View source for Cannon

{{Short description|Large-caliber gun}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Canon (disambiguation){{!}}Canon}}
{{Cannon}}

A '''cannon''' (plural either ''cannons'' or ''cannon'') is a large-[[caliber]] gun classified as a type of [[artillery]], which usually launches a [[projectile]] using explosive chemical [[propellant]]. [[Gunpowder]] ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of [[smokeless powder]] during the late 19th century. Cannons vary in [[gauge (firearms)|gauge]], [[effective range]], [[mobility (military)|mobility]], [[rate of fire]], [[elevation (ballistics)|angle of fire]] and [[firepower]]; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. A cannon is a type of heavy artillery weapon. The word ''cannon'' is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as ''tube'', ''cane'', or ''reed''.

The earliest known depiction of cannons may have appeared in [[Science and technology of the Song dynasty#Gunpowder warfare|Song dynasty China]] as early as the 12th century; however, solid archaeological and documentary evidence of cannons do not appear until the 13th century.{{sfn|Lu|1988}} In 1288, [[Yuan dynasty]] troops are recorded to have used [[hand cannon|hand cannons]] in combat, and the earliest extant cannon bearing a date of production comes from the same period.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=330}}{{sfn|Chase|2003|p=32}}{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=293}} By the end of the 14th century, cannons were widespread throughout [[Eurasia]].{{sfn|Khan|2004|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=75}}

Cannons were used primarily as anti-infantry weapons until around 1374, when large cannons were recorded to have breached walls for the first time in Europe.{{sfn|Chase|2003|p=59}} Cannons featured prominently as [[siege]] weapons. In 1464 a {{cvt|16,000|kg|lbs|adj=on}} cannon known as the [[Great Turkish Bombard]] was created in the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="Schmidtchen 1977b, 226–228" /> Cannons as field artillery became more important after 1453 when cannons broke down the walls of the Roman Empire's capital, with the introduction of [[Limbers and caissons|limber]], which greatly improved cannon maneuverability and mobility.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=51}}{{sfn|Kelly|2004|p=66}} European cannons reached their longer, lighter, more accurate, and more efficient "classic form" around 1480. This classic European cannon design stayed relatively consistent in form with minor changes until the 1750s.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|pp=103–04}}

In the modern era, the term ''cannon'' has fallen into decline, replaced by ''guns'' or ''artillery'', if not a more specific term such as [[howitzer]] or [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]], except for high-caliber [[automatic weapon]]s firing bigger rounds than machine guns, called [[autocannon]]s.

==Etymology and terminology==

The word ''cannon'' is derived from the [[Italian language#Origins|Old Italian]] word {{lang|it|cannone}}, meaning "large tube", which came from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|canna}}, in turn originating from the Greek {{lang|grc|κάννα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|kanna}}), "reed",<ref>{{Cite dictionary|first1=Henry George|last1=Liddell|first2=Robert|last2=Scott|dictionary=An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon|title=κάννα|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|date=1889|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0058:entry=ka/nna1|access-date=19 June 2023|via=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> and then generalised to mean any hollow tube-like object.<ref name="Definition and etymology of cannon">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cannon|title=Definition and etymology of 'cannon'|dictionary=[[Webster's Dictionary]]|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=8 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008040731/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cane|title=cane|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=7 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207121446/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cane|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Definition and etymology of cane">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cane|title=Definition and etymology of 'cane'|dictionary=[[Webster's Dictionary]]|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=24 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424235838/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cane|url-status=live}}</ref> The word has been used to refer to a [[Gun#Terminology|gun]] since 1326 in Italy and 1418 in England. The plural forms ''cannons'' and ''cannon'' are both correct.<ref name="Definition and etymology of cannon"/><ref name="Cambridge Definition of cannon">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/cannon|title=Definition of cannon|publisher=[[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=31 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031192535/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/cannon|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early history ==
{{main|History of cannons}}
{{Further|topic=the historical use of gunpowder in general|History of gunpowder|Timeline of the Gunpowder Age}}

===East Asia===
{{main|Gunpowder artillery in the Song dynasty}}
{{Further|topic=development of gunpowder warfare in China|Science and technology of the Song dynasty}}
[[File:Yuan Bronze Cannon.jpg|thumb|Bronze cannon with inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan era (1332) of the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368); it was discovered at the [[Yunju Temple]] of [[Fangshan District]], [[Beijing]] in 1935.]]
The cannon may have appeared as early as the 12th century in China,{{sfn|Lu|1988}} and was probably a parallel development or evolution of the [[fire-lance]], a short ranged anti-personnel weapon combining a gunpowder-filled tube and a polearm.{{sfn |Needham|1986|pp=263–275}}  Projectiles such as iron scraps or porcelain shards, mixed together with the gunpowder ("co-viative"), were placed in fire lance barrels at some point,{{sfn|Crosby|2002|p=99}} and eventually, the paper and bamboo materials of fire lance barrels were replaced by metal.{{sfn|Chase|2003|pp=31–32}}

The earliest known depiction of a cannon is a sculpture from the [[Dazu Rock Carvings]] in Sichuan dated to 1128,{{sfn|Lu|1988}} however, the earliest archaeological samples and textual accounts do not appear until the 13th century. The primary extant specimens of cannon from the 13th century are the [[Wuwei Bronze Cannon]] dated to 1227, the [[Heilongjiang hand cannon]] dated to 1288, and the [[Xanadu Gun]] dated to 1298. However, only the Xanadu gun contains an inscription bearing a date of production, so it is considered the earliest confirmed extant cannon. The Xanadu Gun is {{convert|34.7|cm|abbr=on}} in length and weighs {{convert|6.2|kg|abbr=on}}. The other cannons are dated using contextual evidence.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|pp=52–53}} The Heilongjiang [[hand cannon]] is also often considered by some to be the oldest firearm since it was unearthed near the area where the ''[[History of Yuan]]'' reports a battle took place involving hand cannons. According to the ''History of Yuan'', in 1288, a Jurchen commander by the name of Li Ting led troops armed with hand cannons into battle against the rebel prince Nayan.{{sfn|Needham|1986|pp=293–94}}

[[File:Ming Dynasty field artillery cannon.jpg|thumb|A bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon" from the ''[[Huolongjing]]''.]]
Chen Bingying argues there were no guns before 1259, while Dang Shoushan believes the Wuwei gun and other [[Western Xia]] era samples point to the appearance of guns by 1220, and Stephen Haw goes even further by stating that guns were developed as early as 1200.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=329}} Sinologist [[Joseph Needham]] and renaissance siege expert Thomas Arnold provide a more conservative estimate of around 1280 for the appearance of the "true" cannon.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=10}}{{sfn|Arnold|2001|p=18}} Whether or not any of these are correct, it seems likely that the gun was born sometime during the 13th century.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=54}}

References to cannons proliferated throughout China in the following centuries. Cannon featured in literary pieces. In 1341 Xian Zhang wrote a poem called ''The Iron Cannon Affair'' describing a cannonball fired from an eruptor which could "pierce the heart or belly when striking a man or horse, and even transfix several persons at once."{{sfn|Norris|2003|p=11}} By the 1350s the cannon was used extensively in Chinese warfare. In 1358 the Ming army failed to take a city due to its garrisons' usage of cannon, however, they themselves would use cannon, in the thousands, later on during the siege of [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]] in 1366.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=66}}<ref name="Korean Broadcasting System">{{cite web |author=Korean Broadcasting System-News department |date=30 April 2005 |title=Science in Korea |url=http://seer.snu.ac.kr/trip/anc-4.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012013159/http://seer.snu.ac.kr/trip/anc-4.html |archive-date=12 October 2020 |access-date=27 July 2006 |work=Countdown Begins for Launch of South Korea's Space Rocket |publisher=Korean Broadcasting System}}</ref>{{sfn|Chase|2003|p=173}}

The [[Mongol invasion of Java]] in 1293 brought gunpowder technology to the [[Nusantara (archipelago)|Nusantara]] archipelago in the form of cannon (Chinese: [[hu dun pao|''Pao'']]).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Lombard|first=Denys|title=Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) Vol. 2|publisher=Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales|year=1990|location=Paris|page=178}}</ref> During the [[Ming dynasty]] cannons were used in riverine warfare at the [[Battle of Lake Poyang]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Battle: a visual journey through 5,000 years of combat|author=R. G. Grant|edition=illustrated|year=2005|publisher=DK Pub.|isbn=978-0-7566-1360-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/battlevisualjour0000gran_e3z7/page/99 99]|url=https://archive.org/details/battlevisualjour0000gran_e3z7/page/99}}</ref> One shipwreck in Shandong had a cannon dated to 1377 and an anchor dated to 1372.{{sfn|Chase|2003|loc="Little is known about their armament, but Chinese ships did carry bronze cannon at this time, as evidenced by the wreck of a small two-masted patrol vessel discovered in Shandong together with its anchor (inscribed 1372) and cannon (inscribed 1377)."}} From the 13th to 15th centuries cannon-armed Chinese ships also travelled throughout Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Chase|2003|loc="Considering that Chinese ships armed with gunpowder weapons, including cannons, visited the region regularly from the 1200s to the 1400s."}} Cannon appeared in [[Đại Việt]] by 1390 at the latest.{{sfn|Tran|2006|p=75}}

The first of the western cannon to be introduced were [[Breech-loading weapon|breech-loaders]] in the early 16th century, which the Chinese began producing themselves by 1523 and improved on by including composite metal construction in their making.{{sfn|Xiaodong|2008|pp=41–61}}

Japan did not acquire cannon until 1510 when a monk brought one back from China, and did not produce any in appreciable numbers.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=430}} During the 1593 [[Siege of Pyongyang (1593)|siege of Pyongyang]], 40,000 Ming troops deployed a variety of cannons against Japanese troops. Despite their defensive advantage and the use of arquebus by Japanese soldiers, the Japanese were at a severe disadvantage due to their lack of cannon. Throughout the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)]], the Ming–Joseon coalition used artillery widely in land and naval battles, including on the [[turtle ship]]s of [[Yi Sun-sin]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryofwa00arch|url-access=registration|title=World History of Warfare|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|access-date=26 May 2008|last=Archer|first=Christon I.|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8032-4423-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryofwa00arch/page/211 211]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.groseducationalmedia.ca/vsc/korea1.html |title=Admiral Yi Sun-shin and Turtle Ships |author=Derrick Grose |access-date=22 September 2011 |work=Virtual stamp Collection |publisher=Grose Educational Media |year=2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121114619/http://www.groseducationalmedia.ca/vsc/korea1.html |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref>

According to [[Ivan Petlin]], the first Russian envoy to Beijing, in September 1619, the city was armed with large cannon with cannonballs weighing more than {{convert|30|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Dmytryshyn|1985|p=90}}

===Western Europe===
{{main|Gunpowder artillery in the Middle Ages}}
[[Image:EarlyCannonDeNobilitatibusSapientiiEtPrudentiisRegumManuscriptWalterdeMilemete1326.jpg|thumb|Earliest picture of a European cannon, "De Nobilitatibus Sapientii Et Prudentiis Regum", [[Walter de Milemete]], 1326]]
[[Image:HandBombardWesternEurope1380.jpg|thumb|Western European handgun, 1380]]
[[File:Siege orleans.jpg|thumb|The first Western image of a battle with cannon: the [[siege of Orléans]] in 1429]]
[[File:Šibenik - topovi.jpg|thumb|Cannon from the 15th century at [[Šibenik]] city walls]]

Outside of China, the earliest texts to mention gunpowder are [[Roger Bacon]]'s {{lang|la|[[Opus Majus]]}} (1267) and {{lang|la|Opus Tertium}} in what has been interpreted as references to [[firecracker]]s. In the early 20th century, a British artillery officer proposed that [[Roger Bacon#Other attributed works|another work tentatively attributed to Bacon]], {{lang|la|Epistola de Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae, et de Nullitate Magiae}}, dated to 1247, contained an encrypted formula for gunpowder hidden in the text. These claims have been disputed by science historians.<ref name="NeedhamLu1987">{{cite book|author1=Joseph Needham|author2=Gwei-Djen Lu|author3=Ling Wang|title=Science and civilisation in China |volume=5 |pages=48–50|year=1987|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-30358-3}}</ref> In any case, the formula itself is not useful for firearms or even firecrackers, burning slowly and producing mostly smoke.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Joseph Needham|author2=Gwei-Djen Lu|author3=Ling Wang|title=Science and civilisation in China |volume=5 |at=Part 7, p. 358|year=1987|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-30358-3}}</ref><ref>Bert S. Hall, "Introduction" p. xxiv in {{cite book|year=1999|edition=Reprinted|author=James Riddick Partington|title=A history of Greek fire and gunpowder|orig-year=1960|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgreekfi00part}}</ref>

There is a record of a gun in Europe dating to 1322 that was discovered in the nineteenth century, but the artifact has since been lost.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=334}} The earliest known European depiction of a gun appeared in 1326 in a manuscript by [[Walter de Milemete]], although not necessarily drawn by him, known as {{lang|la|De Nobilitatibus, sapientii et prudentiis regum}} (''Concerning the Majesty, Wisdom, and Prudence of Kings''), which displays a gun with a large arrow emerging from it and its user lowering a long stick to ignite the gun through the touch hole.{{sfn|Kelly|2004|p=29}}{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=76}} In the same year, another similar illustration showed a darker gun being set off by a group of knights, in another work of de Milemete's, {{lang|la|De secretis secretorum Aristotelis}}.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|pp=76, 335}} On 11 February of that same year, the [[Signoria]] of [[Florence]] appointed two officers to obtain {{lang|it|canones de mettallo}} and ammunition for the town's defense.{{sfn|Crosby|2002|p=120}} In the following year a document from the Turin area recorded a certain amount was paid "for the making of a certain instrument or device made by Friar Marcello for the projection of pellets of lead".{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=76}} A reference from 1331 describes an attack mounted by two Germanic knights on [[Cividale del Friuli]], using man-portable gunpowder weapons of some sort.{{sfn|Kelly|2004|p=29}}{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=76}} The 1320s seem to have been the takeoff point for guns in Europe according to most modern military historians. Scholars suggest that the lack of gunpowder weapons in a well-traveled Venetian's catalogue for a new crusade in 1321 implies that guns were unknown in Europe up until this point, further solidifying the 1320 mark, however more evidence in this area may be forthcoming in the future.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=76}}

The oldest extant cannon in Europe is a small bronze example unearthed in Loshult, [[Scania]] in southern Sweden.<ref>Roger Pauly (2004). ''Firearms: the Life Story of a Technology''. Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0-313-32796-3}} p. 21</ref> It dates from the early-mid 14th century,<ref>Kevin Dockery (2007). ''Stalkers and Shooters: A History of Snipers''. Berkley {{ISBN|0-425-21542-3}}</ref> and is currently in the [[Swedish History Museum]] in Stockholm.

