bacon's "De nullitate magiæ" at Oxford.^[8] Later in 1248, his "Opus Maior" describes a recipe and recognized military use:

"We can, with saltpeter and other substances, compose artificially a fire that can be launched over long distances... By only using a very small quantity of this material much light can be created accompanied by a horrible fracas. It is possible with it to destroy a town or an army ... In order to produce this artificial lightning and thunder it is necessary to take saltpeter, sulfur, and Luru Vopo Vir Can Utriet".

Bacon described firecrackers, "used in certain parts of the world". Bacon's mixture resembles the assumed composition of Chinese slow-burning powder as used in fire arrows and rockets, but will probably not function well as cannon gunpowder - the saltpeter content is too low. Gunpowder was first used in Spain by Moorish cannon at the siege of Seville in 1248, and the siege of Niebla in 1262.^[9] By 1260, "coal and sulphur" had been recognised as the best weapon for ship-to-ship combat,^[10] while hand guns were probably in use at this time, such as against the Mongols, and Italian scopettieri ("gun bearers") were mentioned in conjunction with crossbowmen in 1281. The Spanish historian Zurita recorded cannon at the siege of Alicante in 1331,^[11][9] and by 1340, light cannon were widespread enough in the Islamic world to end up in military inventories. The Spanish Kings enlisted "the first artillery-masters on the Peninsula" in the mid-14th century.^[12]

A reconstruction of the vase cannon that fired arrows.

Juan de Mariana recalled further use of cannon during the capture of Algeciras in 1342, and also related that the English Earl of Derby and Earl of Salisbury had both participated in the siege.^[13][9] They could had conceivably transferred the knowledge about the effectiveness of cannon to England.^[14] Cannon certainly saw its first real use on the European battlefield during the Hundred Years War, being only used in small numbers by a few states during the 1340s. "Ribaldis" were first mentioned in the English Privy Wardrobe accounts during preparations for the Battle of Crécy between 1345 and 1346.^[15] These were believed to have shot large arrows and simplistic grapeshot, but they were so important they were directly controlled by the Royal Wardrobe.^[15] According to the contemporary Jean Froissart, the English cannon made "two or three discharges on the Genoese", which is taken to mean individual shots by two or three guns because of the time taken to reload such primitive artillery.^[15] The Florentine Giovanni Villani agreed that they were destructive on the field, indicating that by the end of the battle, "the whole plain was covered by men struck down by arrows and cannon balls."^[15]

Similar cannon appeared also at the Siege of Calais in the same year, although it would not be until the 1380s that the "ribaudekin" clearly became mounted on wheels.^[15] Around the same period, the Byzantine Empire began to accumulate its own cannon to face the Ottoman threat, starting with medium-sized cannon 3 feet long and of 10" calibre.^[16] The first definite use of artillery in the region was against the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1396, as the attackers did not yet have any gunpowder of their own. These loud Byzantine weapons, possibly operated by the Genoese or "Franks" of Galata, forced the Turks to withdraw.^[16]

The Dardanelles Gun, used by the Turks at Constantinople.

The Turks acquired their own cannon by the siege of 1422, using "falcons", which were short but wide cannon. The two sides were evenly matched technologically, and contemporary sources credit the lifting of the siege to an apparition of the Theotokos upon the city walls.^[16] Pius II promoted the affordable donation of cannon by European monarchs as a means of aid to the Empire, which was facing economic problems at the time, but aside from these no other advances were made to the Byzantine arsenal.^[16] The Turks, on the other hand, saw that they needed heavy cannon to breach the Walls of Constantinople, using 68 Hungarian-made cannon in 1453. The largest required an operating crew of 200 men,^[17] and 70 oxen and 10,000 men just to transport them.^[16] They were extremely loud, adding to their psychological impact, and the 55-day bombardment of Constantinople left massive destruction; the Greek chronicler Kritovoulos recorded that cannonballs "hit the wall, which it immediately shook and knocked down and was itself broken into many fragments and scattered, hurling the pieces everywhere and killing those who happened to be nearby."^[16]

