History of the Cannon

Pre-1800 Cannons

• Cannons were first used in China, and were among the earliest forms of gunpowder artillery
• In Europe cannons were first used in Iberia, while the Iberians and Spain were in war during the 13th century
• The English cannons were first used for the Hundreds Years War, at the Battle of Crecy, in 1346
  This is a hand cannon from the early 1300s
• The end of the Middle Ages led to bigger and more powerful cannons, plus they became more popular around the world
• In the 15th century cannons were made with mobility in mind, meaning that they were built so they could be transported on wheels
• During this time, they had better gunpowder, improved cast-iron projectiles, and standardization of calibers (so even light cannons could be deadly!)
• By the 16th century, cannons were made with a wide range of lengths and had diameters, but the general rule was that the longer the barrel, the longer the range

This is the Tsar Cannon, which was commissioned in 1586 by a Russian man called Tsar Feodor

• In the 17th century, in England, "demi-cannons" became popular...they are gun styled cannons that fired 32 pounds solid shot & weigh up to 3,400 pounds! You can see a picture of a demi-cannon to the right here ----->

Cannons in the 1800s

• In the early 1800s, there was more focus on the accuracy of long-range fire, rather than on the weight of a broadside
• The "Griffen Gun" was used in the American Civil war & had an effective range of 1.1miles
• The practice of rifling (casting spiral lines inside the cannon's barrel) was applied to a lot of artillery by the time of 1855...it gave cannons stability to improve their accuracy 
• A popular rifling cannon was the "Armstrong Gun" which claimed improved range, power, & accuracy
• By the 1800s most cannons had no problem piercing through wooden ships, however many could not pierce through iron
• Rifled muzzle-loading guns were made & proved to be successful at piercing iron

This is a cannon from 1878, & it's a 64 pounder rifle muzzle loader

Cannons in 1900s-Modern Day

• Widely used types of modern cannons include: howitzers, mortars, guns, and auto-cannon
• Nuclear artillery was experimented with, but abandoned as impractical 
• By 1900s cannons were powerful & accurate
• Cannons proved to be highly effective during World War 1, causing more than 75% of casualties 
• The tendency of creating such large caliber cannons during the World Wars was reversed in recent years
• The US Army, for example, uses lighter & more versatile howitzers
• The auto-cannon, which is similar to a machine gun in the way that it automatically loads ammunition for faster fire,  gained popularity beginning around World War 2
• The year 1911 was when cannons were first installed on aircrafts & most countries were experimenting ways to successfully use cannons of their aircrafts

Pictured here is a modern howitzer at the Colorado State Capitol

Cannons have changed & improved so much from the past to the present! There is sure to be even more changes to cannons in the future, as well as many advancements.