Cannons (Sixteen Pounders)

Cannons were generally rated by their pound rating (the weight of what a single shot cannon can fire).

Types

• Long nine - a nine pounder, unique naval cannon, was usually mounted as a stern-chaser

• Common sizes were 42-pounders, 36-pounders, 32-pounders, 24-pounders, 18-pounders, 12-pounders, 9-pounders, 8-pounders, 6-pounders

Shot

• Round shot – Solid spherical cast-iron shot, the standard fare in naval battles.

• Canister shot – Cans filled with dozens of musket balls. The cans broke open on firing to turn the gun into a giant shotgun for use against enemy personnel.

• Grapeshot – Canvas-wrapped stacks of smaller round shot which fitted in the barrel, typically three or more layers of three. Some grapeshot was made with thin metal or wood disks between the layers, held together by a central bolt. The packages broke open when fired and the balls scattered with deadly effect. Grape was often used against the enemy quarterdeck to kill or injure the officers, or against enemy boarding parties.

• Chain-shot – Two iron balls joined together with a chain. This type of shot was particularly effective against rigging, boarding netting, and sails, since the balls and chain would whirl like bolas when fired.

• Bar shot – Two balls or hemispheres joined by a solid bar. Their effect was similar to chain shot.

• Expanding bar shot – Bar shot connected by a telescoping bar which extended upon firing.

• Link shot – A series of long chain links which unfolded and extended upon firing.

• Langrage – Bags of any junk – scrap metal, bolts, rocks, gravel, old musket balls, etc., fired to injure enemy crews.

• Fire arrows – A thick dartlike incendiary projectile with a barbed point, wrapped with pitch-soaked canvas which took fire when the gun was fired. The point stuck in sails, hulls, or spars and set fire to the enemy ship.

• Heated shot – Shore forts sometimes heated iron shot red-hot in a special furnace before loading it (with water-soaked wads to prevent it from setting off the powder charge prematurely). The hot shot lodging in a ship's dry timbers would set the ship afire. Because of the danger of fire aboard, heated shot were seldom used aboard ships.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The Cannon fires using powder, a charge, and cannon balls

• 1.A twisted iron poker is used to clean out the inside of the cannon for stray debris that would interfere with firing.

• 2.A sponge is dipped in water and rammed down to extinguish any sparks.

• 3.A cartridge made up of a cannonball secured to a bag of gunpowder is then put into the barrel using a rammer.

• 4.A stiletto or dagger is used to prick a hole in the bag of gunpowder.

• 5.A powder horn is emptied into the priming hole.

• 6.The Linstock is placed on the hole, and the cannon fires.

Item type

Weapon, Ranged

Rarity

Common use, nearly every vessel has a gun deck or a swivel cannon

Weight

Up to 2 tons

Dimensions

Up to 10 ft long

Raw materials & Components

Iron, rope