Byzantine counter artillery allowed them to repel any visible Turkish weapons, and the defenders repulsed any attempts to storm any broken points in the walls and hastily repaired any damage. However, the walls could not be adapted for artillery, and there was even worry that the largest Byzantine cannon could cause more damage to their own walls than the Turkish cannon.^[16] Gunpowder had also made the formerly devastating Greek fire obsolete, and with the final fall of what had once been the strongest walls in Europe on May 29, "it was the end of an era in more ways than one".^[16]

1586 Tsar Cannon, the largest howitzer ever made, by Andrey Chokhov.

The end of the Middle Ages saw the construction of larger and more powerful cannon, and their spread in warfare throughout the world. The Tsar Pushka (Царь-пушка in Russian, literally "Tsar-cannon"), founded by Russian founding master Andrey Chokhov in 1586, was the largest howitzer ever made. The cannon, which still survives today, weighed nearly 18 tonnes and had a length of 5.34 metres, a calibre of 890 mm, and an external diameter of 1200 mm. The cannon was intended to fire grapeshot and to defend the Kremlin, but was never used. In fact, with such a large cannon, it may have been intended as a showpiece of military might and engineering from the beginning.

Conventional siege artillery, such as siege towers and trebuchets, became vulnerable and obsolete with the development of large cannon and changes in fortification. However, constructions known as "battery-towers" took on a similar role as siege towers in the gunpowder age. These were built out of wood on site and were used for concentrating siege cannon on a particular point in a fortification. One of these was built by the Russian military engineer Ivan Vyrodkov during the siege of Kazan in 1552 (as part of the Russo-Kazan Wars), and could hold ten large-calibre cannon and 50 lighter cannon.^[18]

A Vauban-style Star fort, showing the influence of cannon on fort design.

East Asia also saw the construction of massive cannon. The Jaivana cannon, now located at Jaigarh Fort of Jaipur, is considered to be the largest wheel-mounted cannon ever made in the world. Made in 1720 during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, it is a decorative piece only, having never been introduced in a battle. Records say that it was fired once and its shot went to "Chaksu", about 40 kilometres away from Jaipur.

During Japanese invasions of Korea,1592-1599, the Korean (Joseon dynasty) battleships equipped with many cannons played a critical role in stopping Japanese supply by defeating the Japanese navy. Japanese had musket, which was more effective than any other Korean individual firearm. But the superiority of Korean cannon enabled the Korean navy to defeat the invader with a few casualty.

By the end of the 18th century, principles long adopted in Europe specified the characteristics of cannon of the British Ship design and the types and sizes of acceptable defects. The U.S. Navy tested guns by measurement, proof by powder (two or three firings), and using compressed water for leak detection.^[19]

U.S. troops fire during 1899 Battle of Manila.

The Turkish cannons of the siege of Constantinople, after being on permanent display for four centuries, were used to battle a British fleet in 1807. The artillery hit a British ship with two 700 pound cannonballs, killing 60 sailors. In 1867, Sultan Abdul Aziz gifted Queen Victoria the 17 ton "Dardanelles Gun" - one of the cannons used at the siege of Constantinople.^[17]

But in contrast to this antiquited weapons, later western guns during the 19th century became massive, destructive, more accurate, and covered a very long range - such as the American 3 inch wrought-iron muzzle-loading howitzer used during the American Civil War with an effective range of over 1.83km.

The superior cannon technology of Westerners in later years would bring them tremendous advantages in warfare. For example, in the Opium War in China during the 19th century, the British battleships bombarded the coastal areas and fortifications safe from the reach of the Chinese cannon.

U.S. Navy sailors firing a 40 mm saluting cannon

A modern artillery piece is generally referred to either as a "gun", or by the name of its specific type, such as a Howitzer.

Since World War II the term cannon is used to refer to a gun of around 20 mm to 125 mm calibre, sometimes with an automatic loading action capable of firing explosive ammunition, an auto-cannon.

The minimum calibre of a cannon, 20 mm, has been a de facto standard since WWII, when heavy machine guns of 12.7 mm (0.5 inches) and 13.2 mm calibre were used side by side with 20 mm and larger guns, the latter using explosive ammunition, e.g., RAF fighters with 20 mm Hispano cannon and Luftwaffe with 20 mm and 30 mm cannon. The Bofors 40 mm gun and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon are two examples largely used during the Second World War, and still in usage today.