Early cannons in Europe often shot arrows and were known by an assortment of names such as {{lang|fr|[[pot-de-fer]]}}, {{lang|fr|tonnoire}}, ''ribaldis'', and {{lang|gmh<!--guessing: Middle High German-->|büszenpyle}}. The ''ribaldis'', which shot large arrows and simplistic [[grapeshot]], were first mentioned in the [[Wardrobe (government)|English Privy Wardrobe]] accounts during preparations for the [[Battle of Crécy]], between 1345 and 1346.<ref name="Nicolle">{{cite book|last=Nicolle|first=David|year=2000|title=Crécy 1346: Triumph of the Longbow|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-85532-966-9|page=21}}</ref> The Florentine [[Giovanni Villani]] recounts their destructiveness, indicating that by the end of the battle, "the whole plain was covered by men struck down by arrows and cannon balls".<ref name="Nicolle" /> Similar cannon were also used at the [[siege of Calais (1346–47)]], although it was not until the 1380s that the ''ribaudekin'' clearly became mounted on wheels.<ref name="Nicolle"/>

The [[Battle of Crecy]] which pitted the English against the French in 1346 featured the early use of cannon which helped the [[longbow]]men repulse a large force of Genoese crossbowmen deployed by the French. The English originally intended to use the cannon against cavalry sent to attack their archers, thinking that the loud noises produced by their cannon would panic the advancing horses along with killing the knights atop them.<ref name=":0">{{Harvnb|Andrade|2016}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2020}}

Early cannons could also be used for more than simply killing men and scaring horses. English cannon were used defensively in 1346 during the [[siege of Breteuil]] to launch fire onto an advancing [[siege tower]]. In this way, cannons could be used to burn down siege equipment before it reached the fortifications. The use of cannons to shoot fire could also be used offensively as another battle involved the setting of a [[castle]] ablaze with similar methods. The particular incendiary used in these projectiles was most likely a gunpowder mixture. This is one area where early Chinese and European cannons share a similarity as both were possibly used to shoot fire.<ref name=":0" />

Another aspect of early European cannons is that they were rather small, dwarfed by the bombards, which would come later. In fact, it is possible that the cannons used at Crécy were capable of being moved rather quickly as there is an anonymous chronicle that notes the guns being used to attack the French camp, indicating that they would have been mobile enough to press the attack. These smaller cannons would eventually give way to larger, wall-breaching guns by the end of the 1300s.<ref name=":0" />

===Islamic world===
[[Image:Great Turkish Bombard at Fort Nelson.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Dardanelles Gun]], a 1464 Ottoman [[Bombard (weapon)|bombard]]]]
[[File:Malik E Maidan.jpg|thumb|Malik E Maidan, a 16th-century cannon, was effectively used by the [[Deccan sultanates]], and was the largest cannon operated during the [[Battle of Talikota]].]]

There is no clear consensus on when the cannon first appeared in the [[Islamic world]], with dates ranging from 1260 to the mid-14th century. The cannon may have appeared in the Islamic world in the late 13th century, with [[Ibn Khaldun]] in the 14th century stating that cannons were used in the [[Maghreb]] region of North Africa in 1274, and other Arabic military treatises in the 14th century referring to the use of cannon by [[Mamluk]] forces in 1260 and 1303, and by Muslim forces at the 1324 siege of [[Huesca]] in Spain. However, some scholars do not accept these early dates. While the date of its first appearance is not entirely clear, the general consensus among most historians is that there is no doubt the Mamluk forces were using cannon by 1342.<ref name="Hammer2017">{{cite book |last1=Hammer |first1=Paul E. J. |title=Warfare in Early Modern Europe 1450–1660 |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1351873765 |page=505 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT505 |access-date=9 September 2019 |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225064933/https://books.google.com/books?id=ugkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT505 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other accounts may have also mentioned the use of cannon in the early 14th century. An Arabic text dating to 1320–1350 describes a type of gunpowder weapon called a {{lang|ar-Latn|midfa}} which uses gunpowder to shoot projectiles out of a tube at the end of a stock.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=43}} Some scholars consider this a hand cannon while others dispute this claim.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=43–44}}{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=582}} The [[Nasrid dynasty|Nasrid]] army besieging [[Elche]] in 1331 made use of "iron pellets shot with fire".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77y2AgAAQBAJ&dq=hasan+al-rammah+fire+lance&pg=PA55 | isbn=9781135459321 | title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia | date=27 January 2014 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref>

According to historian [[Ahmad Y. al-Hassan]], during the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260, the [[Mamluk]]s used cannon against the [[Mongols]]. He claims that this was "the first cannon in history" and used a gunpowder formula almost identical to the ideal composition for explosive gunpowder. He also argues that this was not known in China or Europe until much later.<ref name="Gunpowder Composition">{{cite web|last=al-Hassan |first=Ahmad Y. |author-link=Ahmad Y. al-Hassan |url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%202.htm |title=Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises in Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries |access-date=8 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226105129/http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%202.htm |archive-date=26 February 2008}}</ref><ref name=Hassan>{{cite web|last=al-Hassan |first=Ahmad Y. |author-link=Ahmad Y. al-Hassan |url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2072.htm |title=Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries |access-date=17 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427025528/http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%2072.htm |archive-date=27 April 2007}}</ref> Al-Hassan further claims that the earliest textual evidence of cannon is from the Middle East, based on earlier originals which report hand-held cannons being used by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.<ref name="Gunpowder Composition"/> Such an early date is not accepted by some historians,<ref name="Hammer2017"/> including David Ayalon, Iqtidar Alam Khan, [[Joseph Needham]] and [[Tonio Andrade]]. Khan argues that it was the [[Mongols]] who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Khan |first=Iqtidar Alam |title=Coming of Gunpowder to the Islamic World and North India: Spotlight on the Role of the Mongols |journal=Journal of Asian History |volume=30 |year=1996 |pages=41–45}}.</ref> and believes cannon only reached [[Mamluk Egypt]] in the 1370s.<ref name="khan 6">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Khan|2004|p=3}}.</ref> Needham argued that the term {{lang|ar-Latn|midfa}}, dated to textual sources from 1342 to 1352, did not refer to true hand-guns or bombards, and that contemporary accounts of a metal-barrel cannon in the Islamic world did not occur until 1365.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=44}} Similarly, Andrade dates the textual appearance of cannons in middle eastern sources to the 1360s.{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=75}} Gabor Ágoston and David Ayalon note that the Mamluks had certainly used siege cannons by 1342<ref name="Hammer2017"/> or the 1360s, respectively, but earlier uses of cannons in the [[Islamic World]] are vague with a possible appearance in the [[Emirate of Granada]] by the 1320s and 1330s, though evidence is inconclusive.{{sfn|Ágoston|2005|p=15}}{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=75}}

[[Ibn Khaldun]] reported the use of cannon as [[siege machine]]s by the [[Marinid]] sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf at the siege of [[Sijilmasa]] in 1274.<ref name="Gunpowder Composition"/><ref name="Hammer">{{Cite book|editor-last=Hammer|editor-first=Paul E. J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9ggAQAAIAAJ|title=Warfare in Early Modern Europe 1450-1660|date=2007|page=297|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-2529-2}}</ref> The passage by Ibn Khaldun on the Marinid siege of Sijilmassa in 1274 occurs as follows: "[The Sultan] installed siege engines ... and gunpowder engines ..., which project small balls of iron. These balls are ejected from a chamber ... placed in front of a kindling fire of gunpowder; this happens by a strange property which attributes all actions to the power of the Creator."{{sfn|Andrade|2016|p=334}} The source is not contemporary and was written a century later, around 1382. Its interpretation has been rejected as anachronistic by some historians, who urge caution regarding claims of Islamic firearms use in the 1204–1324 period as late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder, naft, as they did for an earlier incendiary, naphtha.{{sfn|Purton|2010|pp=108–09}}{{sfn|Ágoston|2005|p=15}} Ágoston and Peter Purton note that in the 1204–1324 period, late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder, {{lang|ar-Latn|naft}}, that they used for an earlier incendiary, [[naphtha]].{{sfn|Ágoston|2005|pp=15–16|ps=: "References to early use of firearms in Islamdom (1204, 1248, 1274, 1258–60, 1303 and 1324) must be taken with caution since terminology used for gunpowder and firearms in late medieval Arabic sources is confused. Furthermore, most of these testimonies are given by later chroniclers of the fifteenth century whose use of terminology may have reflected their own time rather than that of the events they were writing about."}} Needham believes Ibn Khaldun was speaking of fire lances rather than hand cannon.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=47}}

The Ottoman Empire made good use of cannon as siege artillery. Sixty-eight super-sized bombards were used by [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] to [[Fall of Constantinople|capture Constantinople]] in 1453. Jim Bradbury argues that Urban, a Hungarian cannon engineer, introduced this cannon from Central Europe to the Ottoman realm;{{sfn|Bradbury|1992|p=293}} according to Paul Hammer, however, it could have been introduced from other Islamic countries which had earlier used cannons.<ref name="Hammer"/> These cannons could fire heavy stone balls a mile, and the sound of their blast could reportedly be heard from a distance of {{convert|10|mi|km|0}}.{{sfn|Bradbury|1992|p=293}} [[Shkodër]]an historian [[Marin Barleti]] discusses Turkish bombards at length in his book ''[[The Siege of Shkodra (book)|De obsidione Scodrensi]]'' (1504), describing the 1478–79 [[siege of Shkodra]] in which eleven bombards and two mortars were employed. The Ottomans also used cannon to control passage of ships through the Bosphorus strait.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal|last=Ágoston|first=Gábor|date=2014|title=Firearms and Military Adaptation: The Ottomans and the European Military Revolution, 1450–1800|journal=Journal of World History|volume=25|issue=1|pages=85–124|doi=10.1353/jwh.2014.0005|s2cid=143042353|issn=1527-8050}}</ref> Ottoman cannons also proved effective at stopping crusaders at Varna in 1444 and Kosovo in 1448 despite the presence of European cannon in the former case.<ref name=":03" />

The similar Dardanelles Guns (for the location) were created by Munir Ali in 1464 and were still in use during the [[Anglo-Turkish War (1807–1809)]].<ref name="Schmidtchen 1977b, 226–228">Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", ''Technikgeschichte'' '''44''' (3): 213–237 (226–228)</ref> These were cast in bronze into two parts: the chase (the barrel) and the breech, which combined weighed 18.4&nbsp;[[tonne]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aXo_125REC&q=dardanelles+gun&pg=PA461|title=War in Human Civilization|year=2006|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York City|last=Gat|first=Azar|isbn=978-0-19-926213-7|page=461|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080030/https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aXo_125REC&q=dardanelles+gun&pg=PA461|url-status=live}}</ref> The two parts were screwed together using levers to facilitate moving it.

Fathullah Shirazi, a [[Persian people|Persian]] inhabitant of India who worked for [[Akbar]] in the [[Mughal Empire]], developed a [[volley gun]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite journal|first=A. K.|last=Bag|year=2005|title=Fathullah Shirazi: Cannon, Multi-barrel Gun and Yarghu|journal=Indian Journal of History of Science|pages=431–436}}</ref>

While there is evidence of cannons in Iran as early as 1405 they were not widespread.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iqtidar Alam|date=1999|title=Nature of Gunpowder Artillery in India during the Sixteenth Century: A Reappraisal of the Impact of European Gunnery|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=9|issue=1|pages=27–34|jstor=25183626|doi=10.1017/S1356186300015911|s2cid=162909942 }}</ref> This changed following the increased use of firearms by Shah Ismail I, and the Iranian army used 500 cannons by the 1620s, probably captured from the Ottomans or acquired by allies in Europe.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Nourbakhsh|first=Mohammad Reza (Farhad)|date=2008|title=Iran's Early Encounter with Three Medieval European Inventions (875–1153 AH/1470–1740 CE)|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=41|issue=4|pages=549–558|jstor=25597489|doi=10.1080/00210860802246242|s2cid=144208564}}</ref> By 1443, Iranians were also making some of their own cannon, as Mir Khawand wrote of a 1200&nbsp;kg metal piece being made by an Iranian {{lang|fa|rikhtegar}} which was most likely a cannon.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iqtidar Alam|date=1995|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=56|pages=435–446|jstor=44158646|title=Firearms in Central Asia and Iran During the Fifteenth Century and the Origins and Nature of Firearms Brought by Babur}}</ref> Due to the difficulties of transporting cannon in mountainous terrain, their use was less common compared to their use in Europe.<ref name=":02" />

===Eastern Europe===
Documentary evidence of cannons in Russia does not appear until 1382 and they were used only in sieges, often by the defenders.<ref name="Nossov">{{cite book|last=Nossov|first=Konstantin|year=2007|title=Medieval Russian Fortresses AD 862–1480|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-84603-093-2|page=52}}</ref> It was not until 1475 when Ivan III established the first Russian cannon foundry in Moscow that they began to produce cannons natively.<ref>{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Alan Hosking|title=Russia and the Russians: A History|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=2001|page=[https://archive.org/details/russiarussianshi00hosk/page/91 91]|isbn=978-0674004733|url=https://archive.org/details/russiarussianshi00hosk|url-access=registration|quote=first cannon foundry was set up in Moscow.|author-link=Geoffrey Alan Hosking}}</ref> The earliest surviving cannon from Russia dates to 1485.{{sfn|Chase|2003|p=78}}

Later on, large cannons were known as bombards, ranging from three to five feet in length and were used by [[Dubrovnik]] and [[Kotor]] in defence during the later 14th century. The first bombards were made of iron, but bronze became more prevalent as it was recognized as more stable and capable of propelling stones weighing as much as {{convert|45|kg}}. Around the same period, the [[Byzantine Empire]] began to accumulate its own cannon to face the [[Ottoman Empire]], starting with medium-sized cannon {{convert|3|ft|m}} long and of 10&nbsp;in calibre.<ref name="Turnbull">{{cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephan|title=The Walls of Constantinople AD 413–1453|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2004|isbn=978-1-84176-759-8|pages=39–41}}</ref> The earliest reliable recorded use of artillery in the region was against the Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1396, forcing the Ottomans to withdraw.<ref name="Turnbull"/> The Ottomans acquired their own cannon and laid siege to the Byzantine capital again in 1422. By 1453, the Ottomans used 68 Hungarian-made cannon for the 55-day bombardment of the [[walls of Constantinople]], "hurling the pieces everywhere and killing those who happened to be nearby".<ref name="Turnbull"/> The largest of their cannons was the Great Turkish Bombard, which required an operating crew of 200 men<ref name="Trivia Library">{{cite book|title=The People's Almanac|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|year=1975|last=Wallechinsky|first=David|author2=Irving Wallace|isbn=978-0-385-04186-7|url=https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac00wall}}</ref> and 70 oxen, and 10,000 men to transport it.<ref name="Turnbull"/> Gunpowder made the formerly devastating [[Greek fire]] obsolete, and with the final fall of Constantinople—which was protected by what were once the strongest walls in Europe—on 29 May 1453, "it was the [[Late Middle Ages|end of an era]] in more ways than one".<ref>Turnbull, p. 43.</ref>

===Southeast Asia===
[[File:Lantakas.jpg|thumb|Collection of Philippine ''lantaka'' in a European museum]]

Cannons were introduced to the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[Majapahit]] Empire when [[Kublai Khan]]'s Mongol-Chinese army under the leadership of Ike Mese [[Mongol invasion of Java|sought to invade Java]] in 1293. ''[[History of Yuan]]'' mentioned that the Mongol used a weapon called [[Hu dun pao|''p'ao'']] against Daha forces.<ref name="Schlegel">Schlegel, Gustaaf (1902). "On the Invention and Use of Fire-Arms and Gunpowder in China, Prior to the Arrival of Europeans". ''T'oung Pao''. 3: 1–11.</ref>{{Rp|1–2}}<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite book|last=Partington|first=J. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&q=java&pg=PA224|title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder|date=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|244–245}}<ref name=":112">Reid, Anthony (1993). ''Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680''. Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.</ref>{{Rp|220}} This weapon is interpreted differently by researchers, it may be a [[trebuchet]] that throws [[Gunpowder weapons in the Song dynasty#Explosives|thunderclap bombs]], firearms, cannons, or rockets. It is possible that the gunpowder weapons carried by the Mongol–Chinese troops amounted to more than one type.<ref name=":10">Averoes, Muhammad (2020). ''Antara Cerita dan Sejarah: Meriam Cetbang Majapahit''. ''Jurnal Sejarah'', 3(2), 89–100.</ref>{{Rp|97}}

