I’m pretty sure everyone saw old cannons that used big round balls, but how effective were they? pretty sure the pirate ones were pretty effective at making holes in enemy ships. The early ones seem like they would hit the dirt and the dirt would shrapnel over the soldiers. Am I missing something or would these cannons offer a single shot kill or what?
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In Napoleonic wars, the solid shot was usually used against massed troops and they would shoot at a flatter trajectory so it would bounce across, like skipping stones. If the targeted troops were in a square to ward off cavalry, the bounding shot would take out soldiers on two sides of the square. Deploying in line helped but that was inviting a cavalry charge, in which case they deployed back to square.
Basic cannon balls were mainly good at punching good sized holes in things
If they hit the side of a ship they would splinter the hull and send sharp pieces of wood flying at high speed into the crew. They could also hit loaded cannons which could cause misfires or fires on board, both of which are very bad for a wooden ship full of gun powder.
Ships also used Chain Shot(literally chains) for ripping through enemy sails and potentially taking entire masts down. They had grape shot too which was really nasty buckshot which would chew through the enemy crew but only at close range.
Field artillery(cannons used by the army) had a variety of shot. There was round shot like the navy boys use which would punch big holes, but there was a variety of other rounds they could use.
There was canister shot, basically a big shotgun shell for the cannon which would decimate infantry at short range. There were explosive shells which would detonate after a fixed time, percussion shells which would detonate on impact, shrapnel shells which would detonate at a fixed time but spew shrapnel down on enemy infantry, and quicklime and carcass shot which spewed fire down below them.
Round shot is nice and simple to show in movies, but Admirals and Generals had a variety of rounds available to do their deeds with.
Different cannons served different purposes. Naval cannons would punch holes in enemy ships and cause wood shrapnel to kill anybody nearby. They could also by loaded with unusual shot, such as grape or chain, in hopes of killing crew or toppling masts.
Cannons on the battlefield were good for sieges, as they could level walls and buildings with ease. Cannons have existed for almost 700 years and their use has changed significantly during that time. As cannons became more modern, explosive shells were developed to target infantry. In world war one, cannon shells with poisonous gas in then were used.
They were clearly effective because they were used by everyone who could get hold of them.
The use of cannon caused the end of stone castles.
It’s worth knowing that a cannonball doesn’t have to hit you to kill you. If it passes within a few inches the shock wave can damage internal organs.
If you’ve never experienced a cannon shot, I suggest you attend a civil war re-enactment sometime. The concussion of a cannon is unbelievable even when it’s just powder.
Movies tend to show cannons as relatively ineffective spud gun. The truth is that they were very effective, with an effective range of several kilometers and able to tear down houses and ships at that range. Against troops in formation, it could strike straight through several men; or you could load it with grape shots, turning it into a gian shot gun, causing extreme damaga against many targets; or you could load it with chain, which basically became a flying lawnmower, cutting down everything and everyone in it’s way.
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