List of muzzle-loading guns

{{Short description|none}}

{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}

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

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;"

! width=15% | Caliber (mm)

! width=38% | Weapon name

! width=28% | Country of origin

! width=19% | Design

40Hwangja-Chongtong{{flag|Korea}}Early 15th century
50Galloper gun{{UK}}1740
61Hyunja-Chongtong{{flag|Korea}}Early 15th century
76Grasshopper cannon{{UK}}18th century
76Minion{{UK}}18th century
83Saker{{UK}}18th century
84Canon de 4 de Vallière{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1732
84So-po{{flag|Korea}}Late 19th century
96Canon de 6 système An XI{{FRA}}1803
100Demi-culverin{{UK}}18th century
100Hongyi-po{{flag|Dutch Republic}}Early 17th century
105Jija-Chongtong{{flag|Korea}}Early 15th century
118Cheonja-Chongtong{{flag|Korea}}Early 15th century
120Jung-po{{flag|Korea}}Late 19th century
121Canon de 12 livres Le Solide{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1688
121Canon de 12 de Vallière{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1732
121Canon obusier de 12{{FRA}}1853
130Culverin{{UK}}18th century
134Canon de 16 Le Combattant{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1674
134Canon de 16 La Curiosité{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1679
151Canon de 16 Le Protecteur{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1683
151Obusier de 15 cm Valée{{FRA}}1828
154Demi-cannon{{UK}}18th century
155Canon de 24 de Vallière{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1732
162Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval{{flag|Kingdom of France}}1764
178Ornate Ottoman cannon{{flag|Ottoman Empire}}1581
204ML 8-inch shell gun{{UK}}1820s
20668-pounder gun{{UK}}1846

Rifled muzzle-loading cannon

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%;"

! width=15% | Caliber (mm)

! width=38% | Weapon name

! width=28% | Country of origin

! width=19% | Design

64RML 2.5-inch mountain gun{{UK}}1879
732.9-inch Parrott rifle{{USA}}1860
763-inch ordnance rifle{{USA}}1862
76RML 7-pounder mountain gun{{UK}}1873
86Canon de campagne de 4 rayé{{FRA}}1858
96Wiard rifle{{USA}}1861
121Canon de 12 La Hitte{{FRA}}1859
14070-pounder Whitworth naval gun{{UK}}1860s
160RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun{{UK}}1865
160RML 64-pounder 71 cwt gun{{UK}}1870
-

| 160

RML 6.3-inch howitzer{{UK}}1878
178RML 7-inch gun{{UK}}1860s-1890s
191Widow BlakelyOlmstead, Stark & Tucker, pp. 138–139{{flag|Confederate States of America}}1861
203RML 8-inch gun{{UK}}1866
20668-pounder Lancaster gun{{UK}}1850s
227RML 9-inch 12-ton gun{{UK}}1865
233Somerset cannon{{UK}}1863
254RML 10-inch 18-ton gun{{UK}}1868
279RML 11-inch 25-ton gun{{UK}}1867
305RML 12-inch 25-ton gun{{UK}}1866
305RML 12-inch 35-ton gun{{UK}}1873
318RML 12.5-inch 38-ton gun{{UK}}1875
406RML 16-inch 80-ton gun{{UK}}1880
450RML 17.72-inch gun{{UK}}1877

See also

Notes and references

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book|last1=Olmstead|first1=Edwin|last2=Stark|first2=Wayne E.|last3=Tucker|first3=Spencer C.|title=The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon|name-list-style=amp|year=1997|publisher=Museum Restoration Service|location=Alexandria Bay, New York|isbn=0-88855-012-X}}

{{Artillery of the Middle Ages}}

{{Artillery of France}}

Muzzle-loading gun