[[Thomas Stamford Raffles]] wrote in ''[[The History of Java]]'' that in 1247 [[Saka era|saka]] (1325 AD), cannons were widely used in Java especially by the Majapahit. It is recorded that the small kingdoms in Java that sought the protection of Majapahit had to hand over their cannons to the Majapahit.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Raffles|first=Thomas Stamford|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofjava02raff/page/n115/mode/2up?q=|title=The History of Java|publisher=John Murray, Albemarle Street|year=1830|location=London}}</ref>{{Rp|106}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yusof|first=Hasanuddin|date=September 2019|title=Kedah Cannons Kept in Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat|journal=Jurnal Arkeologi Malaysia|volume=32|pages=59–75}}</ref>{{Rp|61}} Majapahit under ''Mahapatih'' (prime minister) [[Gajah Mada]] (in office 1331–1364) utilized gunpowder technology obtained from [[Yuan dynasty]] for use in naval fleet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pramono|first=Djoko|title=Budaya Bahari|publisher=Gramedia Pustaka Utama|year=2005|isbn=9789792213768}}</ref>{{Rp|57}}

[[File:Bedil kuno atau meriam kuno Jawa cetbang, nomor 2, dengan dudukan.png|thumb|A cannon found from the Brantas river. Made of bronze, with a triangular embossed touch hole. The wooden parts were recently made for display.]]
Mongol-Chinese gunpowder technology of Yuan dynasty resulted in eastern-style cetbang which is similar to Chinese cannon. Swivel guns however, only developed in the archipelago because of the close maritime relations of the Nusantara archipelago with the territory of West India after 1460 AD, which brought new types of gunpowder weapons to the archipelago, likely through Arab intermediaries. This weapon seems to be cannon and gun of Ottoman tradition, for example the [[prangi]], which is a [[breech-loading swivel gun]]. A new type of cetbang, called the western-style cetbang, was derived from the Turkish prangi. Just like prangi, this cetbang is a breech-loading swivel gun made of bronze or iron, firing single rounds or scattershots (a large number of small bullets).<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|94–95}}

Cannons derived from western-style cetbang can be found in Nusantara, among others were [[lantaka]] and lela. Most lantakas were made of bronze and the earliest ones were [[Breechloader|breech-loaded]]. There is a trend toward muzzle-loading weapons during colonial times.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kearifan Tempatan: Pandainya Melayu Dalam Karya Sastera|last=Hamid|first=Rahimah A.|publisher=Penerbit USM|year=2015|isbn=978-9838619332}}</ref> When the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] came to the archipelago, they referred to the breech-loading swivel gun as ''berço'', while the [[Spaniards]] call it {{lang|es|verso}}.<ref name="Reid">{{Cite book |last=Wade |first=Geoff |title=Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=2012 |isbn=978-981-4311-96-0 |location=Singapore}}</ref>{{Rp|151}} A [[Hand cannon|pole gun]] ({{lang|id|[[bedil tombak]]}}) was recorded as being used by Java in 1413.<ref>Mayers (1876). "Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century". ''The China Review''. '''IV''': p. 178.</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Manguin |first=Pierre-Yves |date=1976 |title=L'Artillerie legere nousantarienne: A propos de six canons conserves dans des collections portugaises |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02509117/file/arasi_0004-3958_1976_num_32_1_1103.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Arts Asiatiques |volume=32 |pages=233–268 |doi=10.3406/arasi.1976.1103 |s2cid=191565174 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017043603/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02509117/file/arasi_0004-3958_1976_num_32_1_1103.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2020 |access-date=21 September 2020}}</ref>{{Rp|245}}

Duarte Barbosa c. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannon ({{lang|id|cetbang}} or {{lang|id|rentaka}}), long muskets, {{lang|it|spingarde}} (arquebus), {{lang|it|schioppi}} (hand cannon), [[Greek fire]], guns (cannon), and other fireworks. Every place was considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stanley|first=Henry Edward John|year=1866|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/n7/mode/2up|title=A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa|location=|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|isbn=|pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|198}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Partington|first=J. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&q=java&pg=PA224|title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder|date=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|language=en|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416222917/https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&q=java&pg=PA224|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp|224}} In 1513, the [[Djong (ship)#European age of discovery|Javanese fleet]] led by Pati Unus sailed to attack [[Portuguese Malacca]] "with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in iron, over and above what they have in India".<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNsk7tLkMU4C |title=Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=2012 |isbn=978-981-4311-96-0 |editor-last=Wade |editor-first=Geoff |location=Singapore |editor-last2=Tana |editor-first2=Li}}</ref>{{Rp|162}}<ref name=":222">{{Cite book |last=Crawfurd |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/adescriptivedic00crawgoog/page/n8/mode/2up?q= |title=A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries |publisher=Bradbury and Evans |year=1856}}</ref>{{Rp|23}} By early 16th century, the Javanese already locally-producing large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180- and 260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3 and 8 tons, length of them between {{cvt|3|and|6|m}}.<ref>''Modern Asian Studies''. Vol. 22, No. 3, Special Issue: Asian Studies in Honour of Professor Charles Boxer (1988), pp. 607–628.</ref>

Cannons were used by the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in 1352 during its invasion of the [[Khmer Empire]].{{sfn|Purton|2010|p=201}} Within a decade large quantities of gunpowder could be found in the [[Khmer Empire]].{{sfn|Purton|2010|p=201}} By the end of the 14th century firearms were also used by the [[Trần dynasty]].{{sfn|Tran|2006|p=75}}

Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation.<ref name=":13">{{cite book |last1=Raffles |first1=Thomas Stamford |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofjavavol0000raff/page/180/mode/2up?q=powder |title=A History of Java Volume 1 |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-19-580347-1 |edition=[Repr.]. |location=Cambridge |orig-date=1817}}</ref>{{Rp|180–181}} Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial Dutch occupiers.<ref name="Dipanegara, P. B. R 1981">Dipanegara, P. B. R. Carey, ''Babad Dipanagara: an account of the outbreak of the Java war, 1825–30: the Surakarta court version of the Babad Dipanagara with translations into English and Indonesian'' volume 9: Council of the M.B.R.A.S. by Art Printing Works: 1981.</ref> According to colonel McKenzie quoted in Sir [[Thomas Stamford Raffles]]' ''[[The History of Java (1817 book)|The History of Java]]'' (1817), the purest sulfur was supplied from [[Ijen|a crater from a mountain]] near the straits of [[Bali]].<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|180–181}}

===Africa===
In Africa, the [[Adal Sultanate]] and the [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinian Empire]] both deployed cannons during the [[Ethiopian-Adal War|Adal-Abyssinian War]]. Imported from [[Arabia]], and the wider Islamic world, the Adalites led by [[Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi]] were the first African power to introduce cannon warfare to the African continent.<ref>Tools of War: History of Weapons in Early Modern Times by Syed Ramsey – Somalia chapter, Early Modern Warfare.</ref> Later on as the [[Portuguese Empire]] entered the war it would supply and train the Abyssinians with cannons, while the [[Ottoman Empire]] sent soldiers and cannon to back Adal. The conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of [[firearms]] such as the [[matchlock]] [[musket]], cannon, and the [[arquebus]] over traditional weapons.<ref>Cambridge illustrated atlas, ''Warfare: Renaissance to Revolution, 1492–1792'', by Jeremy Black p. 9</ref>

=== Offensive and defensive use ===
While previous smaller guns could burn down structures with fire, larger and more powerful cannons forced engineers to develop stronger castle walls from enemy attacks.<ref name=":0" /> Cannons were used for other purposes, as fortifications began using cannons as defensive instruments. In India, the fort of Raicher had gun ports built into its walls to accommodate the use of defensive cannons.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eaton|first1=Richard M.|last2=Wagoner|first2=Philip B.|date=2014|title=Warfare on the Deccan Plateau, 1450–1600: A Military Revolution in Early Modern India?|journal=Journal of World History|volume=25|issue=1|pages=5–50|doi=10.1353/jwh.2014.0004|s2cid=162260578|issn=1527-8050}}</ref> In ''[[The Art of War (Machiavelli)|The Art of War]]'', Niccolò Machiavelli opined that field artillery forced an army to take up a defensive posture and opposed a more ideal offensive stance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cassidy|first=Ben|date=2003|title=Machiavelli and the Ideology of the Offensive: Gunpowder Weapons in The Art of War|journal=The Journal of Military History|volume=67|issue=2|pages=381–404|doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0106|s2cid=159716602|issn=1543-7795}}</ref> Machiavelli's concerns can be seen in the criticisms of Portuguese mortars being used in India during the sixteenth century as lack of mobility was one of the key problems with the design.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iqtidar Alam|date=2005|title=Gunpowder and Empire: Indian Case|journal=Social Scientist|volume=33|issue=3/4|pages=54–65|jstor=3518112}}</ref> In Russia the early cannons were again placed in forts as a defensive tool.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paul|first=Michael C.|date=2004|title=The Military Revolution in Russia, 1550–1682|journal=The Journal of Military History|volume=68|issue=1|pages=9–45|doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0401|s2cid=159954818|issn=1543-7795}}</ref> Cannons were also difficult to move around in mountainous regions; offensives conducted with such weapons would often be unsuccessful in areas such as Iran.<ref name=":02" />

== Modern history ==

=== Early modern ===
[[Image:16th Century Artillerie.jpg|thumb|right|Various 16th-century artillery pieces, including [[culverin]], [[Falconet (cannon)|falconet]] and [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]]]]

By the 16th century, cannons were made in a great variety of lengths and bore diameters, but the general rule was that the longer the barrel, the longer the range. Some cannons made during this time had barrels exceeding {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} in length, and could weigh up to {{convert|20000|lb|kg}}. Consequently, large amounts of gunpowder were needed to allow them to fire stone balls several hundred yards.<ref>{{cite book|last=Krebs|first=Robert E.|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|title=Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance|isbn=978-0-313-32433-8|page=270|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTXdplfiz-cC|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=29 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529131821/http://books.google.com/books?id=MTXdplfiz-cC|url-status=live}}</ref> By mid-century, European monarchs began to classify cannons to reduce the confusion. [[Henry II of France]] opted for six sizes of cannon,<ref>The six sizes are, in order from largest to smallest: the cannon, great culverin, bastard culverin, "legitimate" culverin, falcon, and falconet.</ref> but others settled for more; the Spanish used twelve sizes, and the English sixteen. They are, from largest to smallest: the cannon royal, cannon, cannon serpentine, bastard cannon, demicannon, pedrero, culverin, basilisk, demiculverin, bastard culverin, saker, minion, falcon, falconet, serpentine, and rabinet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/source/is3/is3c.htm|title=NPS Interpretive Series: Artillery Through the Ages|website=National Park Service|access-date=5 October 2021|archive-date=5 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005211228/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/source/is3/is3c.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Tunis">{{cite book|last=Tunis|first=Edwin|title=Weapons: A Pictorial History|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|location=[[Baltimore]], Maryland|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8018-6229-8|page=89|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCnyIzibmywC|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080021/https://books.google.com/books?id=sCnyIzibmywC|url-status=live}}</ref> Better powder had been developed by this time as well. Instead of the finely ground powder used by the first bombards, powder was replaced by a "corned" variety of coarse grains. This coarse powder had pockets of air between grains, allowing fire to travel through and ignite the entire charge quickly and uniformly.<ref>Tunis, p. 88.</ref>

The end of the Middle Ages saw the construction of larger, more powerful cannon, as well as their spread throughout the world. As they were not effective at breaching the newer fortifications resulting from the development of cannon, [[siege engine]]s—such as [[siege tower]]s and [[trebuchet]]s—became less widely used. However, wooden "battery-towers" took on a similar role as siege towers in the gunpowder age—such as that used at [[Siege of Kazan]] in 1552, which could hold ten large-calibre cannon, in addition to 50 lighter pieces.<ref name="Kazan">{{cite book|last=Nossov|first=Konstantin|pages=53–55|title=Russian Fortresses, 1480–1682|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84176-916-5}}</ref> Another notable effect of cannon on warfare during this period was the change in conventional fortifications. [[Niccolò Machiavelli]] wrote, "There is no wall, whatever its thickness that artillery will not destroy in only a few days."<ref name="The Art of War (Machiavelli)"/> Although castles were not immediately made obsolete by cannon, their use and importance on the battlefield rapidly declined.<ref name="Castles">{{cite book|last=Wilkinson|first=Philip|title=Castles|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|date=1997|isbn=978-0-7894-2047-3|page=81}}</ref> Instead of majestic [[tower]]s and [[merlon]]s, the walls of new fortresses were thick, angled, and sloped, while towers became low and stout; increasing use was also made of earth and brick in [[Breastwork (fortification)|breastworks]] and [[redoubt]]s. These new defences became known as [[bastion fort]]s, after their characteristic shape which attempted to force any advance towards it directly into the firing line of the guns.<ref name="Castles"/> A few of these featured [[Artillery battery|cannon batteries]], such as the [[House of Tudor]]'s [[Device Forts]] in England.<ref name="Castles"/> Bastion forts soon replaced castles in Europe and, eventually, those in the Americas as well.<ref name="SpanishMain">{{cite book|last=Chartrand|first=René|title=Spanish Main: 1492–1800|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-84603-005-5|year=2006}}</ref>

By the end of the 15th century, several technological advancements made cannons more mobile. Wheeled gun carriages and [[trunnion]]s became common, and the invention of the [[Limbers and caissons|limber]] further facilitated transportation.<ref name="Manucy, p. 5">Manucy, p. 5.</ref> As a result, field artillery became more viable and began to see more widespread use, often alongside the larger cannons intended for sieges.<ref name="Manucy, p. 5"/><ref name="Sadler">{{cite book |title=Flodden 1513: Scotland's Greatest Defeat |last=Sadler |first=John |isbn=978-1-84176-959-2 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |year=2006 |pages=22–23}}</ref> Better gunpowder, cast-iron projectiles (replacing stone), and the standardisation of calibres meant that even relatively light cannons could be deadly.<ref name="Manucy, p. 5"/> In ''[[The Art of War (Machiavelli)|The Art of War]]'', Niccolò Machiavelli observed that "It is true that the [[arquebus]]es and the small artillery do much more harm than the heavy artillery."<ref name="The Art of War (Machiavelli)">{{cite book|first=Niccolò|last=Machiavelli|title=The Art of War|isbn=978-0-226-50046-1|page=74|year=2005|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago}}</ref> This was the case at the [[Battle of Flodden]], in 1513: the English [[field gun]]s outfired the Scottish siege artillery, firing two or three times as many rounds.<ref>Sadler, p. 60.</ref> Despite the increased maneuverability, however, cannon were still the slowest component of the army: a heavy [[English cannon]] required 23 horses to transport, while a culverin needed nine. Even with this many animals pulling, they still moved at a walking pace. Due to their relatively slow speed, lack of organisation, and undeveloped tactics, the combination of [[pike and shot]] still dominated the battlefields of Europe.<ref>Manucy, p. 6.</ref>

Innovations continued, notably the German invention of the [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]], a thick-walled, short-barrelled gun that blasted shot upward at a steep angle. Mortars were useful for sieges, as they could hit targets behind walls or other defences.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9053839/mortar|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Mortar|access-date=13 March 2008|archive-date=26 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226081438/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9053839/mortar|url-status=live}}</ref> This cannon found more use with the Dutch, who learnt to shoot bombs filled with powder from them. Setting the bomb fuse was a problem. "Single firing" was first used to ignite the fuse, where the bomb was placed with the fuse down against the cannon's propellant. This often resulted in the fuse being blown into the bomb, causing it to blow up as it left the mortar. Because of this, "double firing" was tried where the gunner lit the fuse and then the touch hole. This required considerable skill and timing, and was especially dangerous if the gun misfired, leaving a lighted bomb in the barrel. Not until 1650 was it accidentally discovered that double-lighting was superfluous as the heat of firing would light the fuse.<ref>Tunis, p. 90.</ref>