A ship's cannon frozen mid shot.

Most nations use these modern (auto-) cannon on their lighter vehicles. Typical of the type is the 25 mm 'Bushmaster' cannon mounted on the LAV and Bradley armoured vehicles.

Today United States 152 mm artillery fires Shillelagh missiles, which are guided to their targets by infra-red beams, while the Super High Altitude Research Project artillery can fire shells 75.75 mi. above the earth's surface.^[17]

A cannon generally refers to a high velocity, low trajectory, direct fire weapon such as the main gun on most modern main battle tanks.

A howitzer generally refers to a weapon using a lower velocity than a cannon, which fires on a higher trajectory, and provides indirect fire.

These are both differentiated from a mortar, which fires a low velocity (by comparison) round at very high trajectory at much more limited range.

Cannon in a Civil War re-enactment: The large amounts of gunpowder often affected visibility significantly. Gunners hope for a strong wind that will allow them to continue to see their target.

Different types of cannon balls recovered from the Vasa, sunk in 1628

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

Round shot 

A solid projectile made, in early times, from dressed stone but, by the 17th century, from iron. The most accurate projectile that could be fired by a smooth-bore cannon, used to batter the wooden hulls of opposing ships, forts, or fixed emplacements, and as a long-range anti-personnel weapon.

Chain shot or bar shot 

Two sub-calibre round shot (a good deal smaller than the bore of the barrel) linked by a length of chain or a solid bar, and used to slash through the rigging and sails of an enemy ship so that it could no longer manoeuver. It was inaccurate and only used at close range. Two-headed bullets (angels) were similar but made of two halves of a ball rather than two balls.^[20]

Canister shot 

An anti-personnel projectile which included many small iron round shot or lead musket balls in a metal can, which broke up when fired, scattering the shot throughout the enemy personnel, like a large shotgun.

Shrapnel or case shot 

An iron anti-personnel projectile containing an interior cavity packed with lead or iron round balls around a small bursting charge of just enough force to break open the thin-walled iron projectile. A powder train in a thin iron sleeve led to a time fuze inserted into a holder at the outer edge or the projectile. The fuze was designed to be ignited by flame from the propellant charge. Ideally the case shot fuze would detonate the central bursting charge when the projectile was six to ten feet above the heads of enemy infantry thereby showering them with the iron balls and fragments of the casing. (Invented 1784 by Lt. Henry Shrapnel, Royal Artillery, Great Britain).

Shell 

An explosive anti-material and counter-battery projectile, of iron with a cavity packed with a high explosive bursting charge of powder used to destroy enemy wagons, breastworks, or opposing artillery. Two types of fuzes were used -- impact fuzes that detonated the bursting charge by percussion, and time fuze cut to length measured in seconds and ignited by flame from the propellant charge. (Source: Ordnance & Gunnery, J.G. Benton, 1859, U.S. Military Academy)

Grapeshot 

An anti-personnel weapon, similar to canister shot, but with the shot being contained in a canvas bag, and generally of a larger calibre. So called because of the resemblance of the clustered shot in the bag to a cluster of grapes on the vine. In one variation of this, the shot was held together by a coiled bar, and was spread by a fused charge in the same way as a shell.

Carcass 

An incendiary/antipersonnel projectile designed to burn fiercely and produce poisonous fumes. It was constructed of an iron frame bound with sack cloth and filled with various ingredients such as pitch, antimony, sulphur, saltpeter, tallow and venetian turpentine. It was ignited by the cannon's propellant charge, bursting on impact with the target and releasing noxious fumes while setting fire to its surroundings. It was effectively an early chemical weapon as well as an incendiary and area denial weapon.

Heated (or hot) shot 

A process where a solid iron cannonball is heated red hot in a specially-designed coal-fired furnace and then is loaded in a muzzle-loading cannon, cushioned by a substantial thickness of wet wads, and is then fired while still red hot, at flammable targets with the intention of setting them on fire. This was a much advocated tactic (and many times a very successful one) for shore based forts defending against attacks by wooden warships. Examples of these small brick furnaces may still be seen at permanently constructed pre-1860 forts in Europe and the United States. The adoption by most navies of iron hulled ships generally made these obsolete. The shot was carried on a specially-designed iron barrow or 2-man litter and, in the era of blackpowder 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. Any reckless or somewhat dangerous individual who seemed to draw trouble to themselves and those around them was referred to as a "Hot Shot", giving rise to the term in common use to this day.

