Why was the 18-pounder cannon so special?

Why was the 18-pounder cannon so special?

On two-deckers, the 18-pounder was mounted on the upper deck as secondary artillery, to complement the 36-pounder main artillery on the lower deck. A 74-gun would carry thirty 18-pounders; this lighter secondary battery added firepower to the ship without raising the centre of gravity too much.

What was the range of an 18-pounder cannon?

Note: An 18-pounder gun was capable of firing a shot that could penetrate nearly 2 feet six inches (75 centimetres) of oak at 400 yards and over 1 foot (30.5 centimetres) at 1000 yards.

How heavy is an 8 pound cannon?

The Canon de 8 Gribeauval or 8-pounder was a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval. The Old French pound (French: livre) was 1.07916 English pounds, making the weight of shot about 8.633 English pounds (or 8 lb 10 oz).

What is the heaviest cannon ball?

Schwerer Gustav was the largest-calibre rifled weapon ever used in combat and, in terms of overall weight, the heaviest mobile artillery piece ever built….Ammunition.

High Explosive Armour Piercing
Weight 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) 7,100 kg (15,700 lb)
Muzzle velocity 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 720 m/s (2,400 ft/s)

What is a six pounder gun?

6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a 57-millimetre (2.2 in) gun firing a projectile weighing approximately 6 pounds (2.7 kg).

Who disabled the 16 lb Alamo cannon and who found it?

It is mounted on a hand-made replica of an 1800’s style carriage that resembles the one that would have been used during the battle in 1836. The cannon was disabled and buried by the Mexican Army after the battle. Years later, it was discovered by the Maverick Family and later given to the Alamo.

What was the range of a 32 pounder cannon?

500 yards
The 32-pounder smooth bore breech loading guns had a range shot of up to 500 yards. They were specifically used as caponier guns for defending the ditches of land forts.

How big is an 8 pound cannon ball?

Ammunition includes several types of shot. The largest of these are three cast iron cannon balls (A). They weigh from 8 to 10 pounds apiece and measure about 4.1 inches in diameter. These were the solid shot used in the eight-pounder cannons.

What is a 12 pound gun?

12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds. Guns of this type include: 12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail. Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732. Canon de 12 Gribeauval, French field cannon of the mid-late 18th century.

How fast do cannonballs travel?

It seems likely to be in between 250 and 100 m/s (250 m/s is about 820 feet per second). Of course this assumes the ball hit the first house without bouncing.

What is a 68-pounder cannon?

The 68-pounder cannon was an artillery piece designed and used by the British Armed Forces in the mid-19th century. The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights, the most common being 95 long cwt (4,800 kg), and fired projectiles of 68 lb (31 kg).

What was the weight of a British cannon?

The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights, the most common being 95 long cwt (4,800 kg), and fired projectiles of 68 lb (31 kg). Colonel William Dundas designed the 112 cwt version in 1841 and it was cast the following year.

How heavy is an 8 pounder long gun?

The 8-pounder long gun was a light calibre piece of artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of sail. It fired a projectile of eight livres in weight, equivalent to 8.633 English pounds, or 8 lb 10 oz (the French livre was 7.916% heavier than the English pound weight).

How big is an 8 pound cannon barrel?

The 8-pound cannon had a six-foot iron barrel mounted on top of a frame with two wheels, with a total weight of over 2,000 lbs. The inside diameter of the barrel was 106 mm (4 in), although the cannonballs were only 103 mm in diameter. It was called an 8-pounder because it fired 8 pound cannon balls.

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