[[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]] emphasised the use of light cannon and mobility in his army, and created new formations and tactics that revolutionised artillery. He discontinued using all 12 pounder—or heavier—cannon as field artillery, preferring, instead, to use cannons that could be handled by only a few men. One obsolete type of gun, the "[[Leather cannon|leatheren]]", was replaced by 4 pounder and 9 pounder demi-culverins. These could be operated by three men, and pulled by only two horses. Gustavus Adolphus's army was also the first to use a cartridge that contained both powder and shot which sped up reloading, increasing the rate of fire.<ref>Manucy, pp. 7–8.</ref> Finally, against infantry he pioneered the use of [[canister shot]]—essentially a tin can filled with musket balls.<ref>Tunis, p. 96.</ref> Until then there was no more than one cannon for every thousand infantrymen on the battlefield but Gustavus Adolphus increased the number of cannons sixfold. Each regiment was assigned two pieces, though he often arranged them into batteries instead of distributing them piecemeal. He used these batteries to break his opponent's infantry line, while his cavalry would [[flanking maneuver|outflank]] their heavy guns.<ref>Manucy, p. 8.</ref>

At the [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|Battle of Breitenfeld]], in 1631, Adolphus proved the effectiveness of the changes made to his army, by defeating [[Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly]]. Although severely outnumbered, the Swedes were able to fire between three and five times as many volleys of artillery, and their infantry's [[line (formation)|linear]] formations helped ensure they did not lose any ground. Battered by cannon fire, and low on morale, Tilly's men broke ranks and fled.<ref>{{cite book|first=Archer|last=Jones|title=The Art of War in the Western World|location=New York City|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|year=2001|isbn=978-0-252-06966-6|page=235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2FRzcz2W0oC|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103163623/https://books.google.com/books?id=z2FRzcz2W0oC|url-status=live}}</ref>

In England, cannons were being used to besiege various fortified buildings during the [[English Civil War]]. [[Nathaniel Nye]] is recorded as testing a [[Birmingham]] cannon in 1643 and experimenting with a [[Saker (cannon)|saker]] in 1645.<ref name="Porter 2008">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Porter|2008}}</ref> From 1645 he was the master gunner to the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] garrison at [[Evesham]] and in 1646 he successfully directed the artillery at the [[Siege of Worcester (1646)|Siege of Worcester]], detailing his experiences and in his 1647 book ''The Art of Gunnery''.<ref name="Porter 2008"/> Believing that war was as much a science as an art,<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Donagan|2008|loc=fig 8}}</ref> his explanations focused on [[triangulation]], [[arithmetic]], theoretical mathematics,<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Donagan|2008|p=84}}</ref> and [[cartography]]<ref name="Porter 2008"/> as well as practical considerations such as the ideal specification for gunpowder or [[slow match]]es.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Donagan|2008|p=85}}</ref> His book acknowledged mathematicians such as [[Robert Recorde]] and [[Marcus Jordanus]] as well as earlier military writers on artillery such as [[Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia]] and Thomas (or Francis<ref name="Hodgkin">{{cite book|last=Hodgkin|first=John|title=Rarioria |volume=III: 'Books on Fireworks'|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAQDAAAAYAAJ|year=1902|page=15|publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Limited|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080048/https://books.google.com/books?id=pAQDAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>) Malthus (author of ''A Treatise on Artificial Fire-Works''<ref name="Malthus">{{cite book|last=Malthus|title=A Treatise on Artificial Fire-Works|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo;idno=A06780.0001.001|year=1629|publisher=W. Jones for Richard Hawkins|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221213953/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo;idno=A06780.0001.001|url-status=live}}</ref>).<ref name="Porter 2008"/>

Around this time also came the idea of aiming the cannon to hit a target. Gunners controlled the range of their cannons by measuring the angle of elevation, using a "gunner's quadrant". Cannons did not have [[Sight (device)|sights]]; therefore, even with measuring tools, aiming was still largely guesswork.<ref>Tunis, p. 97.</ref>

In the latter half of the 17th century, the French engineer [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban]] introduced a more systematic and scientific approach to attacking gunpowder fortresses, in a time when many field commanders "were notorious dunces in siegecraft".<ref name="Griffith">{{cite book|last=Griffith|first=Paddy|title=The Vauban Fortifications of France|year=2006|page=5|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-84176-875-5}}</ref> Careful [[sapping]] forward, supported by [[Enfilade and defilade|enfilading]] [[ricochet]]s, was a key feature of this system, and it even allowed Vauban to calculate the length of time a siege would take.<ref name="Griffith"/> He was also a prolific builder of bastion forts, and did much to popularize the idea of "depth in defence" in the face of cannon.<ref>Griffith, p. 29</ref> These principles were followed into the mid-19th century, when changes in armaments necessitated greater depth defence than Vauban had provided for. It was only in the years prior to [[World War I]] that new works began to break radically away from his designs.<ref>Griffith, pp. 56–57.</ref>

<gallery>
Image:TheTsarCannonJuly2004.jpg | The [[Tsar Cannon]], the largest [[howitzer]] ever made, cast by [[Andrey Chokhov]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Guinness Rekordbok|year=1996|isbn=978-91-37-10723-3|page=204|language=sv|author=översättning och bearbetning: Folke Günther&nbsp;... |publisher=Forum|location=Stockholm}}</ref>
Image:Youghal Battery.JPG | Remains of a post-medieval [[artillery battery|cannon battery]], mounted on a medieval [[Defensive wall|town wall]], although without carriages.
File:Fotothek df tg 0000132 Ballistik ^ Quadrant ^ Kanone.jpg | Contemporary illustration on how a cannon could be used with the aid of [[Quadrant (instrument)|quadrants]] for improved precision.
File:Sixteenth Century Cannon2.jpg | The use of [[gabion]]s with cannon was an important part in the attack and defence of fortifications.
Image:Fortbourtange.jpg | [[Fort Bourtange]], a [[bastion fort]], was built with angles and sloped walls specifically to defend against cannon.
</gallery>

=== 18th and 19th centuries ===
{{see also|Naval artillery in the Age of Sail|Field artillery in the American Civil War|Siege artillery in the American Civil War}}
[[Image:Antoine Morel-Fatio pl10.jpg|thumb|[[36-pounder long gun]] at the ready]]

The lower tier of 17th-century English [[ship of the line|ships of the line]] were usually equipped with demi-cannons, guns that fired a {{convert|32|lb|kg|adj=mid}} solid shot, and could weigh up to {{convert|3400|lb|kg}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stone|first=George Cameron| author-link = George Cameron Stone| title=A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times|year=1999|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-40726-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5PgapzD6FoC|page=162}}</ref> Demi-cannons were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force that they could penetrate more than a metre of solid oak, from a distance of {{convert|90|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and could dismast even the largest ships at close range.<ref>{{cite book|first=Byron|last=Heath|title=Discovering the Great South Land|year=2005|publisher=Rosenberg Publishing|location=[[Kenthurst, New South Wales|Kenthurst]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC&q=demi-cannon+solid+oak&pg=PA127|page=127|isbn=978-1-877058-31-8|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080040/https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC&q=demi-cannon+solid+oak&pg=PA127|url-status=live}}</ref> Full cannon fired a {{convert|42|lb|adj=mid}} shot, but were discontinued by the 18th century, as they were too unwieldy. By the end of the 18th century, principles long adopted in Europe specified the characteristics of the [[Royal Navy]]'s cannon, as well as the acceptable defects, and their severity. The [[United States Navy]] tested guns by measuring them, firing them two or three times—termed "proof by powder"—and using [[hydrostatic test|pressurized water to detect leaks]].<ref name="NavyBarbaryI">{{cite book|last=Knox|first=Dudley W.|title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Volume I|year=1939|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]}}</ref>

The [[carronade]] was adopted by the Royal Navy in 1779; the lower muzzle velocity of the round shot when fired from this cannon was intended to create more wooden splinters when hitting the structure of an enemy vessel, as they were believed to be more deadly than the ball by itself.<ref name="Carronade">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC|title=Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston|year= 1996|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|location=Charleston|last= Manigault|first=Edward|author2=Warren Ripley|page=83|isbn=978-1-57003-127-4|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080034/https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC|url-status=live}}</ref> The carronade was much shorter, and weighed between a third to a quarter of the equivalent [[Naval long gun|long gun]]; for example, a 32-pounder carronade weighed less than a [[ton]], compared with a 32-pounder long gun, which weighed over {{convert|3|t|abbr=on}}. The guns were, therefore, easier to handle, and also required less than half as much gunpowder, allowing fewer men to crew them.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm|title=The Historical Maritime Society|access-date=26 May 2008 |publisher=The Historical Maritime Society|year= 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516191537/http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=16 May 2008}}</ref> Carronades were manufactured in the usual [[naval artillery|naval gun]] [[Caliber|calibre]]s,<ref>Twelve-, 18-, 24-, 32-, and 42-[[pound (mass)#Imperial Standard Pound|pounders]], but 6-pounder and 68-pounder versions are known.</ref> but were not counted in a ship of the line's rated number of guns. As a result, the classification of Royal Navy vessels in this period can be misleading, as they often carried more cannons than were listed.

[[Image:William Simpson, A Hot Night in the Batteries.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration by [[William Simpson (Scottish artist)|William Simpson]] shows action in a British artillery battery during the [[Crimean War]] with cannon firing and being loaded and men bringing in supplies.]]

Cannons were crucial in [[Napoleon]]'s rise to power, and continued to play an important role in his army in later years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC|page=12|title=The Age of Napoleon|last=Conner|first=Susan P.|year=2004|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-313-32014-9|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510172903/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[French Revolution]], the unpopularity of the [[French Directory|Directory]] led to riots and rebellions. When over 25,000 royalists led by General Danican assaulted Paris, [[Paul Barras]] was appointed to defend the capital; outnumbered five to one and disorganised, the Republicans were desperate.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC|title=The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte|last=Asprey|first=Robert B.|year=2000|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|isbn=978-0-465-04881-6|page=111|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126091315/https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC|url-status=live}}</ref> When Napoleon arrived, he reorganised the defences but realised that without cannons the city could not be held. He ordered [[Joachim Murat]] to bring the guns from the Sablons artillery park; the Major and his cavalry fought their way to the recently captured cannons, and brought them back to Napoleon. When Danican's poorly trained men attacked, on [[13 Vendémiaire]] 1795 (5 October in the [[Vendémiaire|calendar used in France]] at the time), Napoleon ordered his cannon to fire grapeshot into the mob,<ref name="Asprey, pp. 112–113.">Asprey, pp. 112–113.</ref> an act that became known as the "[[13 Vendémiaire#A whiff of grapeshot|whiff of grapeshot]]".<ref>Conner, p. 13.</ref> The slaughter effectively ended the threat to the new government, while, at the same time, making Bonaparte a famous—and popular—public figure.<ref name="Asprey, pp. 112–113."/><ref>Conner, pp. 12–13.</ref> Among the first generals to recognise that artillery was not being used to its full potential, Napoleon often massed his cannon into batteries and introduced several changes into the French artillery, improving it significantly and making it among the finest in Europe.<ref name="Baynes, p. 669.">Baynes, p. 669.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Waterloo Campaign: June 1815|page=123|access-date=26 May 2008|last=Nofi|first=Albert A.|author-link=Albert Nofi|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=978-0-938289-98-2|year=1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPFtsn-nRTwC}}</ref> Such tactics were successfully used by the French, for example, at the [[Battle of Friedland]], when 66 guns fired a total of 3,000 [[roundshot]] and 500 rounds of grapeshot,<ref name="Baynes, p. 669."/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Pictorial History of England During the Reign of George the Third: Being a History of the People, as well as a History of the Kingdom, volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ|last=Craik|first=George L.|author-link=George Lillie Craik|year=1884|location=London|publisher=[[Charles Knight (publisher)|Charles Knight]]|author2=Charles MacFarlane|page=295|access-date=26 May 2008|author2-link=Charles MacFarlane|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080029/https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> inflicting severe casualties to the Russian forces, whose losses numbered over 20,000 killed and wounded, in total.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David G.|title=The Campaigns of Napoleon|location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=1995|isbn=978-0-02-523660-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/campaignsofnapol00chan/page/582 582]|url=https://archive.org/details/campaignsofnapol00chan/page/582}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Waterloo]]—Napoleon's final battle—the French army had many more artillery pieces than either the [[British Empire|British]] or [[Prussia]]ns. As the battlefield was muddy, [[recoil]] caused cannons to bury themselves into the ground after firing, resulting in slow rates of fire, as more effort was required to move them back into an adequate firing position;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4tTYCLqjwj8C|title=The Waterloo Companion|last=Adkin|first=Mark|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2002|access-date=26 May 2008|page=283|isbn=978-0-8117-1854-7}}</ref> also, roundshot did not [[ricochet]] with as much force from the wet earth.<ref>{{cite book|title=Napoleon's Artillery|page=32|last=Wilkinson-Latham|first=Robert|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=1975|location=France|isbn=978-0-85045-247-1}}</ref> Despite the drawbacks, sustained artillery fire proved deadly during the engagement, especially during the [[Battle of Waterloo#The French cavalry attack|French cavalry attack]].<ref>Wilkinson-Latham, p. 36.</ref> The British infantry, having formed [[infantry square]]s, took heavy losses from the French guns, while their own cannons fired at the [[cuirassier]]s and [[lancer]]s, when they fell back to regroup. Eventually, the French ceased their assault, after taking heavy losses from the British cannon and musket fire.<ref>Nofi, pp. 115–116.</ref>

In the 1810s and 1820s, greater emphasis was placed on the accuracy of long-range gunfire, and less on the weight of a broadside. Around 1822, [[George Marshall (gunner)|George Marshall]] wrote ''Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery''. The book was used by cannon operators in the United States Navy throughout the 19th century. It listed all the types of cannons and instructions.<ref>{{cite book |last= Marshall |first= George |author-link=  |date= 1822 |title= Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lHcNBLcgVSQC&q=Marshall%27s+Practical+Marine+Gunnery |location= Norfolk, Virginia |publisher= C. Hall |page= 1 |isbn=  |access-date= 4 April 2021 |archive-date= 20 October 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080026/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marshall_s_Practical_Marine_Gunnery/lHcNBLcgVSQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Marshall%27s+Practical+Marine+Gunnery&printsec=frontcover |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[Image:ChancellorsvilleBattlefieldModern.jpg|thumb|A 3-inch [[Parrott rifle]] from the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]]]]

The carronade, although initially very successful and widely adopted, disappeared from the Royal Navy in the 1850s after the development of wrought-iron-jacketed steel cannon by [[William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong|William Armstrong]] and [[Joseph Whitworth]]. Nevertheless, carronades were used in the American Civil War.<ref name="Carronade"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm|title=Carronade|access-date=6 March 2008|publisher=The Historical Maritime Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102235759/http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=2 January 2008}}</ref>

Western cannons during the 19th century became larger, more destructive, more accurate, and could fire at longer range. One example is the American {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=mid}} 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 {{convert|1.1|mi|km|abbr=on}}. Another is the smoothbore [[Canon obusier de 12|12-pounder Napoleon]], which originated in France in 1853 and was widely used by both sides in the American Civil War. This cannon was renowned for its sturdiness, reliability, firepower, flexibility, relatively lightweight, and range of {{convert|1700|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hazlett|first=James C.|author2=Edwin Olmstead |author3=M. Hume Parks |title=Field Artillery Weapons of the American Civil War|edition=5th|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|location=[[Champaign, Illinois]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-252-07210-9|pages=88–108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=twcQGSi1F7QC}}</ref>

[[File:Sagahan Armstrong gun used at the Battle of Ueno against the Shogitai 1868.jpg|thumb|Armstrong gun deployed by Japan during the [[Boshin war]] (1868–69).]]
[[File:De Bange 90 mm Mikkeli.JPG|thumb|The 1870s [[de Bange 90 mm cannon]] on the yard of Eastern Finland military office in [[Mikkeli]], [[South Savo]], Finland]]

