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List of muzzle-loading guns

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Muzzle-loading guns (as opposed to muzzle-loading mortars and howitzers) are an early type of artillery, (often field artillery, but naval artillery and siege artillery were other types of muzzleloading artillery), used before, and even for some time after, breech-loading cannon became common. Projectile (early on with shot and then later on with shells) and powder charge are loaded via the muzzle and rammed down the barrel, and then fired at the target. Muzzle-loading artillery came in smoothbore and rifled form, the rifled guns increasingly taking over from the smoothbores as time past and technology improved. Most were made of bronze because of a lack of metallurgic technology, but cast and wrought-iron guns were common as well, particularly later on. Muzzleloading artillery evolved across a wide range of styles, beginning with the bombard, and evolving into culverins, falconets, sakers, demi-cannon, rifled muzzle-loaders, Parrott rifles, and many other styles. Handcannons are excepted from this list because they are hand-held and typically of small caliber.

Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon

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Caliber (mm) Weapon name Country of origin Design
40 Hwangja-Chongtong  Korea Early 15th century
50 Galloper gun  United Kingdom 1740
61 Hyunja-Chongtong  Korea Early 15th century
76 Grasshopper cannon  United Kingdom 18th century
76 Minion  United Kingdom 18th century
83 Saker  United Kingdom 18th century
84 Canon de 4 de Vallière  Kingdom of France 1732
84 So-po  Korea Late 19th century
96 Canon de 6 système An XI  France 1803
100 Demi-culverin  United Kingdom 18th century
100 Hongyi-po  Dutch Republic Early 17th century
105 Jija-Chongtong  Korea Early 15th century
118 Cheonja-Chongtong  Korea Early 15th century
120 Jung-po  Korea Late 19th century
121 Canon de 12 livres Le Solide  Kingdom of France 1688
121 Canon de 12 de Vallière  Kingdom of France 1732
121 Canon obusier de 12  France 1853
130 Culverin  United Kingdom 18th century
134 Canon de 16 Le Combattant  Kingdom of France 1674
134 Canon de 16 La Curiosité  Kingdom of France 1679
151 Canon de 16 Le Protecteur  Kingdom of France 1683
151 Obusier de 15 cm Valée  France 1828
154 Demi-cannon  United Kingdom 18th century
155 Canon de 24 de Vallière  Kingdom of France 1732
162 Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval  Kingdom of France 1764
178 Ornate Ottoman cannon  Ottoman Empire 1581
204 ML 8-inch shell gun  United Kingdom 1820s
206 68-pounder gun  United Kingdom 1846

Rifled muzzle-loading cannon

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Caliber (mm) Weapon name Country of origin Design
64 RML 2.5-inch mountain gun  United Kingdom 1879
73 2.9-inch Parrott rifle  United States 1860
76 3-inch ordnance rifle  United States 1862
76 RML 7-pounder mountain gun  United Kingdom 1873
86 Canon de campagne de 4 rayé  France 1858
96 Wiard rifle  United States 1861
121 Canon de 12 La Hitte  France 1859
140 70-pounder Whitworth naval gun  United Kingdom 1860s
160 RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun  United Kingdom 1865
160 RML 64-pounder 71 cwt gun  United Kingdom 1870
160 RML 6.3-inch howitzer  United Kingdom 1878
178 RML 7-inch gun  United Kingdom 1860s-1890s
191 Widow Blakely[1]  Confederate States of America 1861
203 RML 8-inch gun  United Kingdom 1866
206 68-pounder Lancaster gun  United Kingdom 1850s
227 RML 9-inch 12-ton gun  United Kingdom 1865
233 Somerset cannon  United Kingdom 1863
254 RML 10-inch 18-ton gun  United Kingdom 1868
279 RML 11-inch 25-ton gun  United Kingdom 1867
305 RML 12-inch 25-ton gun  United Kingdom 1866
305 RML 12-inch 35-ton gun  United Kingdom 1873
318 RML 12.5-inch 38-ton gun  United Kingdom 1875
406 RML 16-inch 80-ton gun  United Kingdom 1880
450 RML 17.72-inch gun  United Kingdom 1877

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ Olmstead, Stark & Tucker, pp. 138–139

Bibliography

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  • Olmstead, Edwin; Stark, Wayne E. & Tucker, Spencer C. (1997). The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, New York: Museum Restoration Service. ISBN 0-88855-012-X.