2007-05-31 05:41:25 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Cannon balls were shot out of cannons like giant bullets. They did not need to explode. They simple crashed real fast and hard into stuff, thereby ruining it. They were suitable for their time, when most stuff was constructed out of wood or stone.
2007-05-31 05:57:19 · answer #1 · answered by correrafan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Standard cannon balls did not detonate. They were solid iron weighing anywhere from 5lbs to 32lbs and up to 40lbs in fortress artillery. They mainly did damage from their weight and in the case of naval combat, hitting hard enough to cause shrapnel (which injured and killed more men than the actual ball hitting something). Chain shot, two balls held together by a chain, was used to shoot into a ship's masts and rigging hopefully ripping up sails, breaking spars (mast crosspieces) or even dismasting the ship. Grape shot or cannister was literally a metal can filled with grape sized bullets. The cannister disintegrated when fired and sent a shot gun blast of shrapnel into the enemy ranks to injure or kill men. Later on, cannon balls would become explosive. They usually has a slow fuse on them that could be timed to detonate the explosive inside the hollowed out ball when it reached it's target. These were not in wide use or used for long as they would soon be replaced by explosive artillery shells when the cannon phased out of use.
2007-05-31 12:56:25 · answer #2 · answered by Crusader1189 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cannon ball is solid and didn't explode. A shell could in the old days a fuse made of paper and gun powder would be stuck in a hole in the shell this fuse was cut to certian lenghts to explode the shell at certian distances. The fuse was lit by the gun firing and the friction of traveling down the barrel of the cannon there could be as many as three fuses in the shell to ensure at least one fuse lit off. Hope this is useful.
2007-05-31 16:45:58 · answer #3 · answered by brian L 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They didn't, they hit you with several tons of energy. Cannonballs only explode in the movies. (has something to do with being solid metal)
2007-05-31 13:04:52 · answer #4 · answered by tom l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most cannonballs were solid, some were 2 pieces linked by chain.
2007-05-31 12:47:31 · answer #5 · answered by oddtig3r 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