The practice of [[rifling]]—casting spiralling lines inside the cannon's barrel—was applied to artillery more frequently by 1855, as it gave cannon projectiles [[Gyroscope|gyroscopic]] stability, which improved their accuracy. One of the earliest rifled cannons was the [[breech-loading weapon|breech-loading]] [[Armstrong Gun]]—also invented by William Armstrong—which boasted significantly improved range, accuracy, and power than earlier weapons. The projectile fired from the Armstrong gun could reportedly pierce through a ship's side and explode inside the enemy vessel, causing increased damage and casualties.<ref>{{cite book|title=All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal|access-date=26 May 2008|date=1859|last=Dickens|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ|pages=373|publisher=Charles Dickens|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080025/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The British military adopted the Armstrong gun, and was impressed; [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|the Duke of Cambridge]] even declared that it "could do everything but speak".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|page=59|title=Arms and the State: Sir William Armstrong and the Remaking of British Naval Power, 1854–1914|last=Bastable|first=Marshall J.|year=2004|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-3404-1|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080036/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite being significantly more advanced than its predecessors, the Armstrong gun was rejected soon after its integration, in favour of the muzzle-loading pieces that had been in use before.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ruffell|first=W. L.|title=The Gun – Rifled Ordnance: Whitworth|work=The Gun|url=http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled2.htm|access-date=6 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213152724/http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled2.htm|archive-date=13 February 2008}}</ref> While both types of gun were effective against wooden ships, neither had the capability to pierce the armour of [[ironclad warship|ironclads]]; due to reports of slight problems with the breeches of the Armstrong gun, and their higher cost, the older muzzle-loaders were selected to remain in service instead.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|page=94|title=Arms and the State: Sir William Armstrong and the Remaking of British Naval Power, 1854–1914|last=Bastable|first=Marshall J.|year=2004|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-3404-1|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080031/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|url-status=live}}</ref> Realising that iron was more difficult to pierce with breech-loaded cannons, Armstrong designed rifled muzzle-loading guns,<ref>Bastable, p. 72.</ref> which proved successful; ''[[The Times]]'' reported: "even the fondest believers in the invulnerability of our present ironclads were obliged to confess that against such artillery, at such ranges, their plates and sides were almost as penetrable as wooden ships."<ref>Bastable, p. 73.</ref>

The superior cannon of the Western world brought them tremendous advantages in warfare. For example, in the [[First Opium War]] in China, during the 19th century, British battleships bombarded the coastal areas and fortifications from afar, safe from the reach of the Chinese cannons. Similarly, the shortest war in recorded history, the [[Anglo-Zanzibar War]] of 1896, was brought to a swift conclusion by shelling from British cruisers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Mark C.|title=Guinness Book of World Records |edition=2002|page=112|publisher=[[Bantam Books]]|isbn=978-0-553-58378-6|year=2002}}</ref> The cynical attitude towards recruited infantry in the face of ever more powerful field artillery is the source of the term ''[[cannon fodder]]'', first used by [[François-René de Chateaubriand]], in 1814;<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [[:wikisource:fr:De Buonaparte et des Bourbons|"De Buonaparte et des Bourbons"]] – full text in the French [[Wikisource]].</ref> however, the concept of regarding soldiers as nothing more than "food for powder" was mentioned by [[William Shakespeare]] as early as 1598, in ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shakespeare|first=William|title=Henry IV, Part 1|year=1598}} Act 4, Scene 2, lines 65–67.</ref>

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-35, Vergleich Geschützanzahl 1888-1913.jpg|thumb|Comparison of 1888 and 1913 German cannon]]
Cannons in the 20th and 21st centuries are usually divided into sub-categories and given separate names. Some of the most widely used types of modern cannon are howitzers, mortars, guns, and autocannon, although a few very [[large-calibre artillery|large-calibre cannon]], custom-designed, have also been constructed. [[Nuclear artillery]] was experimented with, but was abandoned as impractical.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nuclear artillery|url=http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/films/film.aspx?ID=1|access-date=26 May 2008|publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507020233/http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/films/film.aspx?ID=1|archive-date=7 May 2008}}</ref> Modern artillery is used in a variety of roles, depending on its type. According to [[NATO]], the general role of artillery is to provide fire support, which is defined as "the application of fire, coordinated with the manoeuvre of forces to destroy, neutralize, or suppress the enemy".<ref>{{cite book|title=AAP-6 NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions|year=2007|publisher=[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]|access-date=26 May 2008|url=http://www.nato.int/docu/stanag/aap006/aap-6-2007.pdf|page=113|archive-date=14 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514133410/http://www.nato.int/docu/stanag/aap006/aap-6-2007.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

When referring to cannons, the term ''gun'' is often used incorrectly. In military usage, a gun is a cannon with a high muzzle velocity and a [[indirect fire|flat trajectory]], useful for hitting the sides of targets such as walls,<ref name = "mutuur"/> as opposed to howitzers or mortars, which have lower muzzle velocities, and fire indirectly, lobbing shells up and over obstacles to hit the target from above.<ref>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Howitzer|title=howitzer|access-date=26 May 2008|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster's Dictionary]]|archive-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421200515/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/howitzer|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mortar|title=mortar|access-date=26 May 2008|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster's Dictionary]]|archive-date=4 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904220612/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortar|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:British 39th Siege Battery RGA Somme 1916.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Artillery]] [[howitzer]]s at the [[First day on the Somme|Battle of the Somme]]]]

By the early 20th century, [[infantry weapon]]s had become more powerful, forcing most artillery away from the front lines. Despite the change to [[indirect fire]], cannons proved highly effective during [[World War I]], directly or indirectly causing over 75% of casualties.<ref>Manucy, p. 20.</ref> The onset of [[trench warfare]] after the first few months of World War I greatly increased the demand for howitzers, as they were more suited to hitting targets in trenches. Furthermore, their shells carried more explosives than those of guns, and caused considerably less barrel wear. The German army had the advantage here as they began the war with many more howitzers than the French.<ref>{{cite book|first=Bruce I.|last=Gudmundsson|title=On Artillery|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-275-94047-8|year=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O_-0w2WUDd0C|page=43|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080028/https://books.google.com/books?id=O_-0w2WUDd0C|url-status=live}}</ref> World War I also saw the use of the [[Paris Gun]], the longest-ranged gun ever fired. This {{convert|200|mm|in|0|adj=on|abbr=on}} calibre gun was used by the Germans against Paris and could hit targets more than {{convert|122|km|mi|abbr=on}} away.<ref>Young, p. 113.</ref>

The Second World War sparked new developments in cannon technology. Among them were [[sabot (firearms)|sabot rounds]], hollow-charge projectiles, and [[proximity fuse]]s, all of which increased the effectiveness of cannon against specific targets.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCamley|first=Nicholas J.|title=Disasters Underground|publisher=Pen & Sword Military|year=2004|isbn=978-1-84415-022-9}}</ref> The proximity fuse emerged on the battlefields of Europe in late December 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm |title=Radio Proximity (VT) Fuzes |access-date=26 May 2008 |date=20 March 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209105150/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref> Used to great effect in [[anti-aircraft]] projectiles, proximity fuses were fielded in both the [[European Theater of Operations|European]] and [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific]] Theatres of Operations; they were particularly useful against [[V-1 flying bomb]]s and [[kamikaze]] planes. Although widely used in naval warfare, and in anti-air guns, both the British and Americans feared unexploded proximity fuses would be reverse engineered, leading to them limiting their use in continental battles. During the [[Battle of the Bulge]], however, the fuses became known as the American artillery's "Christmas present" for the German army because of their effectiveness against German personnel in the open, when they frequently dispersed attacks.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|title=Variable Time Fuse Contributed to the Victory of United Nations|year=2007|access-date=5 October 2007|url=http://scienceservice.si.edu/pages/102001.htm|archive-date=13 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013124547/http://scienceservice.si.edu/pages/102001.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Anti-tank gun]]s were also tremendously improved during the war: in 1939, the British used primarily [[Ordnance QF 2 pounder|2 pounder]] and [[Ordnance QF 6 pounder|6 pounder]] guns. By the end of the war, [[Ordnance QF 17 pounder|17 pounders]] had proven much more effective against German tanks, and 32 pounders had entered development.<ref name="Anti-tank guns">{{cite book|title=World War II: A Visual Encyclopedia|last=Keegan|first=John|publisher=Sterling|year=2000|isbn=978-1-85585-878-7|page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avalanchepress.com/BritainsAntiTankGuns.php|title=British Anti-Tank Guns|publisher=[[Avalanche Press]]|last=Rahman|first=Jason|date=November 2007|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=13 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513024413/http://www.avalanchepress.com/BritainsAntiTankGuns.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, German tanks were continuously upgraded with better [[tank gun|main guns]], in addition to other improvements. For example, the [[Panzer III]] was originally designed with a 37&nbsp;mm gun, but was [[mass production|mass-produced]] with a 50&nbsp;mm cannon.<ref name="German Tanks of World War II in Color">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZwQkZr0VrQC|title=German Tanks of World War II in Color|access-date=26 May 2008|year=2000|publisher=Zenith Imprint|page=46|last=Green|first=Michael|author2=Thomas Anderson|author3=Frank Schulz|isbn=978-0-7603-0671-0|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080025/https://books.google.com/books?id=DZwQkZr0VrQC|url-status=live}}</ref> To counter the threat of the Russian [[T-34]]s, another, more powerful 50&nbsp;mm gun was introduced,<ref name="German Tanks of World War II in Color"/> only to give way to a larger 75&nbsp;mm cannon, which was in a fixed mount as the [[Sturmgeschütz III|StuG III]], the most-produced German World War II armoured fighting vehicle of any type.<ref>Green, p. 47.</ref> Despite the improved guns, production of the Panzer III was ended in 1943, as the tank still could not match the T-34, and was replaced by the [[Panzer IV]] and [[Panther tank]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa6HLAhSzBAC|title=Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2000|last=Zetterling|first=Niklas|author2=Anders Frankson|isbn=978-0-7146-5052-4|page=63|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080022/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa6HLAhSzBAC|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1944, the [[8.8 cm KwK 43|8.8&nbsp;cm KwK 43]] and many variations, entered service with the [[Wehrmacht]], and was used as both a tank main gun, and as the [[PaK 43]] anti-tank gun.<ref>{{cite book|title=German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles|last=Bradford|first=George|year=2007|publisher=Stackpole Books|location=[[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania]]|page=3|isbn=978-0-8117-3341-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Mediterranean and Middle East|last=Playfair|first=Ian S. O.|author2=T. P. Gleave|publisher=[[HMSO]]|isbn=978-0-11-630946-4|page=257|year=1987}}</ref> One of the most powerful guns to see service in World War II, it was capable of destroying any [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] tank at very long ranges.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwqhCwNAjSYC|access-date=26 May 2008|title=Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions|last=McCarthy|first=Peter|author2=Mike Syron|year=2003|publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers]]|page=239|isbn=978-0-7867-1264-9|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080029/https://books.google.com/books?id=LwqhCwNAjSYC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-PXQYVjbp6MC|title=Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine|access-date=26 May 2008|page=115|last=Jarymowycz|first=Roman Johann|year=2001|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|isbn=978-1-55587-950-1|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080038/https://books.google.com/books?id=-PXQYVjbp6MC|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Uss iowa bb-61 pr.jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|Iowa|BB-61|6}} firing her {{convert|16|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} guns]]
Despite being designed to fire at trajectories with a steep angle of descent, howitzers can be fired [[direct fire|directly]], as was done by the [[11th Marine Regiment#Korean War|11th Marine Regiment]] at the [[Battle of Chosin Reservoir]], during the [[Korean War]]. Two [[Artillery battery#Modern battery organization|field batteries]] fired directly upon a [[battalion]] of Chinese infantry; the Marines were forced to brace themselves against their howitzers, as they had no time to dig them in. The Chinese infantry took heavy casualties, and were forced to retreat.<ref>{{cite book|last=Russ|first=Martin|year=1999|title=Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea 1950|pages=383–384|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=978-0-14-029259-6}}</ref>

The tendency to create larger calibre cannons during the World Wars has reversed since. The [[United States Army]], for example, sought a lighter, more versatile howitzer, to replace their aging pieces. As it could be towed, the M198 was selected to be the successor to the World War II–era cannons used at the time, and entered service in 1979.<ref name="M198 Info">{{cite web|url=http://tech.military.com/equipment/view/146534/m198-155mm-towed-howitzer.html|title=M198 information|access-date=26 May 2008|publisher=Military.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605002819/http://tech.military.com/equipment/view/146534/m198-155mm-towed-howitzer.html|archive-date=5 June 2008}}</ref> Still in use today, the M198 is, in turn, being slowly replaced by the [[M777 howitzer|M777]] Ultralightweight howitzer, which weighs nearly half as much and can be more easily moved. Although land-based artillery such as the M198 are powerful, long-ranged, and accurate, naval guns have not been neglected, despite being much smaller than in the past, and, in some cases, having been replaced by [[cruise missile]]s.<ref name="Cruise missile">{{cite web|url= http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2001/Mar/Naval_Guns.htm|title=Affordable precision| work = National Defense Magazine|access-date=26 May 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061008233620/http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2001/Mar/Naval_Guns.htm |archive-date = 8 October 2006}}</ref> However, the {{sclass|Zumwalt|destroyer|1}}'s planned armament included the [[Advanced Gun System]] (AGS), a pair of 155&nbsp;mm guns, which fire the [[Long Range Land-Attack Projectile]]. The warhead, which weighed {{convert |24|lb|kg}}, had a [[Circular error probable|circular error of probability]] of {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and was mounted on a rocket, to increase the effective range to {{convert|100|nmi|km|abbr=on}}, further than that of the Paris Gun. The AGS's barrels would be water-cooled, and fire 10 rounds per minute, per gun.  The combined firepower from both turrets would give a ''Zumwalt''-class destroyer the firepower equivalent to 12 conventional M198 howitzers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lacch |first1=Franco |title=Scandalo Zumwalt: cancellata la torretta da 155 millimetri, un singolo proiettile costa 800 mila dollari |url=https://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/scandalo-zumwalt-cancellata-la-torretta-da-155-millimetri-un-singolo-proiettile-costa |website=Difesa Online |access-date=17 September 2023 |language=it |date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203055920/https://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/scandalo-zumwalt-cancellata-la-torretta-da-155-millimetri-un-singolo-proiettile-costa |url-status=dead }}</ref> The reason for the re-integration of cannons as a main armament in United States Navy ships was because satellite-guided munitions fired from a gun would be less expensive than a cruise missile but have a similar guidance capability.<ref name="Cruise missile"/>

====Autocannon====
{{Main|Autocannon}}
[[File:USSVixenMaximMachineGun.1898.ws.jpg|thumb|right|A large bore Maxim on {{USS|Vixen|PY-4|6}} c. 1898]]

Autocannons have an automatic firing mode, similar to that of a machine gun. They have mechanisms to automatically load their ammunition, and therefore have a higher rate of fire than artillery, often approaching, or, in the case of [[rotary cannon|rotary autocannons]], even surpassing the firing rate of a machine gun.<ref name="Autocannon Rate of Fire"/> While there is no minimum bore for autocannons, they are generally larger than machine guns, typically {{convert|20|mm|abbr=on}} or greater since World War II and are usually capable of using explosive ammunition even if it is not always used. Machine guns in contrast are usually too small to use explosive ammunition;<ref name= "dictionary definition">{{Cite dictionary |title=cannon |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon |dictionary=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam Webster |archive-date=20 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920111236/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon |url-status=live |access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref> such ammunition is additionally banned in international conflict for the parties to the [[Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868]].

