Cannon Balls

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AJMD429
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Cannon Balls

Post by AJMD429 »

I'm reading a book called In the Hurricane's Eye, by Nathaniel Philbrick. It is about the pivotal battle in Chesapeake Bay that basically turned the tide of the Revolutionary War for America.

In it they say that the maximum size of a Naval Cannonball was 35 lbs.... any idea what diameter that would be?
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by Rockrat »

Little over 6 inches. I think british cannonballs were up to 42 lbs (6 2/3")
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by gcs »

According to british standards of the 17th century, a 34# cannon ball was just over 6 inches, and that was considered a large cannon, the next size up was a 42#, I guess that was considered a yuuuge cannon, lol
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by lthardman »

There is a difference between a cannon and a carronade. In that time frame many ships carried both. Most folks don't know there is a difference. A carronade often shot large diameter projectiles but used a smaller powder charge. Therefore they were considered a short range gun used as an anti-ship and anti-crew weapon. Cannon typically used a smaller diameter projectile with a larger powder charge and could be used at much greater distances. Cannons typically were much heavier and had much longer barrels than carronades.

All this to say that size (of the projectile) isn't everything. Depends on how you intend to use the gun.
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AJMD429
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by AJMD429 »

lthardman wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 8:21 pm There is a difference between a cannon and a carronade. In that time frame many ships carried both. Most folks don't know there is a difference. A carronade often shot large diameter projectiles but used a smaller powder charge. Therefore they were considered a short range gun used as an anti-ship and anti-crew weapon. Cannon typically used a smaller diameter projectile with a larger powder charge and could be used at much greater distances. Cannons typically were much heavier and had much longer barrels than carronades.

All this to say that size (of the projectile) isn't everything. Depends on how you intend to use the gun.
So a 'cannonade' was sort of like a naval shotgun, to clear the deck of the enemy ship, whereas the 'cannon' was more like a naval rifle, to destroy a target at longer range....???
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by lthardman »

AJMD429 wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 8:26 pm
lthardman wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 8:21 pm There is a difference between a cannon and a carronade. In that time frame many ships carried both. Most folks don't know there is a difference. A carronade often shot large diameter projectiles but used a smaller powder charge. Therefore they were considered a short range gun used as an anti-ship and anti-crew weapon. Cannon typically used a smaller diameter projectile with a larger powder charge and could be used at much greater distances. Cannons typically were much heavier and had much longer barrels than carronades.

All this to say that size (of the projectile) isn't everything. Depends on how you intend to use the gun.
So a 'cannonade' was sort of like a naval shotgun, to clear the deck of the enemy ship, whereas the 'cannon' was more like a naval rifle, to destroy a target at longer range....???
That's close. A cannon was certainly a bit like a rifle. And the carronade could be a bit like a giant shotgun when loaded with cannister. But often the carronade shot a very large diameter and heavy ball (42 - 68 lbs) at very close range. It could put large holes in a hull or take out masts and vital rigging. Despite the carronades relatively small powder charge, it had relatively small "windage." That is, there was a really small difference between the the diameter of the bore and the diameter of the ball. So less of the powder 'push' was lost around the ball. Cannons often had up to .25 inch of windage while carronades had as little as 0.1 inch of windage or even less. Carronades eventually became obsolete with the invention of exploding shells, rifled barrels, and perfected cannister rounds for cannons. By the time of the Civil War, carronades were pretty much obsolete.
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by Sixgun »

They still are found around here, mostly around a couple of miles down the road from the Battle of the Brandywine. I've seen a mess of them and they appear to be around three inches and weigh...estimating..8 pounds?....A cannon was found buried on my wife's uncles farm that was left by Washington's troops and it's displayed right where they found it. My wife says when she was a kid her uncle had a barrel full of the balls that turned up when they plowed the fields.

You know how much these things brings today?? Revolutionary War cannonballs?
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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by Old No7 »

lthardman wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 8:21 pm There is a difference between a cannon and a carronade. In that time frame many ships carried both.
Interesting info. This website has a age on "British Cannon Design 1600-1800" (click for link) as well as a page on cannonball sizes too. It is interesting that the first carronades were called "cutts", made from cut-down (or failed) cannon. There's some good history on those pages for those interested.

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Re: Cannon Balls

Post by gamekeeper »

On a tour of Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, I noticed that none of the cannons that had flintlock ignition were complete with flints, I told the tour guide where they could get some correct flints but I don't suppose they bothered. I sure hope Napoleon doesn't try his luck again...if you ever come over to England, Portsmouth is worth a visit.. :wink:
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