Spider Shot

spider shot is a chain shot, but it has many chains instead of just 1 chain. It was not used very much, despite its effectiveness against small ships and morale.

Several instruments are used to service a medieval style cannon, as noted in the 1771 Encyclopedia Britannica.^[20]

• The sponge is a long staff or rammer with a piece of sheep or lamb skin wound about its end, to serve for scouring the cannon when discharged, before it is to be charged with fresh powder. This cleaning prevents any spark of fire from remaining in the piece, which would endanger the life of the loading crew. Sponges were the most commonly used cannon cleaning instruments.^[20]

• A wad-screw is two points of iron in the shape of a corkscrew, to extract the wad out of the piece. Used when the cannon has to be unloaded or dirt must be removed.^[20]

• The lantern or ladle serves to carry the powder into the piece. It consists of a wooden box appropriated to the caliber of the piece for which it is intended with a length of a caliber and a half with its vent, and of a piece of copper nailed to the box at the height of a half caliber. This lantern must have three calibers and a half in length, and two calibers in breadth, being rouned on the end to load the ordinary pieces.^[20]

• The primer must contain a pound of powder at least, and is used to prime the pieces.^[20]

• A rammer is a round piece of wood, commonly called a box, which serves to drive home the powder and ball to the breech. It is fastened to a stick twelve feet long, for the pieces from twelve to thirty-three pounders, and ten for the eight and four pounders.^[20]

• The botefeux is used to hold a winding of match with which to fire the cannon. May be a stick two or three feet long with a split to hold one end of the match.^[20]

• A priming iron is a pointed iron rod, used to clear the touch hole of the pieces of powder or dirt. Also used to pierce the cartridge, that it may sooner take fire.^[20]

• The quoin of mire are pieces of wood with a notch on the side to put the fingers on, to draw them back or push them forward, when the gunner points his pieces. They are placed on the sole of the carriage.^[20]

Leaden plates are used to cover the touch-hole, when the piece is charged, to keep dirt from entering the touch-hole.

It was advised to have about twenty pounds of powder in a leather sack, to avoid making trains of powder. Accidents had been found to frequently happen when powder trains led to the magazine.

AC/DC album For Those About to Rock We Salute You

The cannon can be used as a kind of percussion instrument in certain pieces of music. The best known example is the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, which should properly be played using an artillery section together with the orchestra. It is supposed to simulate the Battle of Borodino. The version using cannon fire was first laid down on a recording by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s. Subsequent similar recordings have been made by other groups, exploiting the advances in audio technology. Cannon fire is used annually on the Fourth of July by the Boston Pops during their annual concert on the shores of the Charles River and by the National Symphony Orchestra during their annual concert on the steps of the US Capitol Building.

The hard rock band AC/DC also use cannon in their song For those about to rock, we salute you. The album of the same name also features a cannon on its cover.

Due to their impracticalities, cannon are used for only grand, theatrical pieces, often with a military theme. In the case of the 1812, the cannon may be replaced with bass drums or tympani. Less frequently strongly accented snare drum diminuendos can be heard.

• Halberstadt, Hans (2002). The World's Great Artillery. ISBN 0-7607-3303-1
• Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
• Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Part 7. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

• Artillery
• Cannon netting
• Double barreled cannon
• Electrothermal-chemical technology
• Gunpowder
• Howitzer
• Spud gun
• Two six heave
• English cannon
• Korean cannon
• Carbide Cannon
• Big-Bang Cannon

• U.S. Patent 5236  -- Casting ordnance
• U.S. Patent 6612  -- Cannon
• U.S. Patent 13851  -- Muzzle loading ordnance

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cannon

• http://www.pafg.co.uk Portsmouth Action Field Gun Photos and Video
• Artillery Through the Ages - NDS Interpretive Series
• Artillery Tactics and Combat during the Napoleonic Wars
• Modern and Civil War Era Cannon Information
• 5 of the largest cannons in history