Most nations use rapid-fire cannon on light vehicles, replacing a more powerful, but heavier, tank gun. A typical autocannon is the [[25 mm caliber|25&nbsp;mm]] "[[M242 Bushmaster|Bushmaster]]" [[chain gun]], mounted on the [[LAV-25]] and [[M2 Bradley]] [[Infantry fighting vehicle|armoured vehicles]]. Autocannons may be capable of a very high rate of fire, but ammunition is heavy and bulky, limiting the amount carried. For this reason, both the 25&nbsp;mm Bushmaster and the 30&nbsp;mm [[RARDEN]] are deliberately designed with relatively low rates of fire. The typical rate of fire for a modern autocannon ranges from 90 to 1,800 rounds per minute. Systems with multiple barrels, such as a rotary autocannon, can have rates of fire of several thousand rounds per minute. The fastest of these is the [[Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23|GSh-6-23]], which has a rate of fire of over 10,000&nbsp;rounds per minute.<ref name="Autocannon Rate of Fire">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Anthony G. |year=2000 |title=Rapid Fire: The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and Their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces |location=Shrewsbury, UK |publisher=Airlife |page=241 |isbn=978-1-84037-435-3 |oclc=50940059}}</ref>

Autocannons are often found in aircraft, where they replaced machine guns and as shipboard anti-aircraft weapons, as they provide greater destructive power than machine guns.<ref name="Aircraft Cannon"/>

====Aircraft use====
{{main|Aircraft artillery}}

The first documented installation of a cannon firing [[explosive shell]]s on an aircraft was on the Voisin Canon in 1911, displayed at the Paris Exposition that year. By World War I, all of the major powers were experimenting with aircraft-mounted cannons; however, their low rate of fire and great size and weight precluded any of them from being anything other than experimental. The most successful (or least unsuccessful) was the SPAD 12 Ca.1 with a single 37&nbsp;mm Puteaux mounted to fire between the cylinder banks and through the propeller boss of the aircraft's Hispano-Suiza 8C. The pilot (by necessity an ace) had to manually reload each round.<ref name="Early Aircraft Armament">{{cite book | last = Woodman | first = Harry | author-link = Harry Woodman | title = Early Aircraft Armament – The Aircraft and the Gun up to 1918 | publisher = [[Arms and Armour Press]] | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-85368-990-4}}</ref>

The first autocannon were developed during World War I as anti-aircraft guns, and one of these, the [[Coventry Ordnance Works]] "[[COW 37 mm gun]]", was installed in an aircraft. However, the war ended before it could be given a field trial, and it never became standard equipment in a production aircraft. Later trials had it fixed at a steep angle upwards in both the [[Vickers Type 161]] and the [[Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter]], an idea that would return later.

During this period autocannons became available and several fighters of the German {{lang|de|[[Luftwaffe]]}} and the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] were fitted with 20&nbsp;mm cannons. They continued to be installed as an adjunct to machine guns rather than as a replacement, as the rate of fire was still too low and the complete installation too heavy. There was a some debate in the RAF as to whether the greater number of possible rounds being fired from a machine gun, or a smaller number of explosive rounds from a cannon was preferable. Improvements during the war in regards to rate of fire allowed the cannon to displace the machine gun almost entirely.<ref name="Aircraft Cannon"/> The cannon was more effective against armour so they were increasingly used during the course of World War II, and newer fighters such as the [[Hawker Tempest]] usually carried two or four instead of the six [[M2 Browning|.50 Browning machine guns]] for US aircraft or eight to twelve [[M1919 Browning machine gun]]s on earlier British aircraft. The [[Hispano-Suiza HS.404]], [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon 20&nbsp;mm cannon]], [[MG FF cannon|MG FF]], and their numerous variants became among the most widely used autocannon in the war. Cannons, as with machine guns, were either fixed to fire forwards (mounted in the wings, in the nose or fuselage, or in a [[pannier]] under either), or mounted in [[gun turret]]s on heavier aircraft. Both the Germans and Japanese mounted cannons to fire upwards and forwards for use against heavy bombers, with the Germans calling guns so-installed {{lang|de|[[Schräge Musik]]}}, derived from a German colloquialism for jazz music—{{lang|de|schräg}} means "off-key".

Preceding the [[Vietnam War]] the high speeds aircraft were attaining and availability of missiles led to a move to omit cannon due to the belief that they would be useless in a [[dogfight]], but combat experience during the Vietnam War showed conclusively that, despite advances in missiles, there was still a need for cannon. Nearly all modern [[fighter aircraft]] are armed with an autocannon, and they are also commonly found on [[ground-attack aircraft]]. One of the most powerful examples is the 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling-type rotary cannon mounted on the [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II]].<ref name="Aircraft Cannon" /><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.442fw.afrc.af.mil/News/story/id/123055695/ |title=GAU-8/A |publisher=442nd Fighter Wing |access-date=26 May 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110719063934/http://www.442fw.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123055695 |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> The [[Lockheed AC-130]] gunship (a converted transport) can carry a 105&nbsp;mm howitzer as well as a variety of autocannons ranging up to 40&nbsp;mm.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.123exp-warfare.com/t/03804237449/|title=Information on the GAU-8/A| work =The Language of Weaponry|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090619223736/http://www.123exp-warfare.com/t/03804237449/ |archive-date=19 June 2009|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Both are used in the [[close air support]] role.

<gallery>
File:Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter.jpg | [[Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter]] with 37&nbsp;mm C.O.W. gun mounted to fire upwards
File:Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI.jpg| [[Supermarine Spitfire]] with 20&nbsp;mm cannon protruding from the leading edge of the wing
File:GSh-23 on MiG-23.jpg | [[GSh-23]] autocannon mounted on the underside of a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23]]
File:GAU-8 in A-10.jpg | The [[GAU-8/A Avenger]] rotary cannon, mounted in a [[Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II]]
</gallery>

== Composition ==
[[file:Cannon-diagram2.svg|thumb|upright|Side elevation of a typical 18th-century cannon]]

Cannons in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding an [[explosive charge]] and a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive charge. As any explosive charge will dissipate in all directions equally, the thickest portion of the cannon is useful for containing and directing this force. The backward motion of the cannon as its projectile leaves the bore is termed its [[recoil]], and the effectiveness of the cannon can be measured in terms of how much this response can be diminished, though obviously diminishing recoil through increasing the overall mass of the cannon means decreased mobility.

Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often of [[bronze]], though later forms were constructed of [[cast iron]] and eventually steel.<ref name=kingsbury>{{Cite book |title=An elementary treatise on artillery and infantry |last=Kingsbury |first=Charles P. |year=1849 |publisher=GP Putnam |place=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9xVAAAAYAAJ&q=windage&pg=PA59 |oclc=761213440 |access-date=7 November 2020 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080058/https://books.google.com/books?id=z9xVAAAAYAAJ&q=windage&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|61}} Bronze has several characteristics that made it preferable as a construction material: although it is relatively expensive, does not always alloy well, and can result in a final product that is "spongy about the bore",<ref name=kingsbury/>{{rp|61}} bronze is more flexible than iron and therefore less prone to bursting when exposed to high pressure; cast-iron cannon are less expensive and more durable generally than bronze and withstand being fired more times without deteriorating. However, cast-iron cannon have a tendency to burst without having shown any previous weakness or wear, and this makes them more dangerous to operate.

The older and more-stable forms of cannon were [[Muzzleloader|muzzle-loading]] as opposed to [[Breech-loading weapon|breech-loading]]—to be used they had to have their ordnance packed down the bore through the muzzle rather than inserted through the breech.

The following terms refer to the components or aspects of a classical western cannon (c. 1850) as illustrated here.<ref name=kingsbury/>{{rp|66}} In what follows, the words ''near'', ''close'', and ''behind'' will refer to those parts towards the thick, closed end of the piece, and ''far'', ''front'', ''in front of'', and ''before'' to the thinner, open end.

=== Negative spaces ===

; Bore: The hollow cylinder bored lengthwise down the centre of the cannon, including the ''base of the bore'' or ''bottom of the bore'', the nearest end of the bore in which the [[Artillery|ordnance]] ([[wadding]], [[Round shot|shot]], etc.) rests just before firing. A cannon's [[Caliber (artillery)|calibre]] is determined by the diameter of its bore.
; Chamber: The cylindrical, conical, or spherical recess at the nearest end of the bottom of the bore into which the [[gunpowder]] is packed.
; Vent: A thin tube on the near end of the cannon connecting the explosive charge inside with an ignition source outside and often filled with a length of [[fuse (explosives)|fuse]]; always located near the ''breech''. Sometimes called the ''fuse hole'' or the ''touch hole''. On the top of the vent on the outside of the cannon is a flat circular space called the ''vent field'' where the charge is lit. If the cannon is bronze, it will often have a ''vent piece'' made of copper screwed into the length of the vent.

=== Solid spaces ===

The main body of a cannon consists of three basic extensions: the foremost and the longest is called the ''chase'', the middle portion is the ''reinforce'', and the closest and briefest portion is the ''[[cascabel (artillery)|cascabel]]'' or ''cascable''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naval History and Heritage Command |date=3 October 2017 |title=Bronze Ordnance Overview |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/artifacts/arms-and-ordnance/bronze-ordnance-overview.html |access-date=4 November 2025 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref>

The chase is simply the entire conical part of the cannon in front of the ''reinforce''. It is the longest portion of the cannon, and includes the following elements:

; Neck: the narrowest part of the chase, always located near the foremost end of the piece.
; [[Muzzle (firearms)|Muzzle]]: the portion of the chase forward of the ''neck''. It includes the following:
* ''Swell of the muzzle'' refers to the slight swell in the diameter of the piece at the very end of the chase. It is often chamfered on the inside to make loading the cannon easier. In some guns, this element is replaced with a wide ring and is called a ''muzzle band''.
* ''Face'' is the flat vertical plane at the foremost edge of the muzzle (and of the entire piece).
* ''Muzzle mouldings'' are the tiered rings which connect the face with the rest of the muzzle, the first of which is called the ''lip'' and the second the ''fillet''
* ''Muzzle [[astragal]] and fillets'' are a series of three narrow rings running around the outside of the chase just behind the neck. Sometimes also collectively called the ''chase ring''.
; Chase astragal and fillets: these are a second series of such rings located at the near end of the chase.
; Chase girdle: this is the brief length of the chase between the chase astragal and fillets and the ''reinforce''.
; Reinforce: This portion of the piece is frequently divided into a ''first reinforce'' and a ''second reinforce'', but in any case is marked as separate from the chase by the presence of a narrow circular ''reinforce ring'' or ''band'' at its foremost end. The span of the reinforce also includes the following:
* ''[[Trunnions]]'' are located at the foremost end of the reinforce just behind the reinforce ring. They consist of two cylinders perpendicular to the bore and below it which are used to mount the cannon on its carriage.
* ''Rimbases'' are short broad rings located at the union of the trunnions and the cannon which provide support to the carriage attachment.
* ''Reinforce band'' is only present if the cannon has two reinforces, and it divides the first reinforce from the second.
* ''Breech'' refers to the mass of solid metal behind the bottom of the bore extending to the ''base of the breech'' and including the ''base ring''; it also generally refers to the end of the cannon opposite the ''muzzle'', i.e., the location where the explosion of the gunpowder begins as opposed to the opening through which the pressurized gas escapes.
* ''Base ring'' forms a ring at the widest part of the entire cannon at the nearest end of the reinforce just before the ''cascabel''.
; Cascabel: This is that portion of the cannon behind the reinforce(s) and behind the ''base ring''. It includes the following:
* ''Knob'' which is the small spherical terminus of the piece;
* ''Neck'', a short, narrow piece of metal holding out the knob; and
* ''Fillet'', the tiered disk connecting the neck of the cascabel to the ''base of the breech''.
* ''Base of the breech'' is the metal disk that forms the most forward part of the cascabel and rests against the breech itself, right next to the ''base ring''.

To pack a muzzle-loading cannon, first gunpowder is poured down the bore. This is followed by a layer of wadding (often nothing more than paper), and then the cannonball itself. A certain amount of [[windage]] (in this case meaning that the bore is designed slightly wider than the cannonball) allows the ball to fit down the bore, though the greater the windage the less efficient the propulsion of the ball when the gunpowder is ignited. To fire the cannon, the fuse located in the vent is lit, quickly burning down to the gunpowder, which then explodes violently, propelling wadding and ball down the bore and out of the muzzle. A small portion of exploding gas also escapes through the vent, but this does not dramatically affect the total force exerted on the ball.

Any large, [[smoothbore]], muzzle-loading gun—used before the advent of [[breech-loading]], [[rifled]] guns—may be referred to as a cannon, though once standardised names were assigned to different-sized cannon, the term specifically referred to a gun designed to fire a {{convert|42|lb|adj=on}} shot, as distinct from a [[demi-cannon]] – {{convert|32|lb}}, [[culverin]] – {{convert|18|lb}}, or [[demi-culverin]] – {{convert|9|lb}}. ''Gun'' in this context specifically refers to a type of cannon that fires projectiles at high speeds, and usually at relatively low angles;<ref name = "mutuur">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gun|title=Definition of "Gun"|access-date=26 May 2008|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster's Dictionary]]|archive-date=4 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404232706/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gun|url-status=live}}</ref> they have been used in warships,<ref>{{cite book|title=Naval Gun|year=1978|publisher=Blandford Press|first=Ian V.|last=Hogg|author2=John H. Batchelor|isbn=978-0-7137-0905-6}}</ref> and as [[field artillery]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopædia Britannica A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, volume 2|last=Baynes|first=Thomas S.|year=1888|page=667|access-date=26 May 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hakMAAAAYAAJ|publisher=H.G. Allen|archive-date=11 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711155545/http://books.google.com/books?id=hakMAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The term ''cannon'' is also used for [[autocannon]], a modern repeating weapon firing explosive projectiles. Cannon have been used extensively in fighter aircraft since [[World War II]].<ref name="Aircraft Cannon">{{cite web|url=http://www.defencenews.com.au/article-archive.cfm?ID=513&currentpage=2&detail=yes&thiscatid=0|title=Aircraft cannon|publisher=Strike Publications|author=Carlo Kopp|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=6 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706103251/http://www.defencenews.com.au/article-archive.cfm?ID=513&currentpage=2&detail=yes&thiscatid=0|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Operation==
{{main|Cannon operation}}
[[Image:Cannoniere 1652.jpg|thumb|The parts of a cannon described in John Roberts' ''The Compleat Cannoniere'', London, 1652]]
[[File:Canon firing mvi 3662.ogg|thumb|Firing of a field gun of the early 17th century with a [[linstock]]]]
In the 1770s, cannon operation worked as follows: each cannon would be manned by two gunners, six soldiers, and four officers of artillery. The right gunner was to prime the piece and load it with powder, and the left gunner would fetch the powder from the magazine and be ready to fire the cannon at the officer's command. On each side of the cannon, three soldiers stood, to ram and sponge the cannon, and hold the ladle. The second soldier on the left was tasked with providing 50 bullets.<ref name="EB1771">{{cite book|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=1771|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]|location=Edinburgh|chapter=Gunnery}}</ref>

Before loading, the cannon would be cleaned with a wet sponge to extinguish any smouldering material from the last shot. Fresh powder could be set off prematurely by lingering ignition sources. The powder was added, followed by wadding of paper or hay, and the ball was placed in and rammed down. After ramming, the cannon would be aimed with the elevation set using a quadrant and a [[plumb-bob|plummet]]. At 45 degrees, the ball had the utmost range: about ten times the gun's level range. Any angle above a horizontal line was called random-shot. Wet sponges were used to cool the pieces every ten or twelve rounds.<ref name="EB1771"/>

[[File:Firing of a 6 pound cannon.jpg|thumb|Firing of a 6-pound cannon]]

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], a British gun team consisted of five gunners to aim it, clean the bore with a damp sponge to quench any remaining embers before a fresh charge was introduced, and another to load the gun with a bag of powder and then the projectile. The fourth gunner pressed his thumb on the vent hole, to prevent a draught that might fan a flame. The charge loaded, the fourth would prick the [[bagged charge]] through the vent hole, and fill the vent with powder. On command, the fifth gunner would fire the piece with a [[slow match]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Holmes|first=Richard|title=Redcoat: the British Soldier in the age of Horse and Musket|year=2002|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|isbn=978-0-393-05211-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5XamBYUu0AC|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080035/https://books.google.com/books?id=p5XamBYUu0AC|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Friction primer]]s replaced slow match ignition by the mid-19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=French |first1=William H. |last2=Barry |first2=William F. |last3=Hunt |first3=H.J. |title =Instruction for Field Artillery |url=https://archive.org/details/instructionforf00huntgoog |publisher =D. Van Nostrand |date =1864 |location =New York |page =[https://archive.org/details/instructionforf00huntgoog/page/n25 5] }}</ref>

When a cannon had to be abandoned such as in a retreat or surrender, the touch hole of the cannon would be plugged flush with an iron spike, disabling the cannon (at least until metal boring tools could be used to remove the plug). This was called "spiking".

A gun was said to be ''honeycombed'' when the surface of the bore had cavities, or holes in it,<ref>Griffiths, ''The Artillerist's Manual'', 53.</ref> caused by corrosion or casting defects.

== Legislation ==

In the United States, muzzleloading cannons made before 1899 (and replicas) that are unable to fire fixed ammunition are considered antiques. They are not subject to the Gun Control Act of 1968 or National Firearms Act of 1934.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/are-muzzleloading-cannons-considered-destructive-devices | title=Are muzzleloading cannons considered destructive devices? &#124; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives }}</ref>  They may be subject to local rules in some jurisdictions, however.

==Deceptive imitations==
{{main|Quaker gun|Military deception}}
Historically, logs or poles have been used as decoys to mislead the enemy as to the strength of an emplacement. The "[[Quaker Gun]] trick" was used by Colonel [[William Washington]]'s [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]]; in 1780, approximately 100 Loyalists surrendered to them, rather than face bombardment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/revwar/revolution_day_by_day/1780_bottom.html|title=December of 1780|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=19 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119124008/http://www.nps.gov/revwar/revolution_day_by_day/1780_bottom.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the American Civil War, Quaker guns were also used by the [[Confederate States Army|Confederates]], to compensate for their shortage of artillery. The decoy cannon were painted black at the "muzzle", and positioned behind fortifications to delay [[Union Army|Union]] attacks on those positions. On occasion, real gun carriages were used to complete the deception.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/terms.htm|title=Definitions of Civil War terms|publisher=civilwarhome.com/|access-date=27 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209173938/http://www.civilwarhome.com/terms.htm|archive-date=9 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

Cannon sounds have sometimes been used in classical pieces with a military theme. One of the best known examples is [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[1812 Overture]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikovsky/1812.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828153345/http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikov/1812.html |archive-date=28 August 2007 |title='1812' Overture in E Flat Major Op. 49 (1880) |last=Lampson |first=Dave |publisher=Classical Net |access-date=26 May 2008}}</ref> The overture is to be performed using an artillery section together with the orchestra, resulting in noise levels high enough that musicians are required to wear [[Earplug|ear protection]].<ref name=july4 /> The cannon fire simulates Russian artillery bombardments of the [[Battle of Borodino]], a critical battle in [[Napoleon's invasion of Russia]], whose defeat the piece celebrates.<ref name=july4 /> When the overture was first performed, the cannon were fired by an electric current triggered by the conductor.<ref>{{cite book|access-date=26 May 2008|title=Tchaikovsky|last=Lee|first=Ernest Markham|year=1906|publisher=G. Bell & sons|location=[[Harvard University]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x60NAAAAYAAJ|page=21|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080029/https://books.google.com/books?id=x60NAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the overture was not recorded with real cannon fire until [[Mercury Records]] and conductor [[Antal Doráti]]'s 1958 recording of the [[Minnesota Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Flynn, Tony |url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Oct07/Dorati_flynn.htm |title=Antal Dorati – Recording Legend – October 2007 |access-date=26 May 2008 |archive-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514074420/http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Oct07/Dorati_flynn.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Cannon fire is also frequently used in presentations of the ''1812'' on American [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]], a tradition started by [[Arthur Fiedler]] of the [[Boston Pops]] in 1974.<ref name=july4>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Druckenbrod |title=How a rousing Russian tune took over our July 4th |url=http://www.postgazette.com/ae/20030704overtureae3.asp |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=4 August 2003 |access-date=26 May 2008 |archive-date=10 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610061727/http://www.postgazette.com/ae/20030704overtureae3.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikov/1812.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828153345/http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikov/1812.html |archive-date=28 August 2007 |title=Classical Net – Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture |access-date=26 May 2008}}</ref>

The [[hard rock]] band [[AC/DC]] used cannon in their song "[[For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)]]",<ref name=acdcsong>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1014039|pure_url=yes}} |title=For Those About to Rock We Salute You |access-date=26 May 2008 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> and in live shows replica Napoleonic cannon and [[pyrotechnics]] were used to perform the piece.<ref name=acdcsong/> A recording of that song has accompanied the firing of an authentic reproduction of a [[M1857 12-pounder Napoleon]] during [[Columbus Blue Jackets]] [[Goal (ice hockey)|goal]] celebrations at [[Nationwide Arena]] since opening night of the [[2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season|2007–08 season]]. The cannon is the focal point of the team's alternate logo on its third jerseys.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barron|first=Jeff|title=Local company in charge of Columbus Blue Jackets cannon|url=https://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/news/local/2015/03/25/columbus-blue-jackets-cannon/70466170/|date=25 March 2015|access-date=19 June 2023|website=Lancaster Eagle-Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=For Those About To Rock... FIRE!|url=https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/loathed-by-opponents-the-cannon-has-come-to-symbolize-columbus-blue-jackets-hockey-at-nationwide-arena/c-287585426|first=Alison|last=Lukan|date=15 March 2017|access-date=19 June 2023|website=NHL.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Columbus Blue Jackets reintroduce third jersey, announce 2018-19 schedule|url=https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-reintroduce-third-jersey/c-300152190|date=17 September 2018|access-date=19 June 2023|website=NHL.com}}</ref>

Cannons have been fired in [[touchdown]] celebrations by several [[American football]] teams including the [[San Diego Chargers]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=31 March 2017|title=Chargers 'Cannon Man' offers sad farewell: 'It's been a great privilege'|url=https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2017/03/31/los-angeles-chargers-cannon-man-offers-sad-farewell-its-been-a-great-privilege/|first=Tanya Ray|last=Fox|access-date=19 June 2023|website=Chargers Wire}}</ref> The [[1962 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] used one only during the 1962 campaign but discontinued it after [[Buddy Dial]] was startled by inadvertently running face-first into the cannon's smoky discharge in a 42–27 loss to the [[1962 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=#10 What's an Ingot – Top 10 Most Embarrassing NFL Moments|url=https://www.abstractsports.com/blog/posts/2019/august/10-whats-an-ingot-top-10-most-embarrassing-nfl-moments/|first=Harv|last=Aronson|date=23 August 2019|access-date=19 June 2023|website=Abstract Sports}}</ref>

==Restoration==
Cannon recovered from the sea are often extensively damaged from exposure to salt water; [[Extractive metallurgy|electrolytic reduction treatment]] is required to forestall corrosion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Welss|first=Carmen|title=Rescue Project 'Endeavour Cannon'|publisher=[[Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife]]|url=http://fnpw.com.au/enews4/cannon.htm|access-date=26 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720144457/http://www.fnpw.com.au/enews4/cannon.htm|archive-date=20 July 2008}}</ref> The cannon is then washed in [[Purified water#Deionization|deionized]] water to remove the [[electrolyte]], and is treated in [[tannic acid]], which prevents further [[rust]] and gives the metal a bluish-black colour.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Canadian Conservation Institute|url=http://www.preservation.gc.ca/gallery/cannon_e.asp|title=Preserving My Heritage – Before & After Gallery – Cannon|access-date=26 May 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050329181011/http://www.preservation.gc.ca/gallery/cannon_e.asp| archive-date = 29 March 2005}}</ref><ref name="union"/> Cannon on display may be protected from oxygen and moisture by a [[wax]] sealant. A coat of [[polyurethane]] may also be painted over the wax sealant, to prevent the cannon from attracting dust.<ref name="union">{{cite web|url=http://nautarch.tamu.edu/crl/Report6/union.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050101190851/http://nautarch.tamu.edu/crl/Report6/union.htm|archive-date=1 January 2005|title=Civil War Union Cannon Conservation, CRL Report 5|access-date=26 May 2008}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of artillery]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{1771 Britannica}}
* {{Citation |last=Adle |first=Chahryar |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in Contrast: from the Sixteenth to the Mid-Nineteenth Century |year=2003}}
* {{Citation |last=Adye |first=Ralph Willett |title=Little Bombardier and Pocket Gunner |year=1801}}
* {{Citation |last=Ágoston |first=Gábor |year=2005 |title=Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-60391-1}}
* {{Citation |last=Agrawal |first=Jai Prakash |title=High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics |year=2010 |publisher=Wiley-VCH}}
* {{Citation |last=Andrade |first=Tonio |year=2016 |title=The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13597-7}}.
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nLM1Kolw_vMC | title = World History of Warfare | publisher = [[University of Nebraska Press]] | last = Archer | first = Christon I. | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-8032-4423-8 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080040/https://books.google.com/books?id=nLM1Kolw_vMC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Arnold |first=Thomas |year=2001 |title=The Renaissance at War |publisher=Cassell & Co |isbn=978-0-304-35270-8}}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC | title = The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte | last = Asprey | first = Robert B. | year = 2000 | publisher = [[Basic Books]] | isbn = 978-0-465-04881-6 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 26 January 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126091315/https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC | title = Arms and the State: Sir William Armstrong and the Remaking of British Naval Power, 1854–1914 | last = Bastable | first = Marshall J. | year = 2004 | publisher = Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. | isbn = 978-0-7546-3404-1 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080028/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | title = The Encyclopædia Britannica A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, volume 2 | last = Baynes | first = Thomas S. | year = 1888 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hakMAAAAYAAJ | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 11 July 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120711155545/http://books.google.com/books?id=hakMAAAAYAAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | title = The Medieval Siege | first = Jim | last = Bradbury | year = 1992 | publisher = [[Boydell & Brewer]] | location = [[Rochester, New York]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xVCRpsfwkiUC | isbn = 978-0-85115-312-4 | access-date = 23 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080032/https://books.google.com/books?id=xVCRpsfwkiUC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | title = German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles | last = Bradford | first = George | year = 2007 | publisher = Stackpole Books | location = [[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania]] | isbn = 978-0-8117-3341-0}}
* {{citation | last = Braun | first = Wernher Von | author2 = Frederick Ira Ordway | title = History of Rocketry & Space Travel | publisher = [[Thomas Y. Crowell Co.]] | year = 1967 | isbn = 978-0-690-00588-2 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofrocketr0000vonb }}
* {{Citation |last=Brown |first=G. I. |year=1998 |title=The Big Bang: A History of Explosives |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=978-0-7509-1878-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/bigbanghistoryof00brow }}
* {{citation| editor-last = Buchanan | editor-first = Brenda J. | title = Gunpowder, Explosives and the State: A Technological History | journal = Technology and Culture | volume = 49 | issue = 3 | pages = 785–786 | place=Aldershot | publisher =Ashgate | year =2006 | isbn = 978-0-7546-5259-5| doi = 10.1353/tech.0.0051 | last1 = Bachrach | first1 = David Stewart | s2cid = 111173101 }}
* {{citation | last = Chandler | first = David G. | title = The Campaigns of Napoleon | location = New York City | publisher = [[Simon & Schuster]] | year = 1995 | isbn = 978-0-02-523660-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/campaignsofnapol00chan }}
* {{Citation |last=Chase |first=Kenneth |year=2003 |title=Firearms: A Global History to 1700 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82274-9}}
* {{citation | last = Chartrand | first = René | title = Spanish Main 1492–1800 | publisher = [[Random House]] | date = 29 August 2006 | isbn = 978-1-84603-005-5}}
* {{Citation | last =Cocroft | first =Wayne | year =2000 | title =Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture | place =Swindon | publisher =English Heritage | isbn =978-1-85074-718-5 | url =https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/dangerous-energy/ | access-date =25 September 2017 | archive-date =21 December 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20191221174301/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/dangerous-energy/ | url-status =live }}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC | title = The Age of Napoleon | last = Conner | first = Susan P. | year = 2004 | publisher = [[Greenwood Publishing Group]] | isbn = 978-0-313-32014-9 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 26 November 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171126073249/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation|last=Cook|first=Haruko Taya|year=2000|title=Japan at War: An Oral History|publisher=Phoenix Press}}
* {{Citation |last=Cowley |first=Robert |year=1993 |title=Experience of War |publisher=Laurel}}
* {{citation | title = The Pictorial History of England during the Reign of George the Third: Being a History of the People, as well as a History of the Kingdom, volume 2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ | last = Craik | first = George L. | year = 1884 | location = London | publisher = [[Charles Knight (publisher)|Charles Knight]] | author2 = Charles MacFarlane | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080103/https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Cressy |first=David |year=2013 |title=Saltpeter: The Mother of Gunpowder |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation |last=Crosby |first=Alfred W. |title=Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79158-8}}
* {{Citation |last=Curtis |first=W. S. |title=Long Range Shooting: A Historical Perspective |year=2014 |publisher=WeldenOwen}}
* {{Cite book | title = All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal | date = 22 April 1859 | last = Dickens | first = Charles | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080041/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book|last=Donagan|first=Barbara|year=2008|title=War in England 1642–1649|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-928518-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1MH_dHrpS4sC|access-date=21 September 2020|archive-date=11 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811221937/https://books.google.com/books?id=1MH_dHrpS4sC|url-status=live}}
* {{citation|last=Dmytryshyn|first=Basil|title=Russia's Conquest of Siberia|year=1985|publisher=Western Imprints, The Press of the Oregon Historical Society}}
* {{Citation |last=Earl |first=Brian |year=1978 |title=Cornish Explosives |place=Cornwall |publisher=The [[Trevithick Society]] |isbn=978-0-904040-13-5}}.
* {{Citation |last=Easton |first=S. C. |year=1952 |title=Roger Bacon and His Search for a Universal Science: A Reconsideration of the Life and Work of Roger Bacon in the Light of His Own Stated Purposes |publisher=Basil Blackwell}}
* {{citation |last=Ebrey |first=Patricia B. |year=1999 |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of China |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-43519-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00ebre_0 }}
* {{citation | last = Gat | first = Azar | location = New York City | title = War in Human Civilization | year = 2006 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-19-926213-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aXo_125REC | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080030/https://books.google.com/books?id=y4aXo_125REC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Grant |first=R.G. |year=2011 |title=Battle at Sea: 3,000 Years of Naval Warfare |publisher=DK Publishing}}.
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DZwQkZr0VrQC | title = German Tanks of World War II in Color | year = 2000 | publisher = Zenith Imprint | last = Green | first = Michael | author2 = Thomas Anderson | author3 = Frank Schulz | isbn = 978-0-7603-0671-0 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080034/https://books.google.com/books?id=DZwQkZr0VrQC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | last = Griffith | first = Paddy | title = The Vauban Fortifications of France | year = 2006 | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]] | isbn = 978-1-84176-875-5}}
* {{citation | first = Bruce I. | last = Gudmundsson | title = On Artillery | publisher = [[Greenwood Publishing Group]] | isbn = 978-0-275-94047-8 | year = 1993 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O_-0w2WUDd0C | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080046/https://books.google.com/books?id=O_-0w2WUDd0C | url-status = live }}
* Hadden, R. Lee. 2005. [http://www.armchairgeneral.com/confederate-boys-and-peter-monkeys.htm "Confederate Boys and Peter Monkeys."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212202941/http://armchairgeneral.com/confederate-boys-and-peter-monkeys.htm |date=12 February 2020 }} Armchair General. January 2005. Adapted from a talk given to the [[Geological Society of America]] on 25 March 2004.
* {{citation | last = Halberstadt | first = Hans | year = 2002 | title = The World's Great Artillery: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day | isbn = 978-0-7607-3303-5 | publisher = [[Barnes & Noble]] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/worldsgreatartil0000halb }}
* {{citation | title = Weapons: An International Encyclopedia from 5000 B.C. to 2000 A.D. | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LeYSxhK62wUC | last = Harding | first = David | publisher = Diane Publishing Company | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-7567-8436-2 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080036/https://books.google.com/books?id=LeYSxhK62wUC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Harding |first=Richard |year=1999 |title=Seapower and Naval Warfare, 1650–1830 |publisher=UCL Press Limited}}
* {{Citation |last=al-Hassan |first=Ahmad Y. |author-link=Ahmad Y Hassan |year=2001 |contribution=Potassium Nitrate in Arabic and Latin Sources |contribution-url=http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%202.htm |title=History of Science and Technology in Islam |url=http://www.history-science-technology.com |access-date=23 July 2007 |archive-date=20 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520225937/http://www.history-science-technology.com/ |url-status=live }}
* {{citation | last = Hazlett | first = James C. | author2 = Edwin Olmstead | author3 = M. Hume Parks | title = Field Artillery Weapons of the American Civil War | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=twcQGSi1F7QC | edition = 5th | publisher = [[University of Illinois Press]] | location = [[Champaign, Illinois]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-252-07210-9 }}
* {{citation | first = Byron | last = Heath | title = Discovering the Great South Land | year = 2005 | publisher = Rosenberg Publishing | location = [[Kenthurst, New South Wales]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC | isbn = 978-1-877058-31-8 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080050/https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Hobson |first=John M. |title=The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004}}.
* {{citation | last = Hoffmeyer | first = Ada Bruhn de. | year = 1972 | publisher = Instituto de Estudios sobre Armas Antiguas | location = [[Madrid]] | title = Arms and Armour in Spain: A Short Survey}}
* {{citation | title = Naval Gun | year = 1978 | publisher = Blandford Press | first = Ian V. | last = Hogg |author2=John H. Batchelor | isbn = 978-0-7137-0905-6}}
* {{citation | last = Holmes | first = Richard | title = Redcoat: the British Soldier in the age of Horse and Musket | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p5XamBYUu0AC | publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]] | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-393-05211-4 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080104/https://books.google.com/books?id=p5XamBYUu0AC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-PXQYVjbp6MC | title = Tank Tactics: From Normandy to Lorraine | last = Jarymowycz | first = Roman Johann | year = 2001 | publisher = Lynne Rienner Publishers | isbn = 978-1-55587-950-1 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080042/https://books.google.com/books?id=-PXQYVjbp6MC | url-status = live }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | last = Johnson | first = Norman Gardner | contribution = explosive | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica Online | contribution-url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/198577/explosive | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 26 April 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150426133324/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/198577/explosive | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | title = World War II: A Visual Encyclopedia | last = Keegan | first = John | publisher = Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-85585-878-7}}
* {{Citation |last=Kelly |first=Jack |title=Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World |publisher=Basic Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-465-03718-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/gunpowderalchemy00jack }}
* {{Citation |last=Khan |first=Iqtidar Alam |title=Coming of Gunpowder to the Islamic World and North India: Spotlight on the Role of the Mongols |journal=Journal of Asian History |volume=30 |year=1996 |pages=41–45}}
* {{Citation |last=Khan |first=Iqtidar Alam |year=2004 |title=Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{Citation |last=Khan |first=Iqtidar Alam |year=2008 |title=Historical Dictionary of Medieval India |publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |isbn=978-0-8108-5503-8}}
* {{Citation |last=Kinard |first=Jeff |year=2007 |title=Artillery An Illustrated History of its Impact}}
* {{citation | last = Knox | first = Dudley W. | title = Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Volume I | location = Washington | publisher = [[United States Government Printing Office]] | year = 1939}}
* {{Citation |last=Konstam |first=Angus |year=2002 |title=Renaissance War Galley 1470–1590 |publisher=Osprey Publisher Ltd.}}.
* {{citation | last = Krebs | first = Robert E. | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | year = 2004 | title = Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance | isbn = 978-0-313-32433-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MTXdplfiz-cC | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 29 May 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120529131821/http://books.google.com/books?id=MTXdplfiz-cC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | title = Tchaikovsky | last = Lee | first = Ernest Markham | year = 1906 | publisher = G. Bell & sons | location = [[Harvard University]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x60NAAAAYAAJ | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080034/https://books.google.com/books?id=x60NAAAAYAAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Liang |first=Jieming |year=2006 |title=Chinese Siege Warfare: Mechanical Artillery & Siege Weapons of Antiquity |publisher=Leong Kit Meng |isbn=978-981-05-5380-7 |location=Singapore}}
* {{Citation |last=Lidin |first=Olaf G. |year=2002 |title=Tanegashima – The Arrival of Europe in Japan |publisher=Nordic Inst of Asian Studies |isbn=978-8791114120}}
* {{Citation |last=Lorge |first=Peter A. |year=2008|title=The Asian Military Revolution: from Gunpowder to the Bomb |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-60954-8}}
* {{Citation |last=Lu |first=Gwei-Djen |year=1988 |title=The Oldest Representation of a Bombard |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=594–605|doi=10.2307/3105275 |jstor=3105275 |s2cid=112733319 }}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC | title = Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston | year = 1996 | publisher = [[University of South Carolina Press]] | location = [[Charleston, South Carolina]] | last = Manigault | first = Edward | author2 = Warren Ripley | isbn = 978-1-57003-127-4 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080035/https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | last = Manucy | first = Albert | url = http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/is3/is3toc.htm | title = Artillery Through the Ages: A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasising Types Used in America | isbn = 978-0-7881-0745-0 | publisher = Diane Publishing | year = 1994 | access-date = 3 March 2008 | archive-date = 2 July 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070702000826/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/is3/is3toc.htm | url-status = dead }}
* {{Citation |last=May |first=Timothy |year=2012|title=The Mongol Conquests in World History |publisher=Reaktion Books}}
* {{citation | last = McCamley | first = Nicholas J. | title = Disasters Underground | publisher = Pen & Sword Military | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-84415-022-9}}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LwqhCwNAjSYC | title = Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions | last = McCarthy | first = Peter | author2 = Mike Syron | year = 2003 | publisher = [[Carroll & Graf Publishers]] | isbn = 978-0-7867-1264-9 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080104/https://books.google.com/books?id=LwqhCwNAjSYC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=McLahlan |first=Sean |year=2010 |title=Medieval Handgonnes}}
* {{Citation |last=McNeill |first=William Hardy |year=1992 |title=The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community |publisher=University of Chicago Press}}.
* {{Citation |last=Morillo |first=Stephen |year=2008 |title=War in World History: Society, Technology, and War from Ancient Times to the Present, Volume 1, To 1500 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-052584-9}}
* {{citation|last=Needham|first=Joseph|year=1971|title=Science and Civilization in China Volume 4 Part 3|publisher=Cambridge at the University Press}}
* {{Citation |last=Needham |first=Joseph |title=Science & Civilisation in China |year=1980 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=5 pt. 4 |isbn=978-0-521-08573-1}}
* {{Citation |last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |title=Science & Civilisation in China |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=V:7: ''The Gunpowder Epic'' |isbn=978-0-521-30358-3}}.
* {{Citation |last=Nicolle |first=David |title=The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane |year=1990}}
* {{citation | first = David | last = Nicolle | author-link = David Nicolle | title = Crécy 1346: Triumph of the Longbow | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]] | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-85532-966-9}}
* {{Citation |last=Nolan |first=Cathal J. |year=2006 |title=The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: an Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Vol 1, A–K |volume=1 |location=Westport & London |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33733-8}}
* {{Citation |last=Norris |first=John |year=2003 |title=Early Gunpowder Artillery: 1300–1600 |place=Marlborough |publisher=The Crowood Press}}.
* {{citation | last = Nossov | first = Konstantin | year = 2007 | title = Medieval Russian Fortresses AD 862–1480 | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]] | isbn = 978-1-84603-093-2}}
* {{citation | last = Nossov | first = Konstantin | title = Russian Fortresses, 1480–1682 | isbn = 978-1-84176-916-5 | year = 2006 | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]]}}
* {{citation | last = Pacey | first = Arnold | title = Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X7e8rHL1lf4C | year = 1990 | publisher = [[MIT Press]] | isbn = 978-0-262-66072-3 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 10 March 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170310012254/https://books.google.com/books?id=X7e8rHL1lf4C | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Partington |first=J. R. |author-link=J. R. Partington |year=1960 |title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder |place=Cambridge, UK |publisher=W. Heffer & Sons}}.
* {{Citation |last=Partington |first=J. R. |title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1999 |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgreekfi00part }}
* {{Citation |last=Patrick |first=John Merton |title=Artillery and warfare during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries |year=1961 |publisher=Utah State University Press}}.
* {{Citation |last=Pauly |first=Roger |title=Firearms: The Life Story of a Technology |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004}}.
* {{Citation|last=Perrin|first=Noel|title=Giving up the Gun, Japan's reversion to the Sword, 1543–1879|year=1979|publisher=David R. Godine|location=Boston|isbn=978-0-87923-773-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/givingupgun00noel}}
* {{Citation |last=Petzal |first=David E. |title=The Total Gun Manual (Canadian edition) |publisher=WeldonOwen |year=2014}}
* {{Citation |last=Phillips |first=Henry Prataps |title=The History and Chronology of Gunpowder and Gunpowder Weapons (c. 1000 to 1850) |year=2016 |publisher=Notion Press}}
* {{citation | title = The Mediterranean and Middle East | last = Playfair | first = Ian S. O. |author2=T. P. Gleave | publisher = [[HMSO]] | isbn = 978-0-11-630946-4 | year = 1987}}
* {{Cite ODNB|last=Porter|first=Stephen|year=2008|title=Nye, Nathaniel (bap. 1624), mathematician and master gunner|volume=1|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20416|edition=Online|access-date=9 August 2009|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/20416}}
* {{Citation |last=Purton |first=Peter |year=2010 |title=A History of the Late Medieval Siege, 1200–1500 |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=978-1-84383-449-6}}
* {{Citation |last=Robins |first=Benjamin |year=1742 |title=New Principles of Gunnery}}
* {{Citation |last=Rose |first=Susan |year=2002 |title=Medieval Naval Warfare 1000–1500 |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{Citation |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |year=2015 |title=Warfare in Pre-British India |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{Citation | last = Russ | first = Martin | year = 1999 | title = Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea 1950 | publisher = [[Penguin Books]] | isbn = 978-0-14-029259-6}}
* {{citation | first = John | last = Sadler | author-link = John Sadler (historian) | title = Flodden 1513: Scotland's Greatest Defeat | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]] | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1-84176-959-2}}
* Schmidtchen, Volker (1977a), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", ''Technikgeschichte'' '''44''' (2): 153–173 (153–157)
* Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", ''Technikgeschichte'' '''44''' (3): 213–237 (226–228)
* {{citation | last = Stone | first = George Cameron | author-link = George Cameron Stone | title = A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times | year = 1999 | publisher = Courier Dover Publications | isbn = 978-0-486-40726-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J5PgapzD6FoC }}
* {{Citation |last=Tran |first= Nhung Tuyet |title=Viêt Nam Borderless Histories |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2006}}.
* {{citation | last = Tunis | first = Edwin | title = Weapons: A Pictorial History | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sCnyIzibmywC | publisher = [[Johns Hopkins University Press]] | location = [[Baltimore]], Maryland | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0-8018-6229-8 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080106/https://books.google.com/books?id=sCnyIzibmywC | url-status = live }}
* {{Citation |last=Turnbull |first=Stephen |year=2003 |title=Fighting Ships Far East (2: Japan and Korea Ad 612–1639 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-478-8}}
* {{citation | first = Stephen | last = Turnbull | author-link = Stephen Turnbull (historian) | title = The Walls of Constantinople AD 413–1453 | publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-84176-759-8}}
* {{Citation |last=Urbanski |first=Tadeusz |year=1967 |title=Chemistry and Technology of Explosives |place=New York |publisher=Pergamon Press |volume=III}}.
* {{Citation |last=Villalon |first=L. J. Andrew |year=2008 |title=The Hundred Years War (part II): Different Vistas |publisher=Brill Academic Pub |isbn=978-90-04-16821-3}}
* {{Citation |last=Wagner |first=John A. |year=2006 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War |location=Westport & London |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-32736-0}}
* {{citation | title = The People's Almanac | publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] | year = 1975 | last = Wallechinsky | first = David | author-link = David Wallechinsky | author2 = Irving Wallace | isbn = 978-0-385-04186-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac00wall | author2-link = Irving Wallace }}
* {{Citation |last=Watson |first=Peter |year=2006 |title=Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud |publisher=Harper Perennial  |isbn=978-0-06-093564-1}}
* {{citation | last = Wilkinson | first = Philip | title = Castles | publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]] | date = 9 September 1997 | isbn = 978-0-7894-2047-3}}
* {{Citation |last = Wilkinson-Latham | first = Robert | title = Napoleon's Artillery | publisher = Osprey Publishing | year = 1975 | location = France | isbn = 978-0-85045-247-1}}
* {{Citation |last=Willbanks |first=James H. |year=2004 |title=Machine guns: an illustrated history of their impact |publisher=ABC-CLIO, Inc.}}
* {{citation| last = Williams | first = Anthony G. | title = Rapid Fire | publisher = Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd. | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-84037-435-3}}
* {{citation|last=Xiaodong|first=Yin|date=2008|journal=Icon|volume=14|pages=41–61|jstor=23787161|title=Western Cannon in China in the 16th–17th Centuries}}
* {{citation | title = Guinness Book of World Records | edition = 2002 |publisher= [[Bantam Books]] | isbn = 978-0-553-58378-6 | last = Young | first = Mark C | year = 2002 | location = England}}
* {{citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa6HLAhSzBAC | title = Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 2000 | last = Zetterling | first = Niklas | author2 = Anders Frankson | isbn = 978-0-7146-5052-4 | access-date = 25 September 2017 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080035/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa6HLAhSzBAC | url-status = live }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|Cannon}}
{{wiktionary}}
* [http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/artillery_tactics.htm Artillery Tactics and Combat during the Napoleonic Wars]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150119155125/http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~dispater/handgonnes.htm Handgonnes and Matchlocks – History of firearms to 1500]
* [https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-military-artillery-cannon-double-canonette-from-the-16th-century-wood-47971491.html?imageid=B51F8576-1716-4B3B-9B10-DB2F741E2829&pn=1&searchId=3aea439e0f42bbfa2bc9657c9cd6b8e3&searchtype=0 Double Canonette from the 16th century]
* {{US patent|5236}} – ''Patent for a Casting ordnance''
* {{US patent|6612}} – ''Cannon patent''
* {{US patent|13851}} – ''Muzzle loading ordnance patent''
* [http://www.comehike.com/outdoors/cannons.php Historic Cannons of San Francisco]

{{Pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cannon| ]]
[[Category:13th-century inventions]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Chinese